From: Jan Polensky <japo@linux.ibm.com>
To: ltp@lists.linux.it
Subject: [LTP] [PATCH v5 1/1] thp04: Add ptrace mode and fix tracee stop synchronization
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2026 16:35:50 +0200 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260709143551.147268-1-japo@linux.ibm.com> (raw)
When CONFIG_PROC_MEM_FORCE_PTRACE=y is set, direct writes to
/proc/self/mem are disabled and require ptrace attachment. This patch
adds support for this configuration by implementing a ptrace-based test
mode that writes to /proc/pid/mem while the tracee is stopped.
The implementation uses a write-stop-continue cycle where the parent
writes to /proc/pid/mem while the tracee is stopped, then continues
the tracee to run madvise operations. This serialization is required
because /proc/pid/mem writes need PTRACE_MODE_ATTACH (tracee must be
in stopped state).
However, this serialization eliminates the concurrent execution window
that CVE-2017-1000405 exploits. The ptrace mode tests kernel handling
of writes to stopped processes, but does not test the actual race
condition between concurrent writes and MADV_DONTNEED operations.
Race condition fix:
- Add second checkpoint to prevent race between PTRACE_SEIZE and raise(SIGSTOP)
- Tracee now waits for parent to complete PTRACE_SEIZE before first raise(SIGSTOP)
- Prevents job-control stop (T state) that causes parent to hang in SAFE_WAITPID
- Parent signals tracee via TST_CHECKPOINT_WAKE(1) after PTRACE_SEIZE completes
The test now:
- Probes /proc/self/mem write capability at setup
- Falls back to ptrace mode if direct writes fail with EIO
- Respects proc_mem.force_override kernel cmdline parameter
- Documents the race limitation in both modes
- Supports re-invocation with -i N by spawning fresh tracee per run()
- Keeps lapi/mmap.h for MADV_* fallback definitions
- Fix documentation comment syntax from /* to /*\ for LTP catalog export
Tested-by: Jan Polensky <jpolensky@suse.com> on s390x with -i 2 and -i 5
Signed-off-by: Jan Polensky <japo@linux.ibm.com>
---
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260707160024.216347-1-japo@linux.ibm.com/
Changes since v4:
- Fix ptrace cleanup ownership by freeing only shared parent state.
- Add second checkpoint to serialize PTRACE_SEIZE before tracee SIGSTOP.
- Rename ptrace runner to reflect serialized execution.
- Clarify subject and commit text around tracee-stop synchronization.
- Fix LTP documentation block opening for catalog export.
Changes since v3:
- Move tracee lifecycle into run() to support re-invocation with -i N (Andrea Cervesato)
* Each run() invocation spawns fresh tracee via setup_ptrace_tracee()
* Tracee runs infinite loop, parent controls termination
* After 1000 iterations: PTRACE_DETACH → SIGKILL → SAFE_WAITPID
* cleanup() only handles error cases (uses tst_reap_children())
- Validated on s390x with -i 2 and -i 5 (both PASS)
Changes since v2:
- Added documentation clarifying that ptrace mode serialization eliminates the CVE race
- Fixed missing newline at end of file
- Addressed review feedback on race condition testing limitations
Changes since v1:
- detect proc_mem.force_override / kernel config instead of relying only on a probe write
- fix kernel parameter naming per review
- address feedback from Cyril Hrubis in previous thread
testcases/kernel/mem/thp/thp04.c | 393 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----
1 file changed, 340 insertions(+), 53 deletions(-)
diff --git a/testcases/kernel/mem/thp/thp04.c b/testcases/kernel/mem/thp/thp04.c
index 16d766c349b7..d7ce086dd4b8 100644
--- a/testcases/kernel/mem/thp/thp04.c
+++ b/testcases/kernel/mem/thp/thp04.c
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
* Copyright (c) 2019 SUSE LLC <mdoucha@suse.cz>
*/
-/*
+/*\
* CVE-2017-1000405
*
* Check for the Huge Dirty Cow vulnerability which allows a userspace process
@@ -21,27 +21,67 @@
* On old kernel such as 4.9, it has fixed the Dirty Cow bug but a similar check
* in huge_memory.c was forgotten. As a result, remote memory writes to ro regions
* of memory backed by transparent huge pages cause an infinite loop in the kernel.
