From: Samuel Wu <wusamuel@google.com>
To: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>,
Shuah Khan <skhan@linuxfoundation.org>,
Randy Dunlap <rdunlap@infradead.org>,
Luis Chamberlain <mcgrof@kernel.org>,
Petr Pavlu <petr.pavlu@suse.com>,
Daniel Gomez <da.gomez@kernel.org>,
Sami Tolvanen <samitolvanen@google.com>,
Aaron Tomlin <atomlin@atomlin.com>,
Alexander Viro <viro@zeniv.linux.org.uk>,
Christian Brauner <brauner@kernel.org>, Jan Kara <jack@suse.cz>,
Alexei Starovoitov <ast@kernel.org>,
Daniel Borkmann <daniel@iogearbox.net>,
Andrii Nakryiko <andrii@kernel.org>,
Eduard Zingerman <eddyz87@gmail.com>,
Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi <memxor@gmail.com>,
Martin KaFai Lau <martin.lau@linux.dev>,
Song Liu <song@kernel.org>,
Yonghong Song <yonghong.song@linux.dev>,
Jiri Olsa <jolsa@kernel.org>,
Emil Tsalapatis <emil@etsalapatis.com>,
Ihor Solodrai <ihor.solodrai@linux.dev>,
Nathan Chancellor <nathan@kernel.org>,
Nick Desaulniers <ndesaulniers@google.com>,
Bill Wendling <morbo@google.com>,
Justin Stitt <justinstitt@google.com>
Cc: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>,
Petr Mladek <pmladek@suse.com>,
David Laight <david.laight.linux@gmail.com>,
Samuel Wu <wusamuel@google.com>,
kernel-team@android.com, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org,
linux-fsdevel@vger.kernel.org, linux-doc@vger.kernel.org,
linux-modules@vger.kernel.org, bpf@vger.kernel.org,
linux-kselftest@vger.kernel.org, llvm@lists.linux.dev
Subject: [PATCH bpf-next v3 3/9] kallsyms: Add KALLSYMS_QUERY_BY_NAME ioctl to /proc/kallsyms
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2026 14:12:48 -0800 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20261113221248.3535369-14-wusamuel@google.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20261113221248.3535369-11-wusamuel@google.com>
To find a few kernel symbols, users such as libbpf parse all of
/proc/kallsyms, which is several MB and text based.
Add the KALLSYMS_QUERY_BY_NAME ioctl. It finds a symbol by exact name or
by prefix in the entries of /proc/kallsyms, with vmlinux matches first,
and optionally in a single module with module_filter, or all modules by
default. Each call returns one match and its position; pos + 1 continues
the search, until -ENOENT. The output returns the address, the size, and
optional name and module buffers. A buffer that is too small gives
-ENAMETOOLONG and the required size.
vmlinux symbols are found with a lower-bound binary search on the sorted
names, module symbols in one pass, and ftrace, BPF, and kprobe symbols
with the per-index getters that read() uses.
For versioning, the struct carries their sizes, so the command does not
change when the struct grows.
The command uses 'f' 0x30; register 0x30 in ioctl-number.rst.
Suggested-by: Andrii Nakryiko <andrii@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Samuel Wu <wusamuel@google.com>
---
.../userspace-api/ioctl/ioctl-number.rst | 1 +
include/uapi/linux/fs.h | 43 +++
kernel/kallsyms.c | 319 ++++++++++++++++++
3 files changed, 363 insertions(+)
diff --git a/Documentation/userspace-api/ioctl/ioctl-number.rst b/Documentation/userspace-api/ioctl/ioctl-number.rst
index fbc3537fc9ee..f5dbb597257a 100644
--- a/Documentation/userspace-api/ioctl/ioctl-number.rst
+++ b/Documentation/userspace-api/ioctl/ioctl-number.rst
@@ -250,6 +250,7 @@ Code Seq# Include File Comments
'f' 00-0F fs/ocfs2/ocfs2_fs.h conflict!
'f' 10-11 linux/fs.h conflict! procfs ioctls (PROCFS_IOCTL_MAGIC)
'f' 13-27 linux/fscrypt.h
+'f' 30 linux/fs.h procfs kallsyms ioctls (PROCFS_IOCTL_MAGIC)
'f' 81-8F linux/fsverity.h
'g' 00-0F linux/usb/gadgetfs.h
'g' 20-2F linux/usb/g_printer.h
diff --git a/include/uapi/linux/fs.h b/include/uapi/linux/fs.h
index a46c33692aa2..987569dcdbea 100644
--- a/include/uapi/linux/fs.h
+++ b/include/uapi/linux/fs.h
@@ -674,6 +674,49 @@ struct procmap_query {
__u64 build_id_addr; /* in */
};
+/* /proc/kallsyms ioctls. -EPERM if the opener cannot see kernel addresses. */
+#define KALLSYMS_QUERY_BY_NAME _IOC(_IOC_READ | _IOC_WRITE, PROCFS_IOCTL_MAGIC, 48, 0)
+
+enum kallsyms_query_flags {
+ /* Match query_name as a prefix. */
+ KALLSYMS_QUERY_NAME_PREFIX = 0x01,
+};
+
+/*
+ * Symbol returned by a query. Each buffer pointer and its *_len must both be
+ * set or both be 0. When set, the kernel sets *_len to the string size
+ * including the NUL, even if the buffer is too small and the ioctl fails with
+ * -ENAMETOOLONG. The module name of a vmlinux symbol is "".
+ */
+struct kallsyms_query_sym {
+ __u64 sym_addr; /* out - start address */
+ __u64 sym_size; /* out - bytes to next symbol, 0 if unknown */
+ __u64 sym_name; /* in - user ptr to name buffer, or 0 */
+ __u64 sym_name_len; /* in/out - buffer size / string size */
+ __u64 sym_module; /* in - user ptr to module name buffer, or 0 */
+ __u64 sym_module_len; /* in/out - buffer size / string size */
+};
+
+/*
+ * Find a symbol by exact name, or by prefix with KALLSYMS_QUERY_NAME_PREFIX,
+ * in the entries of /proc/kallsyms, except undefined module symbols. vmlinux
+ * matches come first. A module_filter of "vmlinux" selects the core kernel.
+ *
+ * Each call returns one match and sets pos to its position, even on
+ * -ENAMETOOLONG. Start with pos 0 and use pos + 1 for the next match, until
+ * -ENOENT. Use pos only with the same query. Matches can be skipped or
+ * repeated if symbols change between calls.
+ */
+struct kallsyms_query_by_name {
+ __u64 size; /* in - sizeof(struct kallsyms_query_by_name) */
+ __u64 query_flags; /* in - enum kallsyms_query_flags */
+ __u64 query_name; /* in - user ptr to name or prefix */
+ __u64 module_filter; /* in - user ptr to loaded module name, or 0 */
+ __u64 pos; /* in/out - start position / match position */
+ __u64 sym; /* in - user ptr to struct kallsyms_query_sym */
+ __u64 sym_struct_size; /* in - sizeof(struct kallsyms_query_sym) */
+};
+
/*
* Shutdown the filesystem.
*/
diff --git a/kernel/kallsyms.c b/kernel/kallsyms.c
index aec2f06858af..29a9da04d8a3 100644
--- a/kernel/kallsyms.c
+++ b/kernel/kallsyms.c
@@ -31,6 +31,8 @@
#include <linux/kernel.h>
#include <linux/bsearch.h>
#include <linux/btf_ids.h>
+#include <linux/uaccess.h>
+#include <linux/cleanup.h>
#include "kallsyms_internal.h"
@@ -922,11 +924,328 @@ const char *kdb_walk_kallsyms(loff_t *pos)
}
#endif /* CONFIG_KGDB_KDB */
+struct kallsyms_sym_match {
+ unsigned long addr;
+ unsigned long size;
+ char name[KSYM_NAME_LEN];
+ char modname[MODULE_NAME_LEN];
+};
+
+static long kallsyms_copy_str_from_user(char *dst, size_t size, u64 usrc)
