kernel/linux.git/fs/nsfs.c, branch v6.19.11

nsfs: tighten permission checks for handle opening

2026-03-19T15:15:16+00:00

commit d2324a9317f00013facb0ba00b00440e19d2af5e upstream. Even privileged services should not necessarily be able to see other privileged service's namespaces so they can't leak information to each other. Use may_see_all_namespaces() helper that centralizes this policy until the nstree adapts. Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260226-work-visibility-fixes-v1-2-d2c2853313bd@kernel.org Fixes: 5222470b2fbb ("nsfs: support file handles") Reviewed-by: Jeff Layton Cc: stable@kernel.org # v6.18+ Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman

nsfs: tighten permission checks for ns iteration ioctls

2026-03-19T15:15:12+00:00

commit e6b899f08066e744f89df16ceb782e06868bd148 upstream. Even privileged services should not necessarily be able to see other privileged service's namespaces so they can't leak information to each other. Use may_see_all_namespaces() helper that centralizes this policy until the nstree adapts. Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260226-work-visibility-fixes-v1-1-d2c2853313bd@kernel.org Fixes: a1d220d9dafa ("nsfs: iterate through mount namespaces") Reviewed-by: Jeff Layton Cc: stable@kernel.org # v6.12+ Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman

Merge tag 'vfs-6.19-rc1.fd_prepare.fs' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/vfs/vfs

2025-12-02T01:32:07+00:00

Pull fd prepare updates from Christian Brauner: "This adds the FD_ADD() and FD_PREPARE() primitive. They simplify the common pattern of get_unused_fd_flags() + create file + fd_install() that is used extensively throughout the kernel and currently requires cumbersome cleanup paths. FD_ADD() - For simple cases where a file is installed immediately: fd = FD_ADD(O_CLOEXEC, vfio_device_open_file(device)); if (fd < 0) vfio_device_put_registration(device); return fd; FD_PREPARE() - For cases requiring access to the fd or file, or additional work before publishing: FD_PREPARE(fdf, O_CLOEXEC, sync_file->file); if (fdf.err) { fput(sync_file->file); return fdf.err; } data.fence = fd_prepare_fd(fdf); if (copy_to_user((void __user *)arg, &data, sizeof(data))) return -EFAULT; return fd_publish(fdf); The primitives are centered around struct fd_prepare. FD_PREPARE() encapsulates all allocation and cleanup logic and must be followed by a call to fd_publish() which associates the fd with the file and installs it into the caller's fdtable. If fd_publish() isn't called, both are deallocated automatically. FD_ADD() is a shorthand that does fd_publish() immediately and never exposes the struct to the caller. I've implemented this in a way that it's compatible with the cleanup infrastructure while also being usable separately. IOW, it's centered around struct fd_prepare which is aliased to class_fd_prepare_t and so we can make use of all the basica guard infrastructure" * tag 'vfs-6.19-rc1.fd_prepare.fs' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/vfs/vfs: (42 commits) io_uring: convert io_create_mock_file() to FD_PREPARE() file: convert replace_fd() to FD_PREPARE() vfio: convert vfio_group_ioctl_get_device_fd() to FD_ADD() tty: convert ptm_open_peer() to FD_ADD() ntsync: convert ntsync_obj_get_fd() to FD_PREPARE() media: convert media_request_alloc() to FD_PREPARE() hv: convert mshv_ioctl_create_partition() to FD_ADD() gpio: convert linehandle_create() to FD_PREPARE() pseries: port papr_rtas_setup_file_interface() to FD_ADD() pseries: convert papr_platform_dump_create_handle() to FD_ADD() spufs: convert spufs_gang_open() to FD_PREPARE() papr-hvpipe: convert papr_hvpipe_dev_create_handle() to FD_PREPARE() spufs: convert spufs_context_open() to FD_PREPARE() net/socket: convert __sys_accept4_file() to FD_ADD() net/socket: convert sock_map_fd() to FD_ADD() net/kcm: convert kcm_ioctl() to FD_PREPARE() net/handshake: convert handshake_nl_accept_doit() to FD_PREPARE() secretmem: convert memfd_secret() to FD_ADD() memfd: convert memfd_create() to FD_ADD() bpf: convert bpf_token_create() to FD_PREPARE() ...

nsfs: convert ns_ioctl() to FD_PREPARE()

2025-11-28T11:42:32+00:00

Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20251123-work-fd-prepare-v4-10-b6efa1706cfd@kernel.org Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner

nsfs: convert open_namespace() to FD_PREPARE()