- * While in this state the process is stil SIGKILLable, but little else works.
+ * While in this state the process is still SIGKILLable, but little else works.
* It is also a regression test about kernel
* commit 8310d48b125d("huge_memory.c: respect FOLL_FORCE/FOLL_COW for thp").
+ *
+ * Test Modes:
+ *
+ * PROC_MEM_ALWAYS: Direct writes to /proc/self/mem (default on most systems)
+ * - Child process writes to its own memory via /proc/self/mem
+ * - Concurrent execution: writes race with madvise() calls
+ * - Uses fuzzy-sync to maximize race window
+ *
+ * PROC_MEM_PTRACE: Ptrace-based writes to /proc/pid/mem (CONFIG_PROC_MEM_FORCE_PTRACE=y)
+ * - Parent writes to tracee's memory via /proc/pid/mem
+ * - Write-stop-continue cycle: tracee must be STOPPED for writes to succeed
+ * - Alternating execution: parent writes → tracee runs madvise → tracee stops → repeat
+ * - Required because /proc/pid/mem writes need PTRACE_MODE_ATTACH (stopped state)
+ * - Note: Serialization eliminates the race; tests write functionality, not the CVE race
*/
-#include "tst_test.h"
+#include <signal.h>
+#include <sys/ptrace.h>
+#include <sys/wait.h>
+
#include "lapi/mmap.h"
+
+/* PTRACE mode is serialized and therefore uses fewer iterations. */
+#define PTRACE_TEST_ITERATIONS 1000
+#include "tst_checkpoint.h"
#include "tst_fuzzy_sync.h"
+#include "tst_kconfig.h"
+#include "tst_test.h"
-static char *write_thp, *read_thp;
-static int *write_ptr, *read_ptr;
-static size_t thp_size;
-static int writefd = -1, readfd = -1;
-static struct tst_fzsync_pair fzsync_pair;
+enum proc_mem_mode {
+ PROC_MEM_ALWAYS,
+ PROC_MEM_PTRACE,
+ PROC_MEM_NEVER,
+};
-static void *alloc_zero_page(void *baseaddr)
+struct child_state {
+ char *write_thp;
+ char *read_thp;
+ int *write_ptr;
+ int *read_ptr;
+ size_t thp_size;
+ int writefd;
+ int readfd;
+ struct tst_fzsync_pair fzsync_pair;
+};
+
+static pid_t tracee_pid;
+/* Mode requested by kernel command line parsing. Do not mutate during probing. */
+static enum proc_mem_mode user_mode = PROC_MEM_ALWAYS;
+/* Runtime mode selected after checking whether direct /proc/self/mem writes work. */
+static enum proc_mem_mode effective_mode = PROC_MEM_ALWAYS;
+static struct child_state *child;
+
+static void *alloc_zero_page(void *baseaddr, size_t thp_size)
{
int i;
void *ret;
- /* Find aligned chunk of address space. MAP_HUGETLB doesn't work. */
for (i = 0; i < 16; i++, baseaddr += thp_size) {
ret = mmap(baseaddr, thp_size, PROT_READ,
MAP_PRIVATE | MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0);
@@ -67,47 +107,86 @@ static void *alloc_zero_page(void *baseaddr)
}
tst_brk(TBROK, "Cannot map huge zero page near the specified address");
- return NULL; /* Silence compiler warning */
+ return NULL;
}
-static void setup(void)
+static void free_child_state(void)
+{
+ if (child) {
+ SAFE_MUNMAP(child, sizeof(*child));
+ child = NULL;
+ }
+}
+
+static void child_cleanup(void)
+{
+ if (!child)
+ return;
+
