Live Patching
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From: Song Liu <song@kernel.org>
To: live-patching@vger.kernel.org
Cc: jpoimboe@kernel.org, peterz@infradead.org, jikos@kernel.org,
	mbenes@suse.cz, pmladek@suse.com, joe.lawrence@redhat.com,
	puranjay@kernel.org, kernel-team@meta.com,
	Song Liu <song@kernel.org>
Subject: [PATCH v4 55/58] objtool/klp: Add test for absolute and __ADDRESSABLE symbols
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2026 16:34:51 -0700	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260915233454.2405019-56-song@kernel.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260915233454.2405019-1-song@kernel.org>

A SHN_ABS symbol has no section, so any walk of sym->sec which does not
check dereferences NULL, and the kernel has plenty of them -- from linker
scripts and from .set in assembly.  __ADDRESSABLE() emits a pointer into
.discard.addressable purely to keep a symbol referenced; it means nothing
to a livepatch and is discarded at link time, but it is a relocation like
any other and gets looked at.

Neither is what the patch changes.  What this guards against is not a wrong
answer but a crash or an error on input the kernel produces routinely,
which would make every function near one unpatchable.

Not isolated to a single line, and the test says so: the absolute symbol
here has zero length, so it is excluded before the section check is reached
and removing that check alone changes nothing observable.

Assisted-by: Claude:claude-opus-4
Based-on-test-by: Joe Lawrence <joe.lawrence@redhat.com>
Assisted-by: Claude:claude-opus-5
Signed-off-by: Song Liu <song@kernel.org>
---
 .../generic/fixtures/abs_and_addressable.c    | 44 ++++++++++++++++
 .../tests/generic/test-abs-and-addressable.sh | 50 +++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 94 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 tools/objtool/tests/generic/fixtures/abs_and_addressable.c
 create mode 100755 tools/objtool/tests/generic/test-abs-and-addressable.sh

diff --git a/tools/objtool/tests/generic/fixtures/abs_and_addressable.c b/tools/objtool/tests/generic/fixtures/abs_and_addressable.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..6392ff99af42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/objtool/tests/generic/fixtures/abs_and_addressable.c
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+/*
+ * Two constructs which appear all over the kernel and must not upset klp
+ * checksum or klp diff.
+ *
+ * An absolute symbol (SHN_ABS) has no section, so anything walking sym->sec
+ * without checking dereferences NULL.  The kernel makes them with linker
+ * scripts and with .set in asm; VDSO and the fixed-address per-cpu bases are
+ * the usual sources.
+ *
+ * __ADDRESSABLE() emits a pointer into .discard.addressable purely to keep a
+ * symbol referenced.  It is discarded at link time and means nothing to a
+ * livepatch, but the pointer is a relocation like any other and has to survive
+ * being looked at.
+ *
+ * Neither is the subject of the patch; the point is that their presence does
+ * not disturb the function that is.
+ */
+
+static const char __modinfo[]
+	__attribute__((section(".modinfo"), used, aligned(1))) = "\0name=vmlinux";
+
+/* SHN_ABS, referenced from code. */
+extern char abs_sym[];
+__asm__(".globl abs_sym\n"
+	".set abs_sym, 0x1234\n");
+
+int helper(int x);
+int helper(int x) { return x + 1; }
+
+/* The shape of __ADDRESSABLE(helper). */
+__asm__(".pushsection .discard.addressable, \"aw\"\n"
+	".balign 8\n"
+	".quad helper\n"
+	".popsection\n");
+
+int target(int x)
+{
+#ifdef PATCHED
+	return helper(x) + (int)(long)abs_sym + 1;
+#else
+	return helper(x) + (int)(long)abs_sym;
+#endif
+}
diff --git a/tools/objtool/tests/generic/test-abs-and-addressable.sh b/tools/objtool/tests/generic/test-abs-and-addressable.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000000..6adb23ed4b88
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/objtool/tests/generic/test-abs-and-addressable.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+#
+# An absolute symbol and an __ADDRESSABLE() pointer must not disturb the
+# function being patched.
+#
+# A SHN_ABS symbol has no section, so any walk of sym->sec which does not check
+# dereferences NULL -- and the kernel has plenty, from linker scripts and from
+# .set in assembly.  __ADDRESSABLE() emits a pointer into .discard.addressable
+# to keep a symbol referenced; it means nothing to a livepatch and is discarded
+# at link time, but it is a relocation like any other and gets looked at.
+#
+# Neither is what the patch changes.  The failure this guards against is not a
+# wrong answer but a crash or an error on input the kernel produces routinely,
+# which would make any function near one unpatchable.
+#
+# Not isolated to a single guard: the absolute symbol here has zero length, so
+# it is excluded before the section check is reached and removing that check
+# alone changes nothing observable.  This stands as a check on the behaviour
+# rather than on the line which produces it.
+#
+# Covers the same ground as corpus/x86_64/checksum-abs-sym-skip and
+# addressable-symbols in Joe Lawrence's klp-build unit test corpus.
+
+. "$(dirname "$0")/../lib.sh"
+
+setup
+build_pair abs_and_addressable.c
+
+# The premise: the fixture really did produce both.
+in_symbols orig.o | grep -q 'ABS.*abs_sym' ||
+	probe_skip "assembler did not make abs_sym absolute here"
+assert_input_section .discard.addressable
+
+# Checksumming has to survive them, and still see the function that changed.
+run_checksum
+assert_checksum_differs target
+assert_checksum_matches helper
+
+# So does the diff.
+run_diff
+assert_patched target
+assert_not_patched helper
+
+# An absolute symbol has no address to record a checksum against, so it gets
+# no entry -- the reference to it is what mattered, not the symbol itself.
+in_relocs orig.o | awk '/rela\.discard\.sym_checksum/,/^$/' | grep -qw abs_sym &&
+	fail "absolute symbol got a checksum entry"
+
+pass "absolute and __ADDRESSABLE symbols do not disturb the patched function"
-- 
2.53.0-Meta