2025-11-28T11:42:32+00:00

Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20251123-work-fd-prepare-v4-9-b6efa1706cfd@kernel.org Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner

ns: handle setns(pidfd, ...) cleanly

2025-11-10T09:20:54+00:00

The setns() system call supports: (1) namespace file descriptors (nsfd) (2) process file descriptors (pidfd) When using nsfds the namespaces will remain active because they are pinned by the vfs. However, when pidfds are used things are more complicated. When the target task exits and passes through exit_nsproxy_namespaces() or is reaped and thus also passes through exit_cred_namespaces() after the setns()'ing task has called prepare_nsset() but before the active reference count of the set of namespaces it wants to setns() to might have been dropped already: P1 P2 pid_p1 = clone(CLONE_NEWUSER | CLONE_NEWNET | CLONE_NEWNS) pidfd = pidfd_open(pid_p1) setns(pidfd, CLONE_NEWUSER | CLONE_NEWNET | CLONE_NEWNS) prepare_nsset() exit(0) // ns->__ns_active_ref == 1 // parent_ns->__ns_active_ref == 1 -> exit_nsproxy_namespaces() -> exit_cred_namespaces() // ns_active_ref_put() will also put // the reference on the owner of the // namespace. If the only reason the // owning namespace was alive was // because it was a parent of @ns // it's active reference count now goes // to zero... -------------------------------- // | // ns->__ns_active_ref == 0 | // parent_ns->__ns_active_ref == 0 | | commit_nsset() -----------------> // If setns() // now manages to install the namespaces // it will call ns_active_ref_get() // on them thus bumping the active reference // count from zero again but without also // taking the required reference on the owner. // Thus we get: // // ns->__ns_active_ref == 1 // parent_ns->__ns_active_ref == 0 When later someone does ns_active_ref_put() on @ns it will underflow parent_ns->__ns_active_ref leading to a splat from our asserts thinking there are still active references when in fact the counter just underflowed. So resurrect the ownership chain if necessary as well. If the caller succeeded to grab passive references to the set of namespaces the setns() should simply succeed even if the target task exists or gets reaped in the meantime and thus has dropped all active references to its namespaces. The race is rare and can only be triggered when using pidfs to setns() to namespaces. Also note that active reference on initial namespaces are nops. Since we now always handle parent references directly we can drop ns_ref_active_get_owner() when adding a namespace to a namespace tree. This is now all handled uniformly in the places where the new namespaces actually become active. Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20251109-namespace-6-19-fixes-v1-5-ae8a4ad5a3b3@kernel.org Fixes: 3c9820d5c64a ("ns: add active reference count") Reported-by: syzbot+1957b26299cf3ff7890c@syzkaller.appspotmail.com Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner

nstree: add listns()