+ if (effective_mode == PROC_MEM_ALWAYS)
+ tst_fzsync_pair_cleanup(&child->fzsync_pair);
+
+ if (child->readfd >= 0)
+ SAFE_CLOSE(child->readfd);
+
+ if (child->writefd >= 0)
+ SAFE_CLOSE(child->writefd);
+
+ if (child->read_thp)
+ SAFE_MUNMAP(child->read_thp, child->thp_size);
+
+ if (child->write_thp)
+ SAFE_MUNMAP(child->write_thp, child->thp_size);
+}
+
+static void child_setup(void)
{
size_t i;
- thp_size = tst_get_hugepage_size();
+ child->thp_size = tst_get_hugepage_size();
- if (!thp_size)
+ if (!child->thp_size)
tst_brk(TCONF, "Kernel does not support huge pages");
- write_thp = alloc_zero_page((void *)thp_size);
+ child->write_thp = alloc_zero_page((void *)child->thp_size,
+ child->thp_size);
- for (i = 0; i < thp_size; i++) {
- if (write_thp[i])
+ for (i = 0; i < child->thp_size; i++) {
+ if (child->write_thp[i])
tst_brk(TCONF, "Huge zero page is pre-polluted");
}
- /* leave a hole between read and write THP to prevent merge */
- read_thp = alloc_zero_page(write_thp + 2 * thp_size);
- write_ptr = (int *)(write_thp + thp_size - sizeof(int));
- read_ptr = (int *)(read_thp + thp_size - sizeof(int));
- writefd = SAFE_OPEN("/proc/self/mem", O_RDWR);
- readfd = SAFE_OPEN("/proc/self/mem", O_RDWR);
+ child->read_thp = alloc_zero_page(child->write_thp + 2 * child->thp_size,
+ child->thp_size);
+ /* write_ptr points to last int in write_thp page */
+ child->write_ptr = (int *)(child->write_thp + child->thp_size - sizeof(int));
+ /* read_ptr points to last int in read_thp page */
+ child->read_ptr = (int *)(child->read_thp + child->thp_size - sizeof(int));
- fzsync_pair.exec_loops = 100000;
- tst_fzsync_pair_init(&fzsync_pair);
+ /* In ptrace mode, parent opens /proc/<pid>/mem, not child */
+ if (effective_mode == PROC_MEM_ALWAYS) {
+ child->writefd = SAFE_OPEN("/proc/self/mem", O_RDWR);
+ child->readfd = SAFE_OPEN("/proc/self/mem", O_RDWR);
+ child->fzsync_pair.exec_loops = 100000;
+ tst_fzsync_pair_init(&child->fzsync_pair);
+ } else {
+ child->writefd = -1;
+ child->readfd = -1;
+ }
}
-static void *thread_run(void *arg)
+/* Preserve the original fuzzy-sync race: this is the actual CVE trigger mechanism. */
+static void *thread_run_always(void *arg)
{
int c;
- while (tst_fzsync_run_b(&fzsync_pair)) {
- tst_fzsync_start_race_b(&fzsync_pair);
- madvise(write_thp, thp_size, MADV_DONTNEED);
- memcpy(&c, write_ptr, sizeof(c));
- SAFE_LSEEK(readfd, (off_t)write_ptr, SEEK_SET);
- SAFE_READ(1, readfd, &c, sizeof(int));
- tst_fzsync_end_race_b(&fzsync_pair);
+ while (tst_fzsync_run_b(&child->fzsync_pair)) {
+ tst_fzsync_start_race_b(&child->fzsync_pair);
+ madvise(child->write_thp, child->thp_size, MADV_DONTNEED);
+ memcpy(&c, child->write_ptr, sizeof(c));
+ SAFE_LSEEK(child->readfd, (off_t)child->write_ptr, SEEK_SET);
+ SAFE_READ(1, child->readfd, &c, sizeof(int));
+ tst_fzsync_end_race_b(&child->fzsync_pair);
/* Wait for dirty page handling before next madvise() */
usleep(10);
}
@@ -115,24 +194,24 @@ static void *thread_run(void *arg)
