From: Josh Law <objecting@objecting.org>
To: Masami Hiramatsu <mhiramat@kernel.org>,
Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
Cc: Steven Rostedt <rostedt@goodmis.org>,
linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, linux-trace-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: [PATCH v7 00/15] bootconfig: fixes, cleanups, and modernization
Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2026 16:09:01 +0000 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260317160916.33576-1-objecting@objecting.org> (raw)
This series addresses a collection of issues found during a review of
lib/bootconfig.c, include/linux/bootconfig.h, and tools/bootconfig,
ranging from off-by-one errors and unchecked return values to coding
style, signedness/type cleanup, and API modernization.
Changes since v6:
- Dropped "add missing __init annotations to static helpers"
(v6 patch 1).
- Dropped "fix sign-compare in xbc_node_compose_key_after()"
(v6 patch 16).
- Updated "fix fd leak in load_xbc_file() on fstat failure" to save
errno before close(), since close() may overwrite it before the
error is returned (patch 10).
- Updated "fix signed comparison in xbc_node_get_data()" to use
size_t for the local offset variable, matching the warning and
xbc_data_size (patch 11).
- Updated "use signed type for offset in xbc_init_node()" to use a
signed long and explicitly check offset < 0 in WARN_ON(), making
the pre-base pointer case explicit instead of relying on unsigned
wraparound (patch 13).
Changes since v5:
- Folded typo fixes, kerneldoc blank line, and inconsistent bracing
patches (v5 02-05, 07) into a single patch (patch 1).
- Dropped "use __packed macro for struct xbc_node" (v5 11) and
"add __packed definition to tools/bootconfig shim header" (v5 14)
per review feedback.
- Added Fixes: tag to "check xbc_init_node() return in override
path" (patch 9).
- Added Fixes: tag to "fix fd leak in load_xbc_file() on fstat
failure" (patch 10).
Changes since v4:
- Added six follow-up patches found via static analysis with strict
GCC warnings (patches 11-15, plus the now-dropped v6 patch 16).
- Added "fix signed comparison in xbc_node_get_data()" to match the
local offset type to xbc_data_size and eliminate the sign-compare
warning (patch 11).
- Added "use size_t for strlen result in xbc_node_match_prefix()"
and "use size_t for key length tracking in xbc_verify_tree()" to
match strlen() return types (patches 12, 14).
- Added "use signed type for offset in xbc_init_node()" to make the
offset bounds check explicit and avoid sign-conversion warnings
from pointer subtraction (patch 13).
- Added "change xbc_node_index() return type to uint16_t" to match
the 16-bit storage fields and XBC_NODE_MAX bounds (patch 15).
Changes since v3:
- Added commit descriptions to all patches that were missing them.
- Added real-world impact statements to all bug-fix patches.
Changes since v2:
- Added "validate child node index in xbc_verify_tree()" (patch 8).
- Added "check xbc_init_node() return in override path" (patch 9).
- Added "fix fd leak in load_xbc_file() on fstat failure" (patch 10).
Changes since v1:
- Dropped "return empty string instead of NULL from
xbc_node_get_data()" -- returning "" causes false matches in
xbc_node_match_prefix() because strncmp(..., "", 0) always
returns 0.
Bug fixes:
- Fix off-by-one in xbc_verify_tree() where a next-node index equal
to xbc_node_num passes the bounds check despite being out of range;
a malformed bootconfig could cause an out-of-bounds read of kernel
memory during tree traversal at boot time (patch 3).
- Move xbc_node_num increment to after xbc_init_node() validation so
a failed init does not leave a partially initialized node counted
in the array; on a maximum-size bootconfig, the uninitialized node
could be traversed leading to unpredictable boot behavior (patch 4).
- Validate child node indices in xbc_verify_tree() alongside the
existing next-node check; without this, a corrupt bootconfig could
trigger an out-of-bounds memory access via an invalid child index
during tree traversal (patch 8).
- Check xbc_init_node() return value in the ':=' override path; a
bootconfig using ':=' near the 32KB data limit could silently
retain the old value, meaning a security-relevant boot parameter
override would not take effect (patch 9).
- Fix file descriptor leak in tools/bootconfig load_xbc_file() when
fstat() fails, and preserve errno across close() on that error path
(patch 10).
Correctness:
- Narrow the flag parameter in node creation helpers from uint32_t to
uint16_t to match the xbc_node.data field width (patch 2).
- Constify the xbc_calc_checksum() data parameter since it only reads
the buffer (patch 6).