  parent reply	other threads:[~2026-09-15 23:40 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 69+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2026-09-15 23:33 [PATCH v4 00/58] Unit test framework for klp-build toolchain Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:33 ` [PATCH v4 01/58] objtool: Add test harness for the klp subcommands Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:33 ` [PATCH v4 02/58] objtool/klp: Check the klp test environment once, before any test Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:33 ` [PATCH v4 03/58] objtool/klp: Group the klp tests by architecture Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 04/58] objtool/klp: Classify klp test outcomes Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 05/58] objtool/klp: Build klp test fixtures through the harness Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 06/58] objtool/klp: Grow the klp test harness vocabulary Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:50   ` sashiko-bot
2026-09-16 17:33     ` Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 07/58] objtool/klp: Give each run one working directory, one per test inside it Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 08/58] objtool/klp: Run the klp tests under set -u Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 09/58] objtool/klp: Document the klp test harness Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 10/58] objtool: Keep failing test workdirs by default Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 11/58] objtool: Forward toolchain variables to the klp test runner Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 12/58] objtool/klp: Add test for rejecting changed data Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 13/58] objtool/klp: Add test for newly introduced data Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 14/58] objtool/klp: Add test for newly introduced functions Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 15/58] objtool/klp: Add test for static local correlation Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:46   ` sashiko-bot
2026-09-16 17:45     ` Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 16/58] objtool/klp: Add test for cold function halves Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 17/58] objtool/klp: Add test for special section extraction Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 18/58] objtool/klp: Add test for selective " Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 19/58] objtool/klp: Add test for jump table key relocations Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 20/58] objtool/klp: Add test for rejecting module-owned static branch keys Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 21/58] objtool/klp: Add test for rejecting module-owned static call keys Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 22/58] objtool/klp: Add test for symids in discarded sections Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 23/58] objtool/klp: Add test for rejecting references to init code/data Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 24/58] objtool/klp: Add test for correlation across ThinLTO name mangling Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 25/58] objtool/klp: Add test for objects without .modinfo Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 26/58] objtool/klp: Add test for unchecksummed input Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 27/58] objtool/klp: Add klp diff and post-link regression tests Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 28/58] objtool/klp: Add test for klp reloc section naming in module objects Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 29/58] objtool/klp: Add test for vmlinux relocs in a patched module Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 30/58] objtool/klp: Add test for Module.symvers path normalization Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 31/58] objtool/klp: Add test for the contents of the klp_funcs list Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 32/58] objtool/klp: Add test for EXPORT_SYMBOL_FOR_MODULES references Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 33/58] objtool/klp: Add test for new references to exported symbols Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:48   ` sashiko-bot
2026-09-16 17:40     ` Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 34/58] objtool/klp: Add test for empty x86 alternative replacements Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 35/58] objtool/klp: Add test for recorded checksum values Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 36/58] objtool/klp: Add test for position-independent checksums Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 37/58] objtool/klp: Add test for sympos in module objects Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 38/58] objtool/klp: Add test for sympos resolved against a linked vmlinux Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 39/58] objtool/klp: Add test for static locals which must not be correlated Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:51   ` sashiko-bot
2026-09-16 17:51     ` Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 40/58] objtool/klp: Add test for __bug_table, __ex_table and __mcount_loc extraction Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 41/58] objtool/klp: Add test for kCFI prefix symbols and traps Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 42/58] objtool/klp: Add test for symbols whose linkage the patch changes Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 43/58] objtool/klp: Test rejection of a file-local static branch key Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 44/58] objtool/klp: Test a hand-built livepatch module's static call keys Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 45/58] objtool/klp: Test text annotations on alternative replacements Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 46/58] objtool/klp: Add test for data object checksums Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:53   ` sashiko-bot
2026-09-16  7:00     ` Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 47/58] objtool/klp: Add test for symbols with no checksum entry of their own Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 48/58] objtool/klp: Add test for a static branch introduced by the patch Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 49/58] objtool/klp: Add test for tracepoint and pr_debug static branch keys Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 50/58] objtool/klp: Add test for a static call introduced by the patch Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 51/58] objtool/klp: Add test for instruction operand checksums Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 52/58] objtool/klp: Add test for alternative replacement code in checksums Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 53/58] objtool/klp: Add test for the alignment of cloned data sections Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 54/58] objtool/klp: Add test for a patch which strips a data annotation Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` Song Liu [this message]
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 56/58] objtool/klp: Add test for UBSAN metadata in an unchanged function Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 57/58] objtool/klp: Add test for Clang switch jump tables Song Liu
2026-09-15 23:34 ` [PATCH v4 58/58] objtool/klp: Add test for ThinLTO symbols sharing a demangled name Song Liu

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