Re: [PATCH bpf 1/2] bpf: mark bpf_d_path() buffer as writeable

[Matt Bobrowski <mattbobrowski@google.com>]

On Mon, Dec 01, 2025 at 10:38:12PM +0800, Shuran Liu wrote:
> Commit 37cce22dbd51 ("bpf: verifier: Refactor helper access type
> tracking") started distinguishing read vs write accesses performed by
> helpers.
> 
> The second argument of bpf_d_path() is a pointer to a buffer that the
> helper fills with the resulting path. However, its prototype currently
> uses ARG_PTR_TO_MEM without MEM_WRITE.
> 
> Before 37cce22dbd51, helper accesses were conservatively treated as
> potential writes, so this mismatch did not cause issues. Since that
> commit, the verifier may incorrectly assume that the buffer contents
> are unchanged across the helper call and base its optimizations on this
> wrong assumption. This can lead to misbehaviour in BPF programs that
> read back the buffer, such as prefix comparisons on the returned path.
> 
> Fix this by marking the second argument of bpf_d_path() as
> ARG_PTR_TO_MEM | MEM_WRITE so that the verifier correctly models the
> write to the caller-provided buffer.
>
> Fixes: 37cce22dbd51 ("bpf: verifier: Refactor helper access type tracking")
> Co-developed-by: Zesen Liu <ftyg@live.com>
> Signed-off-by: Zesen Liu <ftyg@live.com>
> Co-developed-by: Peili Gao <gplhust955@gmail.com>
> Signed-off-by: Peili Gao <gplhust955@gmail.com>
> Co-developed-by: Haoran Ni <haoran.ni.cs@gmail.com>
> Signed-off-by: Haoran Ni <haoran.ni.cs@gmail.com>
> Signed-off-by: Shuran Liu <electronlsr@gmail.com>

Reviewed-by: Matt Bobrowski <mattbobrowski@google.com>

> ---
>  kernel/trace/bpf_trace.c | 2 +-
>  1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)
> 
> diff --git a/kernel/trace/bpf_trace.c b/kernel/trace/bpf_trace.c
> index 4f87c16d915a..49e0bdaa7a1b 100644
> --- a/kernel/trace/bpf_trace.c
> +++ b/kernel/trace/bpf_trace.c
> @@ -965,7 +965,7 @@ static const struct bpf_func_proto bpf_d_path_proto = {
>  	.ret_type	= RET_INTEGER,
>  	.arg1_type	= ARG_PTR_TO_BTF_ID,
>  	.arg1_btf_id	= &bpf_d_path_btf_ids[0],
> -	.arg2_type	= ARG_PTR_TO_MEM,
> +	.arg2_type	= ARG_PTR_TO_MEM | MEM_WRITE,
>  	.arg3_type	= ARG_CONST_SIZE_OR_ZERO,
>  	.allowed	= bpf_d_path_allowed,
>  };
> -- 
> 2.52.0
>