- Fix strict-GCC signedness and narrowing warnings by aligning local
types with strlen() APIs and the node index/data storage in
xbc_node_get_data(), xbc_node_match_prefix(), xbc_init_node(),
xbc_verify_tree(), and xbc_node_index() (patches 11-15).
Cleanups:
- Fix comment typos, missing blank line before kerneldoc, and
inconsistent if/else bracing (patch 1).
- Drop redundant memset after memblock_alloc which already returns
zeroed memory; switch the userspace path from malloc to calloc to
match (patch 5).
Modernization:
- Replace the catch-all linux/kernel.h include with the specific
headers needed: linux/cache.h, linux/compiler.h, and
linux/sprintf.h (patch 7).
Build-tested with both the in-kernel build (lib/bootconfig.o,
init/main.o) and the userspace tools/bootconfig build. All 70
tools/bootconfig test cases pass.
Josh Law (15):
lib/bootconfig: clean up comment typos and bracing
lib/bootconfig: narrow flag parameter type from uint32_t to uint16_t
lib/bootconfig: fix off-by-one in xbc_verify_tree() next node check
lib/bootconfig: increment xbc_node_num after node init succeeds
lib/bootconfig: drop redundant memset of xbc_nodes
bootconfig: constify xbc_calc_checksum() data parameter
lib/bootconfig: replace linux/kernel.h with specific includes
lib/bootconfig: validate child node index in xbc_verify_tree()
lib/bootconfig: check xbc_init_node() return in override path
tools/bootconfig: fix fd leak in load_xbc_file() on fstat failure
lib/bootconfig: fix signed comparison in xbc_node_get_data()
lib/bootconfig: use size_t for strlen result in
xbc_node_match_prefix()
lib/bootconfig: use signed type for offset in xbc_init_node()
lib/bootconfig: use size_t for key length tracking in
xbc_verify_tree()
lib/bootconfig: change xbc_node_index() return type to uint16_t
include/linux/bootconfig.h | 6 ++--
lib/bootconfig.c | 65 ++++++++++++++++++++++----------------
tools/bootconfig/main.c | 7 ++--
3 files changed, 46 insertions(+), 32 deletions(-)
--
2.34.1
next reply other threads:[~2026-03-17 16:09 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 17+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-03-17 16:09 Josh Law [this message]
2026-03-17 16:09 ` [PATCH v7 01/15] lib/bootconfig: clean up comment typos and bracing Josh Law
2026-03-17 16:09 ` [PATCH v7 02/15] lib/bootconfig: narrow flag parameter type from uint32_t to uint16_t Josh Law
2026-03-17 16:09 ` [PATCH v7 03/15] lib/bootconfig: fix off-by-one in xbc_verify_tree() next node check Josh Law
2026-03-17 16:09 ` [PATCH v7 04/15] lib/bootconfig: increment xbc_node_num after node init succeeds Josh Law
2026-03-17 16:09 ` [PATCH v7 05/15] lib/bootconfig: drop redundant memset of xbc_nodes Josh Law
2026-03-17 16:09 ` [PATCH v7 06/15] bootconfig: constify xbc_calc_checksum() data parameter Josh Law
2026-03-17 16:09 ` [PATCH v7 07/15] lib/bootconfig: replace linux/kernel.h with specific includes Josh Law
2026-03-17 16:09 ` [PATCH v7 08/15] lib/bootconfig: validate child node index in xbc_verify_tree() Josh Law
2026-03-17 16:09 ` [PATCH v7 09/15] lib/bootconfig: check xbc_init_node() return in override path Josh Law
2026-03-17 16:09 ` [PATCH v7 10/15] tools/bootconfig: fix fd leak in load_xbc_file() on fstat failure Josh Law
2026-03-17 16:09 ` [PATCH v7 11/15] lib/bootconfig: fix signed comparison in xbc_node_get_data() Josh Law
2026-03-17 16:09 ` [PATCH v7 12/15] lib/bootconfig: use size_t for strlen result in xbc_node_match_prefix() Josh Law
2026-03-17 16:09 ` [PATCH v7 13/15] lib/bootconfig: use signed type for offset in xbc_init_node() Josh Law
2026-03-17 16:09 ` [PATCH v7 14/15] lib/bootconfig: use size_t for key length tracking in xbc_verify_tree() Josh Law
2026-03-17 16:09 ` [PATCH v7 15/15] lib/bootconfig: change xbc_node_index() return type to uint16_t Josh Law
2026-03-18 15:34 ` [PATCH v7 00/15] bootconfig: fixes, cleanups, and modernization Masami Hiramatsu
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