From: Ian Rogers <irogers@google.com>
To: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@infradead.org>,
Ingo Molnar <mingo@redhat.com>,
Arnaldo Carvalho de Melo <acme@kernel.org>,
Namhyung Kim <namhyung@kernel.org>, Jiri Olsa <jolsa@kernel.org>,
Adrian Hunter <adrian.hunter@intel.com>,
James Clark <james.clark@linaro.org>,
Zecheng Li <zli94@ncsu.edu>,
Masami Hiramatsu <masami.hiramatsu.pt@hitachi.com>,
linux-perf-users@vger.kernel.org, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Cc: Ian Rogers <irogers@google.com>
Subject: [PATCH v2 0/6] perf DWARF: Fix libdw API contract violations and crashes
Date: Sat, 2 May 2026 08:56:50 -0700 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260502155656.478642-1-irogers@google.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260502064839.282422-1-irogers@google.com>
This patch series addresses a number of issues related to improper or
incomplete error handling when interacting with the `libdw` and
`libdwfl` APIs in the `perf` DWARF processing code.
The first patch fixes a real segmentation fault observed in `perf
kmem` (via `dwarf_child` and `dwarf_diename`) caused by
`dwarf_getfuncs` returning `-1` on error, which was not caught by the
previous `if (!dwarf_getfuncs(...))` check. This allowed uninitialized
stack memory to be returned and later dereferenced.
Following this discovery, a comprehensive audit of `libdw` API usage
was performed across `tools/perf/`. The remaining patches proactively
fix 28 additional instances of ignored return values or unchecked
pointers that could lead to similar uninitialized memory propagation,
crashes (e.g., via `strdup(NULL)` or `strcmp(NULL)`), or silent logic
failures.
v1:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-perf-users/20260502064839.282422-1-irogers@google.com/
Ian Rogers (6):
perf dwarf-aux: Fix libdw segmentation fault in cu_walk_functions_at
perf dwarf-aux: Fix libdw API contract violations
perf libdw: Fix libdw API contract violations
perf probe-finder: Fix libdw API contract violations
perf annotate-data: Fix libdw API contract violations
perf debuginfo: Fix libdw API contract violations
tools/perf/util/annotate-data.c | 17 ++++---
tools/perf/util/debuginfo.c | 5 +-
tools/perf/util/dwarf-aux.c | 41 ++++++++++------
tools/perf/util/libdw.c | 24 +++++++---
tools/perf/util/probe-finder.c | 84 ++++++++++++++++++++++-----------
5 files changed, 113 insertions(+), 58 deletions(-)
--
2.54.0.545.g6539524ca2-goog
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-05-02 15:57 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 8+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-05-02 6:48 [PATCH v1] perf dwarf-aux: Fix libdw segmentation fault in cu_walk_functions_at Ian Rogers
2026-05-02 15:56 ` Ian Rogers [this message]
2026-05-02 15:56 ` [PATCH v2 1/6] " Ian Rogers
2026-05-02 15:56 ` [PATCH v2 2/6] perf dwarf-aux: Fix libdw API contract violations Ian Rogers
2026-05-02 15:56 ` [PATCH v2 3/6] perf libdw: " Ian Rogers
2026-05-02 15:56 ` [PATCH v2 4/6] perf probe-finder: " Ian Rogers
2026-05-02 15:56 ` [PATCH v2 5/6] perf annotate-data: " Ian Rogers
2026-05-02 15:56 ` [PATCH v2 6/6] perf debuginfo: " Ian Rogers
Reply instructions:
You may reply publicly to this message via plain-text email
using any one of the following methods:
* Save the following mbox file, import it into your mail client,
and reply-to-all from there: mbox
Avoid top-posting and favor interleaved quoting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Interleaved_style
* Reply using the --to, --cc, and --in-reply-to
switches of git-send-email(1):
git send-email \
--in-reply-to=20260502155656.478642-1-irogers@google.com \
--to=irogers@google.com \
--cc=acme@kernel.org \
--cc=adrian.hunter@intel.com \
--cc=james.clark@linaro.org \
--cc=jolsa@kernel.org \
--cc=linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org \
--cc=linux-perf-users@vger.kernel.org \
--cc=masami.hiramatsu.pt@hitachi.com \
--cc=mingo@redhat.com \
--cc=namhyung@kernel.org \
--cc=peterz@infradead.org \
--cc=zli94@ncsu.edu \
/path/to/YOUR_REPLY
https://kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-send-email.html
* If your mail client supports setting the In-Reply-To header
via mailto: links, try the mailto: link
Be sure your reply has a Subject: header at the top and a blank line
before the message body.
This is a public inbox, see mirroring instructions
for how to clone and mirror all data and code used for this inbox