Re: [PATCH bpf-next v5 08/11] bpf: Reject register-pair returns when the subprog BTF is unreliable

[Yonghong Song <yonghong.song@linux.dev>]

On 8/13/26 8:02 PM, sashiko-bot@kernel.org wrote:
> Thank you for your contribution! Sashiko AI review found 1 potential issue(s) to consider:
>
> Pre-existing issues:
> - [High] push_callback_call() incorrectly passes helper arguments for BTF validation, tainting callback subprograms as unreliable.
> --
>
> --- Patch [8]: [PATCH bpf-next v5 08/11] bpf: Reject register-pair returns when the subprog BTF is unreliable ---
> commit c1362d6d7ccc6806c96ffe9fc78804a2b8b6f1b9
> Author: Yonghong Song <yonghong.song@linux.dev>
>
> bpf: Reject register-pair returns when the subprog BTF is unreliable
>
> This patch rejects return values larger than 8 bytes as soon as the
> subprogram's BTF prototype is marked unreliable. It adds
> subprog_ret_pair_unreliable() and uses it in check_func_call() to
> prevent tracking R2 based on a discarded signature.
>
>> diff --git a/kernel/bpf/verifier.c b/kernel/bpf/verifier.c
>> index b23be0fa95af4..0ffb3bed1649e 100644
>> --- a/kernel/bpf/verifier.c
>> +++ b/kernel/bpf/verifier.c
> [ ... ]
>
>> @@ -9527,6 +9544,12 @@ static int check_func_call(struct bpf_verifier_env *env, struct bpf_insn *insn,
>>   		return 0;
>>   	}
>>   
>> +	if (subprog_ret_pair_unreliable(env, subprog)) {
>> +		verbose(env, "Func#%d ('%s') returns >8 bytes, which requires reliable BTF\n",
>> +			subprog, subprog_name(env, subprog));
>> +		return -EINVAL;
>> +	}
> [Severity: High]
> This is a pre-existing issue, but will this new check incorrectly reject
> valid BPF programs because of how push_callback_call() marks subprograms
> as unreliable?
>
> Looking at push_callback_call():
>
>      caller = state->frame[state->curframe];
>      err = btf_check_subprog_call(env, subprog, caller->regs);
>
> It passes the caller's registers (which contain the helper arguments, e.g.,
> the PTR_TO_FUNC for bpf_loop) instead of the actual arguments the callback
> will receive. Because these arguments don't match the callback's prototype,
> btf_check_subprog_call() fails, sets the unreliable flag to true on the
> subprogram, and returns -EINVAL.
>
> push_callback_call() ignores this error, leaving the callback permanently
> tainted as unreliable.
>
> If a callback subprogram returns >8 bytes, won't it be incorrectly rejected
> here if it is also called directly elsewhere in the program, since the
> unreliability flag was set mistakenly?

Yes, let us remove this patch as the above unreliable rejection may actually
reject legal prog's.