+{
+ long len = strncpy_from_user(dst, u64_to_user_ptr(usrc), size);
+
+ if (len < 0)
+ return len;
+ if (len == 0)
+ return -EINVAL;
+ if (len == size)
+ return -ENOENT;
+ return len;
+}
+
+static int kallsyms_copy_struct_from_user(void *kdst, size_t ksize,
+ size_t min_size,
+ const void __user *usrc, u64 usize)
+{
+ if (usize > PAGE_SIZE)
+ return -E2BIG;
+ if (usize < min_size)
+ return -EINVAL;
+ return copy_struct_from_user(kdst, ksize, usrc, usize);
+}
+
+static int kallsyms_copy_query_from_user(void *karg, size_t ksize,
+ size_t min_size,
+ const void __user *uarg)
+{
+ u64 usize;
+
+ if (copy_from_user(&usize, uarg, sizeof(usize)))
+ return -EFAULT;
+ return kallsyms_copy_struct_from_user(karg, ksize, min_size, uarg,
+ usize);
+}
+
+static int kallsyms_copy_sym_from_user(struct kallsyms_query_sym *ksym,
+ u64 usym, u64 usym_size)
+{
+ size_t min_size = offsetofend(struct kallsyms_query_sym,
+ sym_module_len);
+ int err = kallsyms_copy_struct_from_user(ksym, sizeof(*ksym), min_size,
+ u64_to_user_ptr(usym),
+ usym_size);
+ if (err)
+ return err;
+ if (!!ksym->sym_name != !!ksym->sym_name_len ||
+ !!ksym->sym_module != !!ksym->sym_module_len)
+ return -EINVAL;
+ return 0;
+}
+
+static int kallsyms_copy_str_to_user(u64 ubuf, u64 *ulen, const char *str)
+{
+ u64 buf_len = *ulen;
+ size_t len;
+
+ if (!ubuf)
+ return 0;
+
+ len = strlen(str) + 1;
+ *ulen = len;
+ if (buf_len < len)
+ return -ENAMETOOLONG;
+ return copy_to_user(u64_to_user_ptr(ubuf), str, len) ? -EFAULT : 0;
+}
+
+/* On -ENAMETOOLONG, *ksym is still copied, to return the required sizes. */
+static int kallsyms_copy_sym_to_user(u64 usym, u64 usym_size,
+ struct kallsyms_query_sym *ksym,
+ const struct kallsyms_sym_match *m)
+{
+ size_t copy_sz = min_t(size_t, usym_size, sizeof(*ksym));
+ bool too_long = false;
+ int err;
+
+ ksym->sym_addr = m->addr;
+ ksym->sym_size = m->size;
+ err = kallsyms_copy_str_to_user(ksym->sym_name, &ksym->sym_name_len,
+ m->name);
+ if (err == -EFAULT)
+ return -EFAULT;
+ too_long |= (err == -ENAMETOOLONG);
+
+ err = kallsyms_copy_str_to_user(ksym->sym_module, &ksym->sym_module_len,
+ m->modname);
+ if (err == -EFAULT)
+ return -EFAULT;
+ too_long |= (err == -ENAMETOOLONG);
+
+ if (copy_to_user(u64_to_user_ptr(usym), ksym, copy_sz))
+ return -EFAULT;
+
+ return too_long ? -ENAMETOOLONG : 0;
+}
+
+/* pos = (sec << 32) | idx. Sections start at 1, so pos 0 means start. */
+enum kallsyms_query_sec {
+ KSYM_SEC_VMLINUX = 1,
+ KSYM_SEC_MODULE,
+ KSYM_SEC_FTRACE,
+ KSYM_SEC_BPF,
+ KSYM_SEC_KPROBE,
+ KSYM_SEC_MAX,
+};
+
+static int kallsyms_find_name_vmlinux(unsigned int *idx,
+ const struct kallsyms_name_query *q,
+ struct kallsyms_sym_match *m)
+{
+ unsigned int high = kallsyms_num_syms;
+ unsigned int low = *idx;
+ unsigned int seq;
+
+ /* pos + 1 usually points at the next match, so try it first. */
+ if (low > 0 && low < high) {
+ int cmp;
+
+ seq = get_symbol_seq(low);
+ kallsyms_expand_symbol(get_symbol_offset(seq), m->name,
+ KSYM_NAME_LEN);
+ cmp = strncmp(m->name, q->name, q->cmp_len);
+ if (!cmp)
+ goto found;
+ if (cmp > 0)
+ return -ENOENT;