return arg;
}
-static void run(void)
+static void run_proc_mem_always_race(void)
{
int c = 0xdeadbeef;
- tst_fzsync_pair_reset(&fzsync_pair, thread_run);
+ tst_fzsync_pair_reset(&child->fzsync_pair, thread_run_always);
- while (tst_fzsync_run_a(&fzsync_pair)) {
+ while (tst_fzsync_run_a(&child->fzsync_pair)) {
/* Write into the main huge page */
- tst_fzsync_start_race_a(&fzsync_pair);
- SAFE_LSEEK(writefd, (off_t)write_ptr, SEEK_SET);
- madvise(write_thp, thp_size, MADV_DONTNEED);
- SAFE_WRITE(SAFE_WRITE_ALL, writefd, &c, sizeof(int));
- tst_fzsync_end_race_a(&fzsync_pair);
+ tst_fzsync_start_race_a(&child->fzsync_pair);
+ SAFE_LSEEK(child->writefd, (off_t)child->write_ptr, SEEK_SET);
+ madvise(child->write_thp, child->thp_size, MADV_DONTNEED);
+ SAFE_WRITE(SAFE_WRITE_ALL, child->writefd, &c, sizeof(int));
+ tst_fzsync_end_race_a(&child->fzsync_pair);
/* Check the other huge zero page for pollution */
- madvise(read_thp, thp_size, MADV_DONTNEED);
+ madvise(child->read_thp, child->thp_size, MADV_DONTNEED);
- if (*read_ptr != 0) {
+ if (*child->read_ptr != 0) {
tst_res(TFAIL, "Huge zero page was polluted");
return;
}
@@ -141,20 +220,226 @@ static void run(void)
tst_res(TPASS, "Huge zero page is still clean");
}
+static void tracee_main(void)
+{
+ /* child struct is already mapped by parent before fork */
+ child->writefd = -1;
+ child->readfd = -1;
+
+ child_setup();
+
+ TST_CHECKPOINT_WAKE(0);
+
+ /* Wait for parent to complete PTRACE_SEIZE before first raise(SIGSTOP) */
+ TST_CHECKPOINT_WAIT(1);
+
+ /*
+ * Ptrace mode: writes and madvise are serialized (no race).
+ * Tests kernel handling of writes to stopped processes, not the CVE race.
+ * The stop/continue cycle is required because /proc/pid/mem writes need
+ * PTRACE_MODE_ATTACH (tracee must be in stopped state).
+ *
+ * Run indefinitely - parent controls termination via PTRACE_DETACH.
+ */
+ for (;;) {
+ madvise(child->write_thp, child->thp_size, MADV_DONTNEED);
+ madvise(child->read_thp, child->thp_size, MADV_DONTNEED);
+
+ if (*child->read_ptr != 0) {
+ tst_res(TFAIL, "Huge zero page was polluted");
+ child_cleanup();
+ exit(1);
+ }
+
+ /* Stop self to let parent write next iteration */
+ raise(SIGSTOP);
+ }
+}
+
+static void setup_ptrace_tracee(void)
+{
+ int status;
+
+ /* Test-loop state is initialized once and read-only afterwards. */
+ child = SAFE_MMAP(NULL, sizeof(*child), PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE,
+ MAP_SHARED | MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0);
+ memset(child, 0, sizeof(*child));
+ child->writefd = -1;
+ child->readfd = -1;
+
+ tracee_pid = SAFE_FORK();
+ if (!tracee_pid) {
+ tracee_main();
+ exit(0);
+ }
+
+ TST_CHECKPOINT_WAIT(0);
+
+ SAFE_PTRACE(PTRACE_SEIZE, tracee_pid, NULL, NULL);
+
+ /* Signal tracee that PTRACE_SEIZE completed - safe to raise(SIGSTOP) now */
+ TST_CHECKPOINT_WAKE(1);
+
+ /*
+ * Tracee will run first iteration (madvise + check) and self-stop with raise(SIGSTOP).
