From: Yonghong Song <yonghong.song@linux.dev>
To: bpf@vger.kernel.org
Cc: Alexei Starovoitov <ast@kernel.org>,
Andrii Nakryiko <andrii@kernel.org>,
Daniel Borkmann <daniel@iogearbox.net>,
Eduard Zingerman <eddyz87@gmail.com>,
kernel-team@fb.com
Subject: [PATCH bpf-next v2 09/13] bpf: Enable aggregate return types up to 16 bytes
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 2026 13:36:08 -0700 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260804203608.1875444-1-yonghong.song@linux.dev> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260804203522.1869244-1-yonghong.song@linux.dev>
Relax btf_distill_func_proto() to accept a by-value struct or union that
the R0:R2 convention added in earlier patches can carry:
- a struct or union larger than 8 and up to 16 bytes, returned in the
R0:R2 register pair, matching what LLVM emits for the BPF target;
- a struct or union up to 8 bytes, returned in R0 alone.
A >8 byte scalar (__int128) was already accepted and is unchanged.
Everything else stays rejected: a return type larger than 16 bytes, and any
type that __get_type_size() cannot return in registers at all (e.g. an
array), which it already reports as ret < 0.
btf_distill_func_proto() also builds the trampoline (fentry/fexit/fmod_ret)
and struct_ops function models, so relaxing it widens what those can attach
to. A >8 byte return stays rejected on every path that reads the target's
return value: commit c48796aa6c39 ("bpf: Reject >8 byte return values on
return-reading trampoline paths") covers fexit, fmod_ret and fsession plus
their _multi variants, and struct_ops, and an fentry-only trampoline never
sets BPF_TRAMP_F_CALL_ORIG so it does not touch the return value at all. A
struct or union of 8 bytes or less is newly accepted for those paths; its
single eightbyte is returned in R0 like any other scalar.
btf_validate_return_type() is relaxed as well, so that it accepts a
by-value struct or union up to 16 bytes in addition to void and scalars.
With btf_distill_func_proto() and btf_validate_return_type() relaxed, the
verifier, JIT, precision-backtracking and live-register support from the
earlier patches becomes reachable: this final patch enables <=16 byte
aggregate return values end to end.
Signed-off-by: Yonghong Song <yonghong.song@linux.dev>
---
include/linux/bpf_verifier.h | 2 +
kernel/bpf/btf.c | 44 ++++++++++++++++---
kernel/bpf/verifier.c | 6 +--
.../selftests/bpf/progs/exceptions_fail.c | 2 +-
4 files changed, 45 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
diff --git a/include/linux/bpf_verifier.h b/include/linux/bpf_verifier.h
index adb3f3019a98..7b36ff32301c 100644
--- a/include/linux/bpf_verifier.h
+++ b/include/linux/bpf_verifier.h
@@ -1444,6 +1444,8 @@ void bpf_fmt_stack_mask(char *buf, ssize_t buf_sz, u64 stack_mask);
bool bpf_subprog_is_global(const struct bpf_verifier_env *env, int subprog);
int bpf_get_kfunc_ret_size(const struct bpf_prog *prog, u32 func_id,
u16 btf_fd_idx, u8 *ret_size);
+bool __btf_type_is_scalar_struct(struct bpf_verifier_env *env, const struct btf *btf,
+ const struct btf_type *t, int rec);
int bpf_find_subprog(struct bpf_verifier_env *env, int off);
bool bpf_is_throw_kfunc(struct bpf_insn *insn);
diff --git a/kernel/bpf/btf.c b/kernel/bpf/btf.c
index 42414633cf26..28da02ea1e91 100644
--- a/kernel/bpf/btf.c
+++ b/kernel/bpf/btf.c
@@ -7572,7 +7572,12 @@ int btf_distill_func_proto(struct bpf_verifier_log *log,
return -EINVAL;
}
ret = __get_type_size(btf, func->type, &t);
- if (ret < 0 || btf_type_is_struct(t)) {
+ /*
+ * __get_type_size() already restricts a non-negative ret to void, a
+ * pointer, an int, an enum or a struct/union, so only the size is checked
+ * here.
+ */
+ if (ret < 0 || ret > 16) {
bpf_log(log,
"The function %s return type %s is unsupported.\n",
tname, btf_type_str(t));
@@ -7945,7 +7950,7 @@ static int btf_scan_type_tags(struct bpf_verifier_env *env,
/* Check whether the type is a valid return type. */
static int btf_validate_return_type(struct bpf_verifier_env *env, struct btf *btf,
- const struct btf_type *t, int subprog)
+ const struct btf_type *t, int subprog, bool is_global)
{
u32 tags = 0;
int err;
@@ -7968,6 +7973,35 @@ static int btf_validate_return_type(struct bpf_verifier_env *env, struct btf *bt
if (btf_type_is_void(t) || btf_type_is_int(t) || btf_is_any_enum(t))
return 0;
+ if (btf_type_is_struct(t) && t->size <= 16) {
+ /*
+ * A >8 byte struct/union is returned in the R0:R2 register pair.
+ * A global function is verified in isolation, so its caller models
+ * the return as an opaque R0:R2 scalar pair; it must therefore
+ * contain only scalars, otherwise a pointer field would be
+ * laundered into a scalar and escape provenance and reference
+ * tracking. That requirement is enforced here: do_check_common()
+ * propagates the error for global functions and for the main
+ * program.
