From: Steven Rostedt <rostedt@goodmis.org>
To: LKML <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>,
Linux Trace Kernel <linux-trace-kernel@vger.kernel.org>
Cc: Masami Hiramatsu <mhiramat@kernel.org>,
Mathieu Desnoyers <mathieu.desnoyers@efficios.com>,
Martin Kaiser <martin@kaiser.cx>, Frank Li <Frank.Li@nxp.com>,
Vinod Koul <vkoul@kernel.org>
Subject: [PATCH] tracing: Warn when an event dereferences a pointer in TP_printk()
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2026 18:48:36 -0400 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260630184836.74d477b6@gandalf.local.home> (raw)
From: Steven Rostedt <rostedt@goodmis.org>
Currently on boot up and when modules are loaded, the trace event
infrastructure will examine the TP_printk's of every event looking to see
if it dereferences pointers on the ring buffer via printk formats like
"%pB" and such. What it doesn't do is check if the arguments themselves
do a dereference from a pointer.
This was brought with a fix[1] to the fsl_edma event that had in the
arguments of the TP_printk(): "__entry->edma->membase"
The __entry->edma is a pointer saved in the ring buffer. The dereference
from TP_printk() happens when the user reads the "trace" file which can be
seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months later! There is no
guarantee that the __entry->edma pointer will still be pointing to what it
was when it was recorded, and could crash the kernel when a user reads the
event.
Add logic to the test_event_printk() that also checks for this case and
warn if the event dereferences a pointer from the ring buffer.
[1] https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260630200022.1826420-1-martin@kaiser.cx/
Signed-off-by: Steven Rostedt <rostedt@goodmis.org>
---
kernel/trace/trace_events.c | 35 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------
1 file changed, 29 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)
diff --git a/kernel/trace/trace_events.c b/kernel/trace/trace_events.c
index c46e623e7e0d..3b52bfd8b300 100644
--- a/kernel/trace/trace_events.c
+++ b/kernel/trace/trace_events.c
@@ -400,6 +400,31 @@ static bool process_string(const char *fmt, int len, struct trace_event_call *ca
return true;
}
+static void test_double_dereference(const char *str, int len,
+ struct trace_event_call *call)
+{
+ const char *ptr;
+ const char *end = str + len;
+
+ ptr = strstr(str, "REC->");
+
+ while (ptr && ptr < end) {
+
+ ptr += 5;
+ for (; ptr < end; ptr++) {
+ if (ptr[0] == '-' && ptr[1] == '>') {
+ WARN_ONCE(1, "Event %s has double dereference in TP_printk: %.*s\n",
+ trace_event_name(call), len, str);
+ return;
+ }
+ if (!isalnum(*ptr) && *ptr != '_')
+ break;
+ }
+
+ ptr = strstr(ptr, "REC->");
+ }
+}
+
static void handle_dereference_arg(const char *arg_str, u64 string_flags, int len,
u64 *dereference_flags, int arg,
struct trace_event_call *call)
@@ -459,12 +484,6 @@ static void test_event_printk(struct trace_event_call *call)
if (in_quote) {
arg = 0;
first = false;
- /*
- * If there was no %p* uses
- * the fmt is OK.
- */
- if (!dereference_flags)
- return;
}
}
if (in_quote) {
@@ -576,6 +595,8 @@ static void test_event_printk(struct trace_event_call *call)
continue;
}
+ test_double_dereference(fmt + start_arg, e - start_arg, call);
+
if (dereference_flags & (1ULL << arg)) {
handle_dereference_arg(fmt + start_arg, string_flags,
e - start_arg,
@@ -589,6 +610,8 @@ static void test_event_printk(struct trace_event_call *call)
}
}
+ test_double_dereference(fmt + start_arg, i - start_arg, call);
+
if (dereference_flags & (1ULL << arg)) {
handle_dereference_arg(fmt + start_arg, string_flags,
i - start_arg,
--
2.53.0
next reply other threads:[~2026-06-30 22:48 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 3+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-06-30 22:48 Steven Rostedt [this message]
2026-07-02 7:48 ` [PATCH] tracing: Warn when an event dereferences a pointer in TP_printk() Martin Kaiser
2026-07-02 15:37 ` Vinod Koul
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