2025-11-03T16:41:18+00:00

Add a new listns() system call that allows userspace to iterate through namespaces in the system. This provides a programmatic interface to discover and inspect namespaces, enhancing existing namespace apis. Currently, there is no direct way for userspace to enumerate namespaces in the system. Applications must resort to scanning /proc//ns/ across all processes, which is: 1. Inefficient - requires iterating over all processes 2. Incomplete - misses inactive namespaces that aren't attached to any running process but are kept alive by file descriptors, bind mounts, or parent namespace references 3. Permission-heavy - requires access to /proc for many processes 4. No ordering or ownership. 5. No filtering per namespace type: Must always iterate and check all namespaces. The list goes on. The listns() system call solves these problems by providing direct kernel-level enumeration of namespaces. It is similar to listmount() but obviously tailored to namespaces. /* * @req: Pointer to struct ns_id_req specifying search parameters * @ns_ids: User buffer to receive namespace IDs * @nr_ns_ids: Size of ns_ids buffer (maximum number of IDs to return) * @flags: Reserved for future use (must be 0) */ ssize_t listns(const struct ns_id_req *req, u64 *ns_ids, size_t nr_ns_ids, unsigned int flags); Returns: - On success: Number of namespace IDs written to ns_ids - On error: Negative error code /* * @size: Structure size * @ns_id: Starting point for iteration; use 0 for first call, then * use the last returned ID for subsequent calls to paginate * @ns_type: Bitmask of namespace types to include (from enum ns_type): * 0: Return all namespace types * MNT_NS: Mount namespaces * NET_NS: Network namespaces * USER_NS: User namespaces * etc. Can be OR'd together * @user_ns_id: Filter results to namespaces owned by this user namespace: * 0: Return all namespaces (subject to permission checks) * LISTNS_CURRENT_USER: Namespaces owned by caller's user namespace * Other value: Namespaces owned by the specified user namespace ID */ struct ns_id_req { __u32 size; /* sizeof(struct ns_id_req) */ __u32 spare; /* Reserved, must be 0 */ __u64 ns_id; /* Last seen namespace ID (for pagination) */ __u32 ns_type; /* Filter by namespace type(s) */ __u32 spare2; /* Reserved, must be 0 */ __u64 user_ns_id; /* Filter by owning user namespace */ }; Example 1: List all namespaces void list_all_namespaces(void) { struct ns_id_req req = { .size = sizeof(req), .ns_id = 0, /* Start from beginning */ .ns_type = 0, /* All types */ .user_ns_id = 0, /* All user namespaces */ }; uint64_t ids[100]; ssize_t ret; printf("All namespaces in the system:\n"); do { ret = listns(&req, ids, 100, 0); if (ret < 0) { perror("listns"); break; } for (ssize_t i = 0; i < ret; i++) printf(" Namespace ID: %llu\n", (unsigned long long)ids[i]); /* Continue from last seen ID */ if (ret > 0) req.ns_id = ids[ret - 1]; } while (ret == 100); /* Buffer was full, more may exist */ } Example 2: List network namespaces only void list_network_namespaces(void) { struct ns_id_req req = { .size = sizeof(req), .ns_id = 0, .ns_type = NET_NS, /* Only network namespaces */ .user_ns_id = 0, }; uint64_t ids[100]; ssize_t ret; ret = listns(&req, ids, 100, 0); if (ret < 0) { perror("listns"); return; } printf("Network namespaces: %zd found\n", ret); for (ssize_t i = 0; i < ret; i++) printf(" netns ID: %llu\n", (unsigned long long)ids[i]); } Example 3: List namespaces owned by current user namespace void list_owned_namespaces(void) { struct ns_id_req req = { .size = sizeof(req), .ns_id = 0, .ns_type = 0, /* All types */ .user_ns_id = LISTNS_CURRENT_USER, /* Current userns */ }; uint64_t ids[100]; ssize_t ret; ret = listns(&req, ids, 100, 0); if (ret < 0) { perror("listns"); return; } printf("Namespaces owned by my user namespace: %zd\n", ret); for (ssize_t i = 0; i < ret; i++) printf(" ns ID: %llu\n", (unsigned long long)ids[i]); } Example 4: List multiple namespace types void list_network_and_mount_namespaces(void) { struct ns_id_req req = { .size = sizeof(req), .ns_id = 0, .ns_type = NET_NS | MNT_NS, /* Network and mount */ .user_ns_id = 0, }; uint64_t ids[100]; ssize_t ret; ret = listns(&req, ids, 100, 0); printf("Network and mount namespaces: %zd found\n", ret); } Example 5: Pagination through large namespace sets void list_all_with_pagination(void) { struct ns_id_req req = { .size = sizeof(req), .ns_id = 0, .ns_type = 0, .user_ns_id = 0, }; uint64_t ids[50]; size_t total = 0; ssize_t ret; printf("Enumerating all namespaces with pagination:\n"); while (1) { ret = listns(&req, ids, 50, 0); if (ret < 0) { perror("listns"); break; } if (ret == 0) break; /* No more namespaces */ total += ret; printf(" Batch: %zd namespaces\n", ret); /* Last ID in this batch becomes start of next batch */ req.ns_id = ids[ret - 1]; if (ret < 50) break; /* Partial batch = end of results */ } printf("Total: %zu namespaces\n", total); } Permission Model listns() respects namespace isolation and capabilities: (1) Global listing (user_ns_id = 0): - Requires CAP_SYS_ADMIN in the namespace's owning user namespace - OR the namespace must be in the caller's namespace context (e.g., a namespace the caller is currently using) - User namespaces additionally allow listing if the caller has CAP_SYS_ADMIN in that user namespace itself (2) Owner-filtered listing (user_ns_id != 0): - Requires CAP_SYS_ADMIN in the specified owner user namespace - OR the namespace must be in the caller's namespace context - This allows unprivileged processes to enumerate namespaces they own (3) Visibility: - Only "active" namespaces are listed - A namespace is active if it has a non-zero __ns_ref_active count - This includes namespaces used by running processes, held by open file descriptors, or kept active by bind mounts - Inactive namespaces (kept alive only by internal kernel references) are not visible via listns() Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20251029-work-namespace-nstree-listns-v4-19-2e6f823ebdc0@kernel.org Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner

nstree: allow lookup solely based on inode

2025-11-03T16:41:17+00:00

The namespace file handle struct nsfs_file_handle is uapi and userspace is expressly allowed to generate file handles without going through name_to_handle_at(). Allow userspace to generate a file handle where both the inode number and the namespace type are zero and just pass in the unique namespace id. The kernel uses the unified namespace tree to find the namespace and open the file handle. When the kernel creates a file handle via name_to_handle_at() it will always fill in the type and the inode number allowing userspace to retrieve core information. Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20251029-work-namespace-nstree-listns-v4-14-2e6f823ebdc0@kernel.org Tested-by: syzbot@syzkaller.appspotmail.com Reviewed-by: Jeff Layton Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner

ns: add active reference count

2025-11-03T16:41:17+00:00

The namespace tree is, among other things, currently used to support file handles for namespaces. When a namespace is created it is placed on the namespace trees and when it is destroyed it is removed from the namespace trees. While a namespace is on the namespace trees with a valid reference count it is possible to reopen it through a namespace file handle. This is all fine but has some issues that should be addressed. On current kernels a namespace is visible to userspace in the following cases: (1) The namespace is in use by a task. (2) The namespace is persisted through a VFS object (namespace file descriptor or bind-mount). Note that (2) only cares about direct persistence of the namespace itself not indirectly via e.g., file->f_cred file references or similar. (3) The namespace is a hierarchical namespace type and is the parent of a single or multiple child namespaces. Case (3) is interesting because it is possible that a parent namespace might not fulfill any of (1) or (2), i.e., is invisible to userspace but it may still be resurrected through the NS_GET_PARENT ioctl(). Currently namespace file handles allow much broader access to namespaces than what is currently possible via (1)-(3). The reason is that namespaces may remain pinned for completely internal reasons yet are inaccessible to userspace. For example, a user namespace my remain pinned by get_cred() calls to stash the opener's credentials into file->f_cred. As it stands file handles allow to resurrect such a users namespace even though this should not be possible via (1)-(3). This is a fundamental uapi change that we shouldn't do if we don't have to. Consider the following insane case: Various architectures support the CONFIG_MMU_LAZY_TLB_REFCOUNT option which uses lazy TLB destruction. When this option is set a userspace task's struct mm_struct may be used for kernel threads such as the idle task and will only be destroyed once the cpu's runqueue switches back to another task. But because of ptrace() permission checks struct mm_struct stashes the user namespace of the task that struct mm_struct originally belonged to. The kernel thread will take a reference on the struct mm_struct and thus pin it. So on an idle system user namespaces can be persisted for arbitrary amounts of time which also means that they can be resurrected using namespace file handles. That makes no sense whatsoever. The problem is of course excarabted on large systems with a huge number of cpus. To handle this nicely we introduce an active reference count which tracks (1)-(3). This is easy to do as all of these things are already managed centrally. Only (1)-(3) will count towards the active reference count and only namespaces which are active may be opened via namespace file handles. The problem is that namespaces may be resurrected. Which means that they can become temporarily inactive and will be reactived some time later. Currently the only example of this is the SIOGCSKNS socket ioctl. The SIOCGSKNS ioctl allows to open a network namespace file descriptor based on a socket file descriptor. If a socket is tied to a network namespace that subsequently becomes inactive but that socket is persisted by another process in another network namespace (e.g., via SCM_RIGHTS of pidfd_getfd()) then the SIOCGSKNS ioctl will resurrect this network namespace. So calls to open_related_ns() and open_namespace() will end up resurrecting the corresponding namespace tree. Note that the active reference count does not regulate the lifetime of the namespace itself. This is still done by the normal reference count. The active reference count can only be elevated if the regular reference count is elevated. The active reference count also doesn't regulate the presence of a namespace on the namespace trees. It only regulates its visiblity to namespace file handles (and in later patches to listns()). A namespace remains on the namespace trees from creation until its actual destruction. This will allow the kernel to always reach any namespace trivially and it will also enable subsystems like bpf to walk the namespace lists on the system for tracing or general introspection purposes. Note that different namespaces have different visibility lifetimes on current kernels. While most namespace are immediately released when the last task using them exits, the user- and pid namespace are persisted and thus both remain accessible via /proc//ns/. The user namespace lifetime is aliged with struct cred and is only released through exit_creds(). However, it becomes inaccessible to userspace once the last task using it is reaped, i.e., when release_task() is called and all proc entries are flushed. Similarly, the pid namespace is also visible until the last task using it has been reaped and the associated pid numbers are freed. The active reference counts of the user- and pid namespace are decremented once the task is reaped. Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20251029-work-namespace-nstree-listns-v4-11-2e6f823ebdc0@kernel.org Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner

nsfs: raise SB_I_NODEV and SB_I_NOEXEC

2025-10-31T09:16:24+00:00

There's zero need for nsfs to allow device nodes or execution. Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20251029-work-namespace-nstree-listns-v4-5-2e6f823ebdc0@kernel.org Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner