[PATCH] um: virtio: Replace zero-length array with flexible-array

[PATCH] um: virtio: Replace zero-length array with flexible-array

[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]

sizeof(flexible-array-member) triggers a warning because flexible array
members have incomplete type[1]. There are some instances of code in
which the sizeof operator is being incorrectly/erroneously applied to
zero-length arrays and the result is zero. Such instances may be hiding
some bugs. So, this work (flexible-array member conversions) will also
help to get completely rid of those sorts of issues.

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 <gustavoars@kernel.org>
---
 arch/um/drivers/vector_kern.h |    2 +-
 arch/um/drivers/vhost_user.h  |    2 +-
 2 files changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/arch/um/drivers/vector_kern.h b/arch/um/drivers/vector_kern.h
index d0159082faf0..8fff93a75a92 100644
--- a/arch/um/drivers/vector_kern.h
+++ b/arch/um/drivers/vector_kern.h
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ struct vector_private {
 	struct vector_estats estats;
 	struct sock_fprog *bpf;
 
-	char user[0];
+	char user[];
 };
 
 extern int build_transport_data(struct vector_private *vp);
diff --git a/arch/um/drivers/vhost_user.h b/arch/um/drivers/vhost_user.h
index 6c71b6005177..6f147cd3c9f7 100644
--- a/arch/um/drivers/vhost_user.h
+++ b/arch/um/drivers/vhost_user.h
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ struct vhost_user_config {
 	u32 offset;
 	u32 size;
 	u32 flags;
-	u8 payload[0]; /* Variable length */
+	u8 payload[]; /* Variable length */
 } __packed;
 
 struct vhost_user_vring_state {


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[PATCH] um: virtio: Replace zero-length array with flexible-array

[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]

sizeof(flexible-array-member) triggers a warning because flexible array
members have incomplete type[1]. There are some instances of code in
which the sizeof operator is being incorrectly/erroneously applied to
zero-length arrays and the result is zero. Such instances may be hiding
some bugs. So, this work (flexible-array member conversions) will also
help to get completely rid of those sorts of issues.

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 <gustavoars@kernel.org>
---
 arch/um/drivers/vector_kern.h |    2 +-
 arch/um/drivers/vhost_user.h  |    2 +-
 2 files changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/arch/um/drivers/vector_kern.h b/arch/um/drivers/vector_kern.h
index d0159082faf0..8fff93a75a92 100644
--- a/arch/um/drivers/vector_kern.h
+++ b/arch/um/drivers/vector_kern.h
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ struct vector_private {
 	struct vector_estats estats;
 	struct sock_fprog *bpf;
 
-	char user[0];
+	char user[];
 };
 
 extern int build_transport_data(struct vector_private *vp);
diff --git a/arch/um/drivers/vhost_user.h b/arch/um/drivers/vhost_user.h
index 6c71b6005177..6f147cd3c9f7 100644
--- a/arch/um/drivers/vhost_user.h
+++ b/arch/um/drivers/vhost_user.h
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ struct vhost_user_config {
 	u32 offset;
 	u32 size;
 	u32 flags;
-	u8 payload[0]; /* Variable length */
+	u8 payload[]; /* Variable length */
 } __packed;
 
 struct vhost_user_vring_state {