From: Kevin Brodsky <kevin.brodsky@arm.com>
To: linux-hardening@vger.kernel.org
Cc: "Kevin Brodsky" <kevin.brodsky@arm.com>,
"Andrew Morton" <akpm@linux-foundation.org>,
"Andy Lutomirski" <luto@kernel.org>,
"Catalin Marinas" <catalin.marinas@arm.com>,
"Dave Hansen" <dave.hansen@linux.intel.com>,
"David Hildenbrand (Arm)" <david@kernel.org>,
"Jann Horn" <jannh@google.com>, "Jeff Xu" <jeffxu@chromium.org>,
"Joey Gouly" <joey.gouly@arm.com>, "Kees Cook" <kees@kernel.org>,
"Linu Cherian" <linu.cherian@arm.com>,
"Linus Walleij" <linusw@kernel.org>,
"Marc Zyngier" <maz@kernel.org>,
"Mark Brown" <broonie@kernel.org>,
"Matthew Wilcox" <willy@infradead.org>,
"Maxwell Bland" <mbland@motorola.com>,
"Mike Rapoport (IBM)" <rppt@kernel.org>,
"Peter Zijlstra" <peterz@infradead.org>,
"Pierre Langlois" <pierre.langlois@arm.com>,
"Pierre-Clément Tosi" <ptosi@google.com>,
"Quentin Perret" <qperret@google.com>,
"Rick Edgecombe" <rick.p.edgecombe@intel.com>,
"Ryan Roberts" <ryan.roberts@arm.com>,
"Vlastimil Babka" <vbabka@kernel.org>,
"Will Deacon" <will@kernel.org>,
"Yang Shi" <yang@os.amperecomputing.com>,
"Yeoreum Yun" <yeoreum.yun@arm.com>,
linux-arm-kernel@lists.infradead.org, linux-mm@kvack.org,
x86@kernel.org, "Ira Weiny" <iweiny@kernel.org>,
"Lorenzo Stoakes" <ljs@kernel.org>,
"Thomas Gleixner" <tglx@kernel.org>
Subject: [PATCH RFC v9 11/25] mm: kpkeys: Introduce kpkeys_hardened_pgtables feature
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2026 15:08:53 +0100 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260818-kpkeys-v9-11-743ad31b2c8f@arm.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260818-kpkeys-v9-0-743ad31b2c8f@arm.com>
kpkeys_hardened_pgtables is a hardening feature based on kpkeys. It
aims to prevent the corruption of page tables by: 1. mapping all
page table pages, both kernel and user, with a privileged pkey
(KPKEYS_PKEY_PGTABLES), and 2. granting write access to that pkey
only when running at in a privileged kpkeys context
(KPKEYS_CTX_PGTABLES). This patch introduces basic infrastructure;
the implementation of both aspects will follow.
The feature is exposed as CONFIG_KPKEYS_HARDENED_PGTABLES; it
requires explicit architecture opt-in by selecting
ARCH_HAS_KPKEYS_HARDENED_PGTABLES, since much of the page table
handling is arch-specific.
Because this feature relies on kpkeys being supported and modifies
attributes of the linear map, it must be inactive on boot.
kpkeys_hardened_pgtables_init() enables it by toggling a static key;
this function must be called by supported architectures in
mem_init(), before any call to pagetable_alloc() is made.
Supported architectures must also provide
arch_supports_kpkeys_early() in <asm/kpkeys.h>. This will be used
during early boot to detect whether kpkeys_hardened_pgtables is
going to be enabled (e.g. to decide how to allocate early page
tables).
Signed-off-by: Kevin Brodsky <kevin.brodsky@arm.com>
---
include/linux/kpkeys.h | 37 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
include/linux/kpkeys_types.h | 5 +++++
mm/Kconfig | 3 +++
mm/Makefile | 1 +
mm/kpkeys_hardened_pgtables.c | 16 ++++++++++++++++
security/Kconfig.hardening | 12 ++++++++++++
6 files changed, 74 insertions(+)
diff --git a/include/linux/kpkeys.h b/include/linux/kpkeys.h
index eac522f55214..23ae4ed512f5 100644
--- a/include/linux/kpkeys.h
+++ b/include/linux/kpkeys.h
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
#include <linux/bug.h>
#include <linux/cleanup.h>
+#include <linux/jump_label.h>
#include <linux/kpkeys_types.h>
/**
@@ -101,4 +102,40 @@ static inline bool kpkeys_supported(void)
#endif /* CONFIG_ARCH_HAS_KPKEYS */
+#ifdef CONFIG_KPKEYS_HARDENED_PGTABLES
+
+DECLARE_STATIC_KEY_FALSE(kpkeys_hardened_pgtables_key);
+
+static inline bool kpkeys_hardened_pgtables_enabled(void)
+{
+ return static_branch_unlikely(&kpkeys_hardened_pgtables_key);
+}
+
+static inline bool kpkeys_hardened_pgtables_early_enabled(void)
+{
+ return arch_supports_kpkeys_early();
+}
+
+/*
+ * Should be called from mem_init(): as soon as the buddy allocator becomes
+ * available and before any call to pagetable_alloc().
+ */
+void kpkeys_hardened_pgtables_init(void);
+
+#else /* CONFIG_KPKEYS_HARDENED_PGTABLES */
+
+static inline bool kpkeys_hardened_pgtables_enabled(void)
+{
+ return false;
+}
+
+static inline bool kpkeys_hardened_pgtables_early_enabled(void)
+{
+ return false;
+}
+
+static inline void kpkeys_hardened_pgtables_init(void) {}
+
+#endif /* CONFIG_KPKEYS_HARDENED_PGTABLES */
+
#endif /* _LINUX_KPKEYS_H */
diff --git a/include/linux/kpkeys_types.h b/include/linux/kpkeys_types.h
index 9de59092e9c3..09f15a9565cf 100644
--- a/include/linux/kpkeys_types.h
+++ b/include/linux/kpkeys_types.h
@@ -8,10 +8,15 @@
#include <asm/kpkeys_types.h>
#endif
+#ifndef KPKEYS_PKEY_PGTABLES
+#define KPKEYS_PKEY_PGTABLES 1
+#endif
+
#if defined(CONFIG_ARCH_HAS_KPKEYS) && !defined(__ASSEMBLY__)
enum kpkeys_ctx {
KPKEYS_CTX_DEFAULT = 0,
+ KPKEYS_CTX_PGTABLES,
KPKEYS_CTX_COUNT,
};
diff --git a/mm/Kconfig b/mm/Kconfig
index 55e6763d5792..21bd3e550de8 100644
--- a/mm/Kconfig
+++ b/mm/Kconfig
@@ -1283,6 +1283,9 @@ config ARCH_HAS_PKEYS
bool
config ARCH_HAS_KPKEYS
bool
+config ARCH_HAS_KPKEYS_HARDENED_PGTABLES
+ bool
+ depends on ARCH_HAS_KPKEYS
config ARCH_USES_PG_ARCH_2
bool
diff --git a/mm/Makefile b/mm/Makefile
index eff9f9e7e061..35982b6efb56 100644
--- a/mm/Makefile
+++ b/mm/Makefile
@@ -147,3 +147,4 @@ obj-$(CONFIG_SHRINKER_DEBUG) += shrinker_debug.o
obj-$(CONFIG_EXECMEM) += execmem.o
obj-$(CONFIG_TMPFS_QUOTA) += shmem_quota.o
obj-$(CONFIG_LAZY_MMU_MODE_KUNIT_TEST) += tests/lazy_mmu_mode_kunit.o
+obj-$(CONFIG_KPKEYS_HARDENED_PGTABLES) += kpkeys_hardened_pgtables.o
diff --git a/mm/kpkeys_hardened_pgtables.c b/mm/kpkeys_hardened_pgtables.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..4c654e0cf585
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mm/kpkeys_hardened_pgtables.c
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
+#include <linux/kpkeys.h>
+#include <linux/mm.h>
+
+#include <kunit/visibility.h>
+
+__ro_after_init DEFINE_STATIC_KEY_FALSE(kpkeys_hardened_pgtables_key);
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_IF_KUNIT(kpkeys_hardened_pgtables_key);
+
+void __init kpkeys_hardened_pgtables_init(void)
+{
+ if (!kpkeys_supported())
+ return;
+
+ static_branch_enable(&kpkeys_hardened_pgtables_key);
+}
diff --git a/security/Kconfig.hardening b/security/Kconfig.hardening
index 6923036e1a2f..bb75b580b7f1 100644
--- a/security/Kconfig.hardening
+++ b/security/Kconfig.hardening
@@ -271,6 +271,18 @@ config BUG_ON_DATA_CORRUPTION
If unsure, say N.
+config KPKEYS_HARDENED_PGTABLES
+ bool "Harden page tables using kernel pkeys"
+ depends on ARCH_HAS_KPKEYS_HARDENED_PGTABLES
+ help
+ This option makes all page tables mostly read-only by
+ allocating them with a non-default protection key (pkey) and
+ only enabling write access to that pkey in routines that are
+ expected to write to page table entries.