+ low++;
+ }
+
+ while (low < high) {
+ unsigned int mid = low + (high - low) / 2;
+
+ seq = get_symbol_seq(mid);
+ kallsyms_expand_symbol(get_symbol_offset(seq), m->name,
+ KSYM_NAME_LEN);
+ if (strncmp(m->name, q->name, q->cmp_len) < 0)
+ low = mid + 1;
+ else
+ high = mid;
+ }
+ if (low >= kallsyms_num_syms)
+ return -ENOENT;
+
+ seq = get_symbol_seq(low);
+ kallsyms_expand_symbol(get_symbol_offset(seq), m->name, KSYM_NAME_LEN);
+ if (strncmp(m->name, q->name, q->cmp_len))
+ return -ENOENT;
+
+found:
+ m->addr = kallsyms_sym_address(seq);
+ m->modname[0] = '\0';
+ *idx = low;
+ return 0;
+}
+
+static int kallsyms_find_name_other(unsigned int sec, unsigned int *idx,
+ const struct kallsyms_name_query *q,
+ struct kallsyms_sym_match *m)
+{
+ int exported;
+ char type;
+ int err;
+
+ if (sec == KSYM_SEC_BPF)
+ strscpy(m->modname, "bpf", MODULE_NAME_LEN);
+ else if (sec == KSYM_SEC_KPROBE)
+ strscpy(m->modname, "__builtin__kprobes", MODULE_NAME_LEN);
+
+ do {
+ if (sec == KSYM_SEC_BPF)
+ err = bpf_get_kallsym(*idx, &m->addr, &type, m->name);
+ else if (sec == KSYM_SEC_KPROBE)
+ err = kprobe_get_kallsym(*idx, &m->addr, &type, m->name);
+ else
+ err = ftrace_mod_get_kallsym(*idx, &m->addr, &type,
+ m->name, m->modname,
+ &exported);
+ if (!err && !strncmp(m->name, q->name, q->cmp_len))
+ return 0;
+ (*idx)++;
+ } while (!err);
+
+ return -ENOENT;
+}
+
+/* Find the first match at or after *@pos, and set *@pos to its position. */
+static int kallsyms_find_name(const struct kallsyms_name_query *q,
+ unsigned int first_sec, unsigned int end_sec,
+ struct kallsyms_sym_match *m, u64 *pos)
+{
+ unsigned int sec = *pos >> 32;
+ unsigned int idx = (u32)*pos;
+ unsigned long size;
+ unsigned long offset;
+ int err;
+
+ if (sec < first_sec) {
+ sec = first_sec;
+ idx = 0;
+ }
+
+ for (; sec < end_sec; sec++, idx = 0) {
+ if (sec == KSYM_SEC_VMLINUX)
+ err = kallsyms_find_name_vmlinux(&idx, q, m);
+ else if (sec == KSYM_SEC_MODULE)
+ err = module_kallsyms_find_name(&idx, q, &m->addr,
+ m->name, m->modname);
+ else
+ err = kallsyms_find_name_other(sec, &idx, q, m);
+ if (!err) {
+ /* A lookup that lands inside another symbol gives no size */
+ m->size = 0;
+ if (kallsyms_lookup_size_offset(m->addr, &size, &offset) &&
+ !offset)
+ m->size = size;
+ *pos = ((u64)sec << 32) | idx;
+ return 0;
+ }
+ }
+ return -ENOENT;
+}
+
+struct kallsyms_query_bufs {
+ char query_name[KSYM_NAME_LEN];
+ char module_filter[MODULE_NAME_LEN];
+ struct kallsyms_sym_match m;
+};
+
+static int do_kallsyms_query_by_name(struct kallsyms_query_by_name __user *uarg)
+{
+ unsigned int first_sec = KSYM_SEC_VMLINUX;
+ unsigned int end_sec = KSYM_SEC_MAX;
+ struct kallsyms_query_by_name karg;
+ struct kallsyms_name_query q = {};
+ struct kallsyms_query_sym ksym;
+ long len;
+ int err;
+
+ err = kallsyms_copy_query_from_user(&karg, sizeof(karg),
+ offsetofend(struct kallsyms_query_by_name,
+ sym_struct_size),
+ uarg);
+ if (err)
+ return err;
+
+ if (karg.query_flags & ~KALLSYMS_QUERY_NAME_PREFIX)
+ return -EINVAL;
+
+ err = kallsyms_copy_sym_from_user(&ksym, karg.sym, karg.sym_struct_size);
+ if (err)
+ return err;