+ * Wait for that SIGSTOP - this is iteration 0.
+ */
+ SAFE_WAITPID(tracee_pid, &status, 0);
+
+ if (!WIFSTOPPED(status) || WSTOPSIG(status) != SIGSTOP)
+ tst_brk(TBROK, "Tracee did not self-stop with SIGSTOP: %s",
+ tst_strstatus(status));
+}
+
+static void setup(void)
+{
+ int test_val = 0;
+ int explicit_mode = 0;
+
+ static struct tst_kcmdline_var params[] = {
+ TST_KCMDLINE_INIT("proc_mem.force_override"),
+ };
+
+ tst_kcmdline_parse(params, ARRAY_SIZE(params));
+
+ if (params[0].found) {
+ explicit_mode = 1;
+
+ if (!strcmp(params[0].value, "always")) {
+ user_mode = PROC_MEM_ALWAYS;
+ } else if (!strcmp(params[0].value, "ptrace")) {
+ user_mode = PROC_MEM_PTRACE;
+ } else {
+ user_mode = PROC_MEM_NEVER;
+ tst_brk(TCONF,
+ "Writes to /proc/self/mem disabled on kernel cmdline");
+ }
+ }
+
+ effective_mode = user_mode;
+
+ /* Probe direct /proc/self/mem writes only if not explicitly set to ptrace */
+ if (!explicit_mode || user_mode == PROC_MEM_ALWAYS) {
+ child = SAFE_MMAP(NULL, sizeof(*child), PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE,
+ MAP_SHARED | MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0);
+ memset(child, 0, sizeof(*child));
+ child->writefd = -1;
+ child->readfd = -1;
+
+ child_setup();
+
+ TEST(lseek(child->writefd, (off_t)child->write_ptr, SEEK_SET));
+ if (TST_RET == -1)
+ tst_brk(TBROK | TTERRNO, "lseek on /proc/self/mem failed");
+
+ TEST(write(child->writefd, &test_val, sizeof(test_val)));
+
+ if (TST_RET == sizeof(test_val)) {
+ /* Direct write succeeded */
+ effective_mode = PROC_MEM_ALWAYS;
+ return;
+ }
+
+ if (TST_RET == -1 && TST_ERR != EIO)
+ tst_brk(TBROK | TTERRNO, "test write to /proc/self/mem failed");
+
+ /* /proc/self/mem write failed, cleanup and try ptrace mode */
+ child_cleanup();
+ SAFE_MUNMAP(child, sizeof(*child));
+ child = NULL;
+
+ if (explicit_mode && user_mode == PROC_MEM_ALWAYS)
+ tst_brk(TCONF,
+ "Writes to /proc/self/mem disabled despite always mode");
+
+ effective_mode = PROC_MEM_PTRACE;
+ }
+
+ /* Ptrace mode: tracee will be spawned in run() for each iteration */
+ if (effective_mode == PROC_MEM_PTRACE)
+ return;
+
+ tst_brk(TCONF, "Writes to /proc/self/mem disabled in kernel policy");
+}
+
+static void run_proc_mem_ptrace_serialized(void)
+{
+ char path[64];
+ int writefd;
+ int c = 0xdeadbeef;
+ int i;
+ int status;
+
+ snprintf(path, sizeof(path), "/proc/%d/mem", tracee_pid);
+ writefd = SAFE_OPEN(path, O_RDWR);
+
+ /*
+ * Tracee is already in SIGSTOP state from setup_ptrace_tracee().