+ *
+ * A local (static) function is verified inline and its R0:R2 are
+ * copied as precise register state (with the JIT forced on when
+ * the pair is consumed), so a pointer field stays tracked and needs
+ * no such restriction. Accepting it here is not by itself what
+ * makes it legal: btf_check_subprog_call() drops any error other
+ * than -EFAULT. What it avoids is needlessly marking the
+ * subprogram's BTF unreliable.
+ *
+ * The main program (subprog 0) takes the scalar-only path as well,
+ * but its return value is the program's exit code, so a >8 byte
+ * return is rejected separately at BPF_EXIT.
+ */
+ bool local_func = subprog && !is_global;
+
+ if (local_func || __btf_type_is_scalar_struct(env, btf, t, 0))
+ return 0;
+ }
+
return -EOPNOTSUPP;
}
@@ -8055,12 +8089,12 @@ int btf_prepare_func_args(struct bpf_verifier_env *env, int subprog)
return -EINVAL;
}
- err = btf_validate_return_type(env, btf, t, subprog);
+ err = btf_validate_return_type(env, btf, t, subprog, is_global);
if (err) {
if (is_global) {
bpf_log(log,
- "Global function %s() return value not void or scalar. "
- "Only those are supported.\n",
+ "Global function %s() has unsupported return type. "
+ "Only void, scalar, or a scalar-only struct/union up to 16 bytes is supported.\n",
tname);
}
return err;
diff --git a/kernel/bpf/verifier.c b/kernel/bpf/verifier.c
index 4bf4e855d0e3..2c0a9ec6f02e 100644
--- a/kernel/bpf/verifier.c
+++ b/kernel/bpf/verifier.c
@@ -11202,9 +11202,9 @@ static bool is_kfunc_arg_implicit(const struct bpf_call_arg_meta *meta, u32 arg_
}
/* Returns true if struct is composed of scalars, 4 levels of nesting allowed */
-static bool __btf_type_is_scalar_struct(struct bpf_verifier_env *env,
- const struct btf *btf,
- const struct btf_type *t, int rec)
+bool __btf_type_is_scalar_struct(struct bpf_verifier_env *env,
+ const struct btf *btf,
+ const struct btf_type *t, int rec)
{
const struct btf_type *member_type;
const struct btf_member *member;
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/progs/exceptions_fail.c b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/progs/exceptions_fail.c
index ac44d60e5066..9708efb93683 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/progs/exceptions_fail.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/progs/exceptions_fail.c
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ __noinline int exception_cb_ok_arg_small(int a)
SEC("?tc")
__exception_cb(exception_cb_bad_ret_type1)
-__failure __msg("Global function exception_cb_bad_ret_type1() return value not void or scalar.")
+__failure __msg("Only void, scalar, or a scalar-only struct/union up to 16 bytes is supported.")
int reject_exception_cb_type_1(struct __sk_buff *ctx)
{
bpf_throw(0);
--
2.53.0-Meta
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-08-04 20:36 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 19+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-08-04 20:35 [PATCH v2 00/13] bpf: Support aggregate return values up to 16 bytes Yonghong Song
2026-08-04 20:35 ` [PATCH bpf-next v2 01/13] bpf: Factor check_global_ret_scalar_reg() out of the global return check Yonghong Song
2026-08-04 20:35 ` [PATCH bpf-next v2 02/13] bpf: Add helpers to describe the R0:R2 return register pair Yonghong Song
2026-08-04 20:35 ` [PATCH bpf-next v2 03/13] bpf: Wire up JIT support for 16-byte kfunc returns Yonghong Song
2026-08-04 20:35 ` [PATCH bpf-next v2 04/13] bpf: Track R2 of register-pair returns in precision backtracking Yonghong Song
2026-08-04 20:35 ` [PATCH bpf-next v2 05/13] bpf: Account R2 of register-pair returns in live register analysis Yonghong Song
2026-08-04 21:14 ` sashiko-bot
2026-08-04 20:35 ` [PATCH bpf-next v2 06/13] bpf: Reject callbacks returning more than 8 bytes Yonghong Song
2026-08-04 21:54 ` bot+bpf-ci
2026-08-04 20:35 ` [PATCH bpf-next v2 07/13] bpf: Add verifier support for 16-byte returns in R0:R2 Yonghong Song
2026-08-04 20:52 ` sashiko-bot
2026-08-04 20:36 ` [PATCH bpf-next v2 08/13] bpf: Reject register-pair returns when the subprog BTF is unreliable Yonghong Song
2026-08-04 20:36 ` Yonghong Song [this message]
2026-08-04 20:36 ` [PATCH bpf-next v2 10/13] selftests/bpf: Add C tests for 16-byte returns in R0:R2 Yonghong Song
2026-08-04 20:47 ` sashiko-bot
2026-08-04 20:36 ` [PATCH bpf-next v2 11/13] selftests/bpf: Add inline-asm and subprog tests for R0:R2 returns Yonghong Song
2026-08-04 20:52 ` sashiko-bot
2026-08-04 20:36 ` [PATCH bpf-next v2 12/13] selftests/bpf: Add tests for callbacks returning more than 8 bytes Yonghong Song
2026-08-04 20:36 ` [PATCH bpf-next v2 13/13] Documentation/bpf: Document up to 16-byte kfunc return values in R0:R2 Yonghong Song
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