+
+ struct kallsyms_query_bufs *bufs __free(kfree) = kmalloc_obj(*bufs);
+ if (!bufs)
+ return -ENOMEM;
+
+ len = kallsyms_copy_str_from_user(bufs->query_name,
+ sizeof(bufs->query_name),
+ karg.query_name);
+ if (len < 0)
+ return len;
+
+ q.name = bufs->query_name;
+ q.cmp_len = len;
+ if (!(karg.query_flags & KALLSYMS_QUERY_NAME_PREFIX))
+ q.cmp_len++;
+
+ if (karg.module_filter) {
+ len = kallsyms_copy_str_from_user(bufs->module_filter,
+ sizeof(bufs->module_filter),
+ karg.module_filter);
+ if (len < 0)
+ return len;
+ if (!strcmp(bufs->module_filter, "vmlinux")) {
+ end_sec = KSYM_SEC_VMLINUX + 1;
+ } else {
+ first_sec = KSYM_SEC_MODULE;
+ end_sec = KSYM_SEC_MODULE + 1;
+ q.modname = bufs->module_filter;
+ }
+ }
+
+ err = kallsyms_find_name(&q, first_sec, end_sec, &bufs->m, &karg.pos);
+ if (err)
+ return err;
+
+ if (copy_to_user(&uarg->pos, &karg.pos, sizeof(karg.pos)))
+ return -EFAULT;
+ return kallsyms_copy_sym_to_user(karg.sym, karg.sym_struct_size, &ksym,
+ &bufs->m);
+}
+
+static long kallsyms_ioctl(struct file *file, unsigned int cmd, unsigned long arg)
+{
+ struct seq_file *m = file->private_data;
+ struct kallsym_iter *iter = m->private;
+ void __user *uarg = (void __user *)arg;
+
+ switch (cmd) {
+ case KALLSYMS_QUERY_BY_NAME:
+ return iter->show_value ? do_kallsyms_query_by_name(uarg) : -EPERM;
+ default:
+ return -ENOIOCTLCMD;
+ }
+}
+
static const struct proc_ops kallsyms_proc_ops = {
.proc_open = kallsyms_open,
.proc_read = seq_read,
.proc_lseek = seq_lseek,
.proc_release = seq_release_private,
+ .proc_ioctl = kallsyms_ioctl,
+#ifdef CONFIG_COMPAT
+ .proc_compat_ioctl = compat_ptr_ioctl,
+#endif
};
static int __init kallsyms_init(void)
--
2.56.0.679.gc527c65306-goog
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-11-13 22:14 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 12+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-11-13 22:12 [PATCH bpf-next v3 0/9] kallsyms: Add KALLSYMS_QUERY_BY_NAME and KALLSYMS_QUERY_BY_ADDR ioctls Samuel Wu
2026-11-13 22:12 ` [PATCH bpf-next v3 1/9] Documentation: ioctl-number: Add PROCFS_IOCTL_MAGIC range 0x10-0x11 Samuel Wu
2026-11-14 2:22 ` Randy Dunlap
2026-11-13 22:12 ` [PATCH bpf-next v3 2/9] module: Add module_kallsyms_find_name() Samuel Wu
2026-11-13 22:12 ` Samuel Wu [this message]
2026-11-13 22:55 ` [PATCH bpf-next v3 3/9] kallsyms: Add KALLSYMS_QUERY_BY_NAME ioctl to /proc/kallsyms bot+bpf-ci
2026-11-13 22:12 ` [PATCH bpf-next v3 4/9] kallsyms: Add KALLSYMS_QUERY_BY_ADDR " Samuel Wu
2026-11-13 22:12 ` [PATCH bpf-next v3 5/9] docs/procfs: Document KALLSYMS_QUERY_* ioctls on /proc/kallsyms Samuel Wu
2026-11-13 22:12 ` [PATCH bpf-next v3 6/9] tools: Copy KALLSYMS_QUERY_* definitions to linux/fs.h Samuel Wu
2026-11-13 22:12 ` [PATCH bpf-next v3 7/9] selftests/proc: Add KALLSYMS_QUERY_* ioctl tests Samuel Wu
2026-11-13 22:12 ` [PATCH bpf-next v3 8/9] libbpf: Resolve typeless ksyms via KALLSYMS_QUERY_BY_NAME ioctl Samuel Wu
2026-11-13 22:12 ` [PATCH bpf-next v3 9/9] selftests/bpf: Test typeless module ksym resolution Samuel Wu
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