+
+ This option has no effect if the system does not support
+ kernel pkeys.
+
endmenu
config CC_HAS_RANDSTRUCT
--
2.51.2
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-08-18 14:12 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 71+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-08-18 14:08 [PATCH RFC v9 00/25] pkeys-based page table hardening Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 01/25] mm: Introduce kpkeys Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-27 18:00 ` David Hildenbrand (Arm)
2026-08-31 15:25 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-07 10:54 ` Mike Rapoport
2026-09-07 15:49 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-08 6:52 ` Mike Rapoport
2026-09-08 7:57 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 02/25] set_memory: Introduce set_memory_pkey() stub Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-01 14:33 ` Linu Cherian
2026-09-03 16:41 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-07 13:36 ` Linu Cherian
2026-09-07 15:57 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 03/25] arm64: mm: Enable overlays for all EL1 indirect permissions Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-01 14:39 ` Linu Cherian
2026-09-03 16:41 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-01 14:41 ` Linu Cherian
2026-09-03 16:43 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 04/25] arm64: Introduce por_elx_set_pkey_perms() helper Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-01 14:42 ` Linu Cherian
2026-09-03 16:43 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 05/25] arm64: Implement asm/kpkeys.h using POE Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-01 14:48 ` Linu Cherian
2026-09-03 16:44 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 06/25] arm64: set_memory: Implement set_memory_pkey() Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 07/25] arm64: Context-switch POR_EL1 Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-03 5:58 ` Linu Cherian
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 08/25] arm64: Initialize POR_EL1 register on cpu_resume() Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-03 5:56 ` Linu Cherian
2026-09-03 16:45 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 09/25] arm64: Enable kpkeys Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-03 9:14 ` Linu Cherian
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 10/25] memblock: Move INIT_MEMBLOCK_* macros to header Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:08 ` Kevin Brodsky [this message]
2026-09-07 10:54 ` [PATCH RFC v9 11/25] mm: kpkeys: Introduce kpkeys_hardened_pgtables feature Mike Rapoport
2026-09-07 15:50 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 12/25] mm: kpkeys: Protect regular page tables Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-07 10:54 ` Mike Rapoport
2026-09-07 15:52 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-08 7:33 ` Mike Rapoport
2026-09-08 10:11 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-09 17:25 ` Mike Rapoport
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 13/25] mm: kpkeys: Introduce early page table allocator Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-27 18:08 ` David Hildenbrand (Arm)
2026-08-31 15:28 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-07 16:05 ` David Hildenbrand (Arm)
2026-08-27 18:17 ` Dave Hansen
2026-08-31 15:30 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 14/25] mm: kpkeys: Protect vmemmap page tables Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-31 15:33 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 15/25] mm: kpkeys: Introduce hook for protecting static " Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 16/25] arm64: kpkeys: Implement arch_supports_kpkeys_early() Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:08 ` [PATCH RFC v9 17/25] arm64: kpkeys: Support KPKEYS_CTX_PGTABLES Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:09 ` [PATCH RFC v9 18/25] arm64: kpkeys: Ensure the linear map can be modified Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:09 ` [PATCH RFC v9 19/25] arm64: kpkeys: Protect early page tables Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:09 ` [PATCH RFC v9 20/25] arm64: mm: Map kernel image alias of init_pg_dir read-only Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:09 ` [PATCH RFC v9 21/25] arm64: kpkeys: Protect init_pg_dir Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:09 ` [PATCH RFC v9 22/25] arm64: kpkeys: Guard page table writes Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:09 ` [PATCH RFC v9 23/25] arm64: kpkeys: Batch KPKEYS_CTX_PGTABLES switches Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:09 ` [PATCH RFC v9 24/25] arm64: kpkeys: Enable kpkeys_hardened_pgtables support Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-18 14:09 ` [PATCH RFC v9 25/25] mm: Add basic tests for kpkeys_hardened_pgtables Kevin Brodsky
2026-08-27 17:24 ` [PATCH RFC v9 00/25] pkeys-based page table hardening Yeoreum Yun
2026-08-31 15:35 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-01 14:24 ` Linu Cherian
2026-09-03 16:47 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-07 12:19 ` Linu Cherian
2026-09-08 7:56 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-08 16:04 ` Linu Cherian
2026-09-10 8:30 ` Kevin Brodsky
2026-09-01 15:02 ` Linu Cherian
2026-09-01 15:13 ` Linu Cherian
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