From: Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org>
To: patches@lists.linux.dev, stable@vger.kernel.org
Cc: Yeoreum Yun <yeoreum.yun@arm.com>,
Mimi Zohar <zohar@linux.ibm.com>,
Sudeep Holla <sudeep.holla@arm.com>,
Jarkko Sakkinen <jarkko@kernel.org>,
Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org>,
linux-arm-kernel@lists.infradead.org
Subject: [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 09/35] firmware: arm_ffa: Change initcall level of ffa_init() to rootfs_initcall
Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2025 17:17:09 -0400 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20250803211736.3545028-9-sashal@kernel.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20250803211736.3545028-1-sashal@kernel.org>
From: Yeoreum Yun <yeoreum.yun@arm.com>
[ Upstream commit 0e0546eabcd6c19765a8dbf5b5db3723e7b0ea75 ]
The Linux IMA (Integrity Measurement Architecture) subsystem used for
secure boot, file integrity, or remote attestation cannot be a loadable
module for few reasons listed below:
o Boot-Time Integrity: IMA’s main role is to measure and appraise files
before they are used. This includes measuring critical system files during
early boot (e.g., init, init scripts, login binaries). If IMA were a
module, it would be loaded too late to cover those.
o TPM Dependency: IMA integrates tightly with the TPM to record
measurements into PCRs. The TPM must be initialized early (ideally before
init_ima()), which aligns with IMA being built-in.
o Security Model: IMA is part of a Trusted Computing Base (TCB). Making it
a module would weaken the security model, as a potentially compromised
system could delay or tamper with its initialization.
IMA must be built-in to ensure it starts measuring from the earliest
possible point in boot which inturn implies TPM must be initialised and
ready to use before IMA.
To enable integration of tpm_event_log with the IMA subsystem, the TPM
drivers (tpm_crb and tpm_crb_ffa) also needs to be built-in. However with
FF-A driver also being initialised at device initcall level, it can lead to
an initialization order issue where:
- crb_acpi_driver_init() may run before tpm_crb_ffa_driver()_init and
ffa_init()
- As a result, probing the TPM device via CRB over FFA is deferred
- ima_init() (called as a late initcall) runs before deferred probe
completes, IMA fails to find the TPM and logs the below error:
| ima: No TPM chip found, activating TPM-bypass!
Eventually it fails to generate boot_aggregate with PCR values.
Because of the above stated dependency, the ffa driver needs to initialised
before tpm_crb_ffa module to ensure IMA finds the TPM successfully when
present.
[ jarkko: reformatted some of the paragraphs because they were going past
the 75 character boundary. ]
Signed-off-by: Yeoreum Yun <yeoreum.yun@arm.com>
Reviewed-by: Mimi Zohar <zohar@linux.ibm.com>
Reviewed-by: Sudeep Holla <sudeep.holla@arm.com>
Reviewed-by: Jarkko Sakkinen <jarkko@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Jarkko Sakkinen <jarkko@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Sasha Levin <sashal@kernel.org>
---
LLM Generated explanations, may be completely bogus:
**Backport Status: YES**
This commit should be backported to stable kernel trees for the
following reasons:
1. **Fixes a real bug affecting users**: The commit fixes a boot
initialization order issue where IMA (Integrity Measurement
Architecture) fails to find the TPM device when using TPM over FF-A
(Firmware Framework for Arm Architecture). Without this fix, systems
with TPM accessed via FF-A get the error "ima: No TPM chip found,
activating TPM-bypass!" and fail to generate boot_aggregate with PCR
values, breaking secure boot attestation.
2. **Small and contained change**: The code change is minimal - just
changing `module_init(ffa_init)` to `rootfs_initcall(ffa_init)`. This
is a one-line change that only affects initialization timing.
3. **No architectural changes**: This is purely an initialization order
fix that doesn't introduce new features or change the architecture of
the FF-A driver.
4. **Security-critical fix**: IMA is a security subsystem used for
secure boot, file integrity, and remote attestation. The bug prevents
proper boot measurements from being recorded in the TPM, which is a
critical security failure for systems relying on measured boot.
5. **Clear problem and solution**: The commit message clearly explains
the initialization order dependency between FF-A, TPM drivers
(tpm_crb_ffa), and IMA. The fix ensures FF-A initializes earlier (at
rootfs_initcall level) so the TPM is available when IMA initializes
(at late_initcall level).
7. **Multiple reviewers**: The patch has been reviewed by relevant
maintainers including Mimi Zohar (IMA maintainer), Sudeep Holla (FF-A
maintainer), and Jarkko Sakkinen (TPM maintainer).
The change meets all stable kernel criteria: it fixes an important bug,
has minimal risk of regression, and is confined to fixing the specific
initialization order issue without side effects.
drivers/firmware/arm_ffa/driver.c | 2 +-
1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)
diff --git a/drivers/firmware/arm_ffa/driver.c b/drivers/firmware/arm_ffa/driver.c
index 37eb2e6c2f9f..65bf1685350a 100644
--- a/drivers/firmware/arm_ffa/driver.c
+++ b/drivers/firmware/arm_ffa/driver.c
@@ -2059,7 +2059,7 @@ static int __init ffa_init(void)
kfree(drv_info);
return ret;
}
-module_init(ffa_init);
+rootfs_initcall(ffa_init);
static void __exit ffa_exit(void)
{
--
2.39.5
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2025-08-03 21:17 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 24+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2025-08-03 21:17 [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 01/35] hfs: fix general protection fault in hfs_find_init() Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 02/35] hfs: fix slab-out-of-bounds in hfs_bnode_read() Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 03/35] hfsplus: fix slab-out-of-bounds in hfsplus_bnode_read() Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 04/35] hfsplus: fix slab-out-of-bounds read in hfsplus_uni2asc() Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 05/35] hfsplus: don't use BUG_ON() in hfsplus_create_attributes_file() Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 06/35] arm64: Handle KCOV __init vs inline mismatches Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 07/35] tpm: Check for completion after timeout Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 08/35] tpm: tpm_crb_ffa: try to probe tpm_crb_ffa when it's built-in Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` Sasha Levin [this message]
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 10/35] btrfs: fix -ENOSPC mmap write failure on NOCOW files/extents Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 11/35] smb/server: avoid deadlock when linking with ReplaceIfExists Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 12/35] nvme-pci: try function level reset on init failure Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 13/35] dm-stripe: limit chunk_sectors to the stripe size Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 14/35] md/raid10: set chunk_sectors limit Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 15/35] nvme-tcp: log TLS handshake failures at error level Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 16/35] gfs2: Validate i_depth for exhash directories Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 17/35] gfs2: Set .migrate_folio in gfs2_{rgrp,meta}_aops Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 18/35] md: call del_gendisk in control path Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 19/35] loop: Avoid updating block size under exclusive owner Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 20/35] udf: Verify partition map count Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 21/35] drbd: add missing kref_get in handle_write_conflicts Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 22/35] hfs: fix not erasing deleted b-tree node issue Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 23/35] better lockdep annotations for simple_recursive_removal() Sasha Levin
2025-08-03 21:17 ` [PATCH AUTOSEL 6.16 24/35] ata: ahci: Disallow LPM policy control if not supported Sasha Levin
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