+ * Write-stop-continue cycle: tracee is stopped, ready for writes.
+ */
+ for (i = 0; i < PTRACE_TEST_ITERATIONS; i++) {
+ /* Write to /proc/pid/mem while tracee is stopped */
+ SAFE_LSEEK(writefd, (off_t)child->write_ptr, SEEK_SET);
+ SAFE_WRITE(SAFE_WRITE_ALL, writefd, &c, sizeof(int));
+
+ /* Let tracee run one iteration (madvise + check + raise(SIGSTOP)) */
+ SAFE_PTRACE(PTRACE_CONT, tracee_pid, NULL, NULL);
+
+ /* Wait for tracee to stop itself with raise(SIGSTOP) */
+ SAFE_WAITPID(tracee_pid, &status, 0);
+
+ if (!WIFSTOPPED(status) || WSTOPSIG(status) != SIGSTOP)
+ tst_brk(TBROK, "Tracee did not stop with SIGSTOP: %s",
+ tst_strstatus(status));
+ }
+
+ SAFE_CLOSE(writefd);
+
+ /* Test passed - huge zero page remained clean through PTRACE_TEST_ITERATIONS iterations */
+ tst_res(TPASS, "Huge zero page is still clean");
+
+ /* Detach and terminate tracee */
+ SAFE_PTRACE(PTRACE_DETACH, tracee_pid, NULL, NULL);
+ SAFE_WAITPID(tracee_pid, &status, WNOHANG);
+ SAFE_KILL(tracee_pid, SIGKILL);
+ SAFE_WAITPID(tracee_pid, &status, 0);
+ tracee_pid = 0;
+
+ /* Tracee is fully reaped - free shared child state */
+ free_child_state();
+}
+
+static void run(void)
+{
+ if (effective_mode == PROC_MEM_ALWAYS) {
+ run_proc_mem_always_race();
+ } else if (effective_mode == PROC_MEM_PTRACE) {
+ /* Spawn fresh tracee for each iteration */
+ setup_ptrace_tracee();
+ run_proc_mem_ptrace_serialized();
+ } else {
+ tst_brk(TBROK, "Unknown proc mem mode");
+ }
+}
+
static void cleanup(void)
{
- tst_fzsync_pair_cleanup(&fzsync_pair);
+ if (tracee_pid > 0) {
+ /*
+ * Tracee is normally reaped in run_proc_mem_ptrace_serialized().
+ * Only kill if still alive (e.g., test aborted with TBROK).
+ */
+ if (kill(tracee_pid, 0) == 0) {
+ SAFE_KILL(tracee_pid, SIGKILL);
+ tst_reap_children();
+ }
+ tracee_pid = 0;
+ }
- if (readfd >= 0)
- SAFE_CLOSE(readfd);
+ if (effective_mode == PROC_MEM_ALWAYS)
+ child_cleanup();
- if (writefd >= 0)
- SAFE_CLOSE(writefd);
-
- if (read_thp)
- SAFE_MUNMAP(read_thp, thp_size);
- if (write_thp)
- SAFE_MUNMAP(write_thp, thp_size);
+ free_child_state();
}
static struct tst_test test = {
@@ -162,6 +447,8 @@ static struct tst_test test = {
.setup = setup,
.cleanup = cleanup,
.runtime = 150,
+ .forks_child = 1,
+ .needs_checkpoints = 1,
.tags = (const struct tst_tag[]) {
{"linux-git", "a8f97366452e"},
{"linux-git", "8310d48b125d"},
--
2.55.0
--
Mailing list info: https://lists.linux.it/listinfo/ltp
next reply other threads:[~2026-07-09 14:36 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 3+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-07-09 14:35 Jan Polensky [this message]
2026-07-09 16:37 ` [LTP] thp04: Add ptrace mode and fix tracee stop synchronization linuxtestproject.agent
2026-07-09 17:59 ` Jan Polensky
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