From: "Ahmed S. Darwish" <darwish.07@gmail.com>
To: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>
Cc: Casey Schaufler <casey@schaufler-ca.com>,
LKML <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>,
Stephen Smalley <sds@tycho.nsa.gov>,
James Morris <jmorris@namei.org>,
Eric Paris <eparis@parisplace.org>
Subject: Re: [PATCH BUGFIX -rc3] Smack: Don't register smackfs if we're not loaded
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 20:24:03 +0200 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20080304182403.GA9792@ubuntu> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <alpine.LFD.1.00.0803040920080.12253@woody.linux-foundation.org>
Hi Linus,
[Adding SELinux devs to CC list, please follow to the SELinux point.]
On Tue, Mar 04, 2008 at 09:21:19AM -0800, Linus Torvalds wrote:
>
>
> On Tue, 4 Mar 2008, Ahmed S. Darwish wrote:
> >
> > Smackfs initialization without an enabled Smack leads to
> > an early Oops that renders the system unusable.
>
> I really think this is bogus. Global enables like this are just wrong, and
> a sign that something else bad is going on.
>
> What is the oops? Why does it happen?
>
The problem occurs when Smack is built-in the kernel but not chosen
to register itself on boot. Smack was not chosen on boot cause either
security=AnotherLSM or security=NonExistentLSM.
In all cases, init_smk_fs() ,which registers smackfs, got called
cause it's an __initcall(init_smack_fs).
This include the cases where smack __was not__ chosen on boot.
Making smackfs mountable when Smack is not registered leads to:
1- an Oops by dereferncing the NULL security pointer: current->security (*)
2- Smackfs code got executed though naturally all the code assumes
that smack is already registered with the security system leading
to several problems.
3- The bogus idea of having a subsystem interface available when the
subsystem itself is not available!
So the global is used in init_smk_fs to not register smackfs if
Smack wasn't enabled on boot.
---- SELinux:
I think the SELinux folks faced the same problem too. In my first
local iteration of the security= parameter patch, I forgot to set
`selinux_disable = 1' if SELinux wasn't chosen on boot.
This led to dozen of SELinux Udev events and also led to selinuxfs
being available even though SELinux hooks _weren't_ registered.
Regards,
(*)
Could not save the oops cause it occured too early, but
it was like this:
__init_call
init_smk_fs(void)
smk_unlbl_ambient(NULL)
/*
* Here: current->security = NULL, cause SMACK initial setup
* was not executed.
*/
smack_to_secid(current->security)
strncmp(.., current->security, ..)
--
"Better to light a candle, than curse the darkness"
Ahmed S. Darwish
Homepage: http://darwish.07.googlepages.com
Blog: http://darwish-07.blogspot.com
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2008-03-04 18:27 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 16+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2008-03-04 13:10 [PATCH BUGFIX -rc3] Smack: Don't register smackfs if we're not loaded Ahmed S. Darwish
2008-03-04 13:58 ` [PATCH -rc3] Security: Introduce security= boot parameter Ahmed S. Darwish
2008-03-05 15:29 ` [PATCH -v7 " Ahmed S. Darwish
2008-03-05 16:33 ` Casey Schaufler
2008-03-05 16:55 ` Ahmed S. Darwish
2008-03-05 17:43 ` Casey Schaufler
2008-03-05 18:46 ` [PATCH -v7b " Ahmed S. Darwish
2008-03-04 17:21 ` [PATCH BUGFIX -rc3] Smack: Don't register smackfs if we're not loaded Linus Torvalds
2008-03-04 18:24 ` Ahmed S. Darwish [this message]
2008-03-04 16:42 Casey Schaufler
2008-03-04 17:45 Casey Schaufler
2008-03-04 18:12 ` Linus Torvalds
2008-03-05 0:58 ` James Morris
2008-03-05 12:12 ` Ahmed S. Darwish
2008-03-05 12:44 ` Ahmed S. Darwish
2008-03-05 12:51 ` Ahmed S. Darwish
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