[PATCH][next] net/mlx5: IPsec, Replace zero-length array with flexible-array member

[PATCH][next] net/mlx5: IPsec, Replace zero-length array with flexible-array member

[Gustavo A. R. Silva]

The current codebase makes use of the zero-length array language
extension to the C90 standard, but the preferred mechanism to declare
variable-length types such as these ones is a flexible array member[1][2],
introduced in C99:

struct foo {
        int stuff;
        struct boo array[];
};

By making use of the mechanism above, we will get a compiler warning
in case the flexible array does not occur last in the structure, which
will help us prevent some kind of undefined behavior bugs from being
inadvertently introduced[3] to the codebase from now on.

Also, notice that, dynamic memory allocations won't be affected by
this change:

"Flexible array members have incomplete type, and so the sizeof operator
may not be applied. As a quirk of the original implementation of
zero-length arrays, sizeof evaluates to zero."[1]

This issue was found with the help of Coccinelle.

[1] https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Zero-Length.html
[2] https://github.com/KSPP/linux/issues/21
[3] commit 76497732932f ("cxgb3/l2t: Fix undefined behaviour")

Signed-off-by: Gustavo A. R. Silva <gustavo@embeddedor.com>
---
 drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/fpga/ipsec.c | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/fpga/ipsec.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/fpga/ipsec.c
index 4c61d25d2e88..b794888fa3ba 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/fpga/ipsec.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/fpga/ipsec.c
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ struct mlx5_fpga_ipsec_cmd_context {
 	struct completion complete;
 	struct mlx5_fpga_device *dev;
 	struct list_head list; /* Item in pending_cmds */
-	u8 command[0];
+	u8 command[];
 };
 
 struct mlx5_fpga_esp_xfrm;
-- 
2.25.0

Re: [PATCH][next] net/mlx5: IPsec, Replace zero-length array with flexible-array member

[Leon Romanovsky]

On Mon, Feb 17, 2020 at 01:54:34PM -0600, Gustavo A. R. Silva wrote:
> The current codebase makes use of the zero-length array language
> extension to the C90 standard, but the preferred mechanism to declare
> variable-length types such as these ones is a flexible array member[1][2],
> introduced in C99:
>
> struct foo {
>         int stuff;
>         struct boo array[];
> };
>
> By making use of the mechanism above, we will get a compiler warning
> in case the flexible array does not occur last in the structure, which
> will help us prevent some kind of undefined behavior bugs from being
> inadvertently introduced[3] to the codebase from now on.
>
> Also, notice that, dynamic memory allocations won't be affected by
> this change:
>
> "Flexible array members have incomplete type, and so the sizeof operator
> may not be applied. As a quirk of the original implementation of
> zero-length arrays, sizeof evaluates to zero."[1]
>
> This issue was found with the help of Coccinelle.
>
> [1] https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Zero-Length.html
> [2] https://github.com/KSPP/linux/issues/21
> [3] commit 76497732932f ("cxgb3/l2t: Fix undefined behaviour")
>
> Signed-off-by: Gustavo A. R. Silva <gustavo@embeddedor.com>
> ---
>  drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/fpga/ipsec.c | 2 +-
>  1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

Can you please do one patch for whole mlx5,
instead of many identical patches?

Thanks

Re: [PATCH][next] net/mlx5: IPsec, Replace zero-length array with flexible-array member

[Gustavo A. R. Silva]

On 2/18/20 10:35, Leon Romanovsky wrote:
> On Mon, Feb 17, 2020 at 01:54:34PM -0600, Gustavo A. R. Silva wrote:
>> The current codebase makes use of the zero-length array language
>> extension to the C90 standard, but the preferred mechanism to declare
>> variable-length types such as these ones is a flexible array member[1][2],
>> introduced in C99:
>>
>> struct foo {
>>         int stuff;
>>         struct boo array[];
>> };
>>
>> By making use of the mechanism above, we will get a compiler warning
>> in case the flexible array does not occur last in the structure, which
>> will help us prevent some kind of undefined behavior bugs from being
>> inadvertently introduced[3] to the codebase from now on.
>>
>> Also, notice that, dynamic memory allocations won't be affected by
>> this change:
>>
>> "Flexible array members have incomplete type, and so the sizeof operator
>> may not be applied. As a quirk of the original implementation of
>> zero-length arrays, sizeof evaluates to zero."[1]
>>
>> This issue was found with the help of Coccinelle.
>>
>> [1] https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Zero-Length.html
>> [2] https://github.com/KSPP/linux/issues/21
>> [3] commit 76497732932f ("cxgb3/l2t: Fix undefined behaviour")
>>
>> Signed-off-by: Gustavo A. R. Silva <gustavo@embeddedor.com>
>> ---
>>  drivers/net/ethernet/mellanox/mlx5/core/fpga/ipsec.c | 2 +-
>>  1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)
> 
> Can you please do one patch for whole mlx5,
> instead of many identical patches?
> 

Sure thing. I can do that.

Thanks
--
Gustavo