[PATCH] task: delete task_euid()

[PATCH] task: delete task_euid()

[Alice Ryhl]

task_euid() is a very weird operation. You can see how weird it is by
grepping for task_euid() - binder is its only user. task_euid() obtains
the objective effective UID - it looks at the credentials of the task
for purposes of acting on it as an object, but then accesses the
effective UID (which the credentials.7 man page describes as "[...] used
by the kernel to determine the permissions that the process will have
when accessing shared resources [...]").

Since usage in Binder has now been removed, get rid of the resulting
dead code.

Changes to the zh_CN translation was carried out with the help of
Gemini and Google Translate.

Suggested-by: Jann Horn <jannh@google.com>
Signed-off-by: Alice Ryhl <aliceryhl@google.com>
---
Depends on these two changes:
https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260212-rust-uid-v1-1-deff4214c766@google.com/
https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260213-binder-uid-v1-0-7b795ae05523@google.com/
---
 Documentation/security/credentials.rst                    |  6 ++----
 Documentation/translations/zh_CN/security/credentials.rst |  6 ++----
 include/linux/cred.h                                      |  1 -
 rust/helpers/task.c                                       |  5 -----
 rust/kernel/task.rs                                       | 10 ----------
 5 files changed, 4 insertions(+), 24 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/security/credentials.rst b/Documentation/security/credentials.rst
index d0191c8b8060edb7b272402c019cff941ec22743..81d3b5737d85bde9b77bff94dfb93ed8037b2302 100644
--- a/Documentation/security/credentials.rst
+++ b/Documentation/security/credentials.rst
@@ -393,16 +393,14 @@ the credentials so obtained when they're finished with.
    The result of ``__task_cred()`` should not be passed directly to
    ``get_cred()`` as this may race with ``commit_cred()``.
 
-There are a couple of convenience functions to access bits of another task's
-credentials, hiding the RCU magic from the caller::
+There is a convenience function to access bits of another task's credentials,
+hiding the RCU magic from the caller::
 
 	uid_t task_uid(task)		Task's real UID
-	uid_t task_euid(task)		Task's effective UID
 
 If the caller is holding the RCU read lock at the time anyway, then::
 
 	__task_cred(task)->uid
-	__task_cred(task)->euid
 
 should be used instead.  Similarly, if multiple aspects of a task's credentials
 need to be accessed, RCU read lock should be used, ``__task_cred()`` called,
diff --git a/Documentation/translations/zh_CN/security/credentials.rst b/Documentation/translations/zh_CN/security/credentials.rst
index 88fcd9152ffe91d79fc10bfc7b2a37d301b4938a..f0b2efec342438b81be415dc513622c961bb7e59 100644
--- a/Documentation/translations/zh_CN/security/credentials.rst
+++ b/Documentation/translations/zh_CN/security/credentials.rst
@@ -337,15 +337,13 @@ const指针上操作，因此不需要进行类型转换，但需要临时放弃
    ``__task_cred()`` 的结果不应直接传递给 ``get_cred()`` ，
    因为这可能与 ``commit_cred()`` 发生竞争条件。
 
-还有一些方便的函数可以访问另一个任务凭据的特定部分，将RCU操作对调用方隐藏起来::
+有一个方便的函数可用于访问另一个任务凭据的特定部分，从而对调用方隐藏RCU机制::
 
 	uid_t task_uid(task)		Task's real UID
-	uid_t task_euid(task)		Task's effective UID
 
-如果调用方在此时已经持有RCU读锁，则应使用::
+如果调用方在此时已经持有RCU读锁，则应改为使用::
 
 	__task_cred(task)->uid
-	__task_cred(task)->euid
 
 类似地，如果需要访问任务凭据的多个方面，应使用RCU读锁，调用 ``__task_cred()``
 函数，将结果存储在临时指针中，然后从临时指针中调用凭据的各个方面，最后释放锁。
diff --git a/include/linux/cred.h b/include/linux/cred.h
index ed1609d78cd7b16ed1434c937176495a4f38cf6e..b40ec3c72ee6673c7be5210a1667e3912cba9620 100644
--- a/include/linux/cred.h
+++ b/include/linux/cred.h
@@ -367,7 +367,6 @@ DEFINE_FREE(put_cred, struct cred *, if (!IS_ERR_OR_NULL(_T)) put_cred(_T))
 })
 
