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From: Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi <memxor@gmail.com>
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>,
	Emil Tsalapatis <emil@etsalapatis.com>,
	Ihor Solodrai <ihor.solodrai@linux.dev>,
	Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>,
	kkd@meta.com, kernel-team@meta.com
Subject: [PATCH bpf-next v5 05/16] bpf: Add the __arena and __nullable BTF type tags
Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2026 15:21:47 +0200	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <20261019132203.3034698-6-memxor@gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20261019132203.3034698-1-memxor@gmail.com>

Kernel structures increasingly want to publish pointers into a BPF arena
to the BPF programs they are shared with, and some pointer members that
reach programs as trusted are legitimately NULL at times. Neither can be
expressed today: a pointer member reaches the program as an ordinary
kernel pointer, and sched_ext resorts to a plain u64 holding a
pre-translated arena address that programs cast before use.

Define __arena and __nullable as BTF type tags, the way __user, __rcu
and __percpu already are, so that tagged members survive into vmlinux
and module BTF and the verifier can act on them. To kernel code and to
sparse the qualifiers are empty: the pointers are ordinary kernel
pointers. The verifier side follows in the next patches.

The tags live in a header of their own, bpf_compiler_types.h, rather
than in compiler_types.h. They mean something to the BPF verifier only,
and only the few structures shared with BPF programs that want to
publish such a pointer carry them, so the code that declares such a
structure includes the header and the rest of the kernel never sees the
qualifiers.

Signed-off-by: Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi <memxor@gmail.com>
---
 include/linux/bpf_compiler_types.h | 21 +++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 21 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 include/linux/bpf_compiler_types.h

diff --git a/include/linux/bpf_compiler_types.h b/include/linux/bpf_compiler_types.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..5c9e71acfdac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/linux/bpf_compiler_types.h
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+/* SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 */
+#ifndef __LINUX_BPF_COMPILER_TYPES_H
+#define __LINUX_BPF_COMPILER_TYPES_H
+
+#include <linux/compiler_types.h>
+
+/*
+ * Qualifiers for the BPF verifier rather than address spaces: __arena marks a
+ * pointer into a BPF arena, __nullable a pointer that may be NULL. They reach
+ * BPF programs as BTF type tags on the members of kernel structs shared with
+ * them; to kernel code and to sparse the pointers are ordinary.
+ */
+#ifdef __CHECKER__
+# define __arena
+# define __nullable
+#else
+# define __arena	BTF_TYPE_TAG(arena)
+# define __nullable	BTF_TYPE_TAG(nullable)
+#endif
+
+#endif /* __LINUX_BPF_COMPILER_TYPES_H */
-- 
2.53.0-Meta


  parent reply	other threads:[~2026-10-19 13:22 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 24+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2026-10-19 13:21 [PATCH bpf-next v5 00/16] Fix some arena paper cuts Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 13:21 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 01/16] bpf: Check exclusive maps once the program digest is final Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 13:48   ` sashiko-bot
2026-10-19 14:10     ` Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 13:21 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 02/16] selftests/bpf: Bind an exclusive map through a continuous fd_array Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 13:21 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 03/16] libbpf: Keep the fd_array fill index out of bpf_program__clone() Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 13:21 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 04/16] selftests/bpf: Clone a program that calls a module kfunc Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 13:29   ` sashiko-bot
2026-10-19 13:21 ` Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi [this message]
2026-10-19 13:21 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 06/16] bpf: Recognize __nullable on pointer members of kernel structs Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 13:21 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 07/16] bpf: Turn loads of __arena pointer members into arena pointers Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 14:03   ` bot+bpf-ci
2026-10-19 13:21 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 08/16] selftests/bpf: Test __nullable pointer members Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 14:03   ` bot+bpf-ci
2026-10-19 13:21 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 09/16] selftests/bpf: Test __arena " Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 14:03   ` bot+bpf-ci
2026-10-19 13:21 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 10/16] selftests/bpf: Move the no-arena tests out of objects with an arena map Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 13:21 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 11/16] libbpf: Bind the arena of an object to every program in it Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 13:21 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 12/16] selftests/bpf: Test arena binding by libbpf Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 13:21 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 13/16] bpf: Set up the arena base only in functions that use it Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 13:21 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 14/16] libbpf: Render the arena type tag with its address space Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 13:21 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 15/16] selftests/bpf: Test the address space rendering of the arena type tag Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 13:21 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 16/16] selftests/bpf: Test an arena kfunc argument passed from a subprogram Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi
2026-10-19 19:50 ` [PATCH bpf-next v5 00/16] Fix some arena paper cuts patchwork-bot+netdevbpf

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