Re: [PATCH v2 10/32] signal/vm86_32: Properly send SIGSEGV when the vm86 state cannot be saved.

Eric W. Biederman
2021-10-25T21:28:44Z

Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> writes:

> On Mon, Oct 25, 2021 at 1:54 PM Eric W. Biederman <ebiederm@xmission.com> wrote:
>>
>> Update save_v86_state to always complete all of it's work except
>> possibly some of the copies to userspace even if save_v86_state takes
>> a fault. This ensures that the kernel is always in a sane state, even
>> if userspace has done something silly.
>
> Well, honestly, with this change, you might as well replace the
> force_sigsegv() with just a plain "force_sig()", and make it something
> the process can catch.

The trouble is I don't think there is enough information made available
for user space to do anything with the SIGSEGV. My memory is that
applications like dosemu very much have a SIGSEGV handler.

So I think if it ever happened it could be quite confusing. Not to
mention the pr_alert message.

But I guess if a test is written like you suggest we can include enough
information for someone to make sense of things.

> The only thing that "force_sigsgv()" does is to make SIGSEGV
> uncatchable. In contrast, a plain "force_sig()" just means that it
> can't be ignored - but it can be caught, and it is fatal only when not
> caught.
>
> And with the "always complete the non-vm86 state restore" part change,
> there's really no reason for it to not be caught.
>
> Of course, the other case (where we have no state information for the
> "enter vm86 mode" case) is still fatal, and is a "this should never
> happen". But the "cannot write to the vm86 save state" thing isn't
> technically fatal.
>
> It should even be possible to write a test for it: passing a read-only
> pointer to the vm86() system call. The vm86 entry will work (because
> it only reads the vm86 state from it), but then at vm86 exit, writing
> the state back will fail.
>
> Anybody?

I am enthusiastic about writing a test, but I will plod in that
direction just so I can get this sorted out.

Eric