 #define task_uid(task)		(task_cred_xxx((task), uid))
-#define task_euid(task)		(task_cred_xxx((task), euid))
 #define task_ucounts(task)	(task_cred_xxx((task), ucounts))
 
 #define current_cred_xxx(xxx)			\
diff --git a/rust/helpers/task.c b/rust/helpers/task.c
index c0e1a06ede78c0b0641707b52a82725543e2c02c..b46b1433a67e8eb341a7ee32ca4247b304bf675f 100644
--- a/rust/helpers/task.c
+++ b/rust/helpers/task.c
@@ -28,11 +28,6 @@ __rust_helper kuid_t rust_helper_task_uid(struct task_struct *task)
 	return task_uid(task);
 }
 
-__rust_helper kuid_t rust_helper_task_euid(struct task_struct *task)
-{
-	return task_euid(task);
-}
-
 #ifndef CONFIG_USER_NS
 __rust_helper uid_t rust_helper_from_kuid(struct user_namespace *to, kuid_t uid)
 {
diff --git a/rust/kernel/task.rs b/rust/kernel/task.rs
index e07d0ddd76f6917adc91ca3d17bb7719153ee17f..169ff1dde9363afc8914b431fe31f2238b213ada 100644
--- a/rust/kernel/task.rs
+++ b/rust/kernel/task.rs
@@ -218,16 +218,6 @@ pub fn uid(&self) -> Kuid {
         Kuid::from_raw(unsafe { bindings::task_uid(self.as_ptr()) })
     }
 
-    /// Returns the objective effective UID of the given task.
-    ///
-    /// You should probably not be using this; the effective UID is normally
-    /// only relevant in subjective credentials.
-    #[inline]
-    pub fn euid(&self) -> Kuid {
-        // SAFETY: It's always safe to call `task_euid` on a valid task.
-        Kuid::from_raw(unsafe { bindings::task_euid(self.as_ptr()) })
-    }
-
     /// Determines whether the given task has pending signals.
     #[inline]
     pub fn signal_pending(&self) -> bool {

---
base-commit: 2961f841b025fb234860bac26dfb7fa7cb0fb122
change-id: 20260219-remove-task-euid-19e4b00beebe
prerequisite-change-id: 20260212-rust-uid-f1b3a45c8084:v1
prerequisite-patch-id: 7ec4933af3a7f4c6bb0403c34a6dd41306836295
prerequisite-change-id: 20260213-binder-uid-a24ede5026a8:v1
prerequisite-patch-id: 7be0128bd8902879bb271d0587ac98bf242cf612
prerequisite-patch-id: 4a9d0f595d2084b3f8982a2d0d8b3df35b9fae0e

Best regards,
-- 
Alice Ryhl <aliceryhl@google.com>

Re: [PATCH] task: delete task_euid()

[Alex Shi]

On 2026/2/19 20:14, Alice Ryhl wrote:
> task_euid() is a very weird operation. You can see how weird it is by
> grepping for task_euid() - binder is its only user. task_euid() obtains
> the objective effective UID - it looks at the credentials of the task
> for purposes of acting on it as an object, but then accesses the
> effective UID (which the credentials.7 man page describes as "[...] used
> by the kernel to determine the permissions that the process will have
> when accessing shared resources [...]").
> 
> Since usage in Binder has now been removed, get rid of the resulting
> dead code.
> 
> Changes to the zh_CN translation was carried out with the help of
> Gemini and Google Translate.
> 
> Suggested-by: Jann Horn<jannh@google.com>
> Signed-off-by: Alice Ryhl<aliceryhl@google.com>
> ---
> Depends on these two changes:
> https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260212-rust-uid-v1-1-deff4214c766@google.com/
> https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260213-binder-uid- 
> v1-0-7b795ae05523@google.com/
> ---
>   Documentation/security/credentials.rst                    |  6 ++----
>   Documentation/translations/zh_CN/security/credentials.rst |  6 ++----
>   include/linux/cred.h                                      |  1 -
>   rust/helpers/task.c                                       |  5 -----
>   rust/kernel/task.rs                                       | 10 ----------
>   5 files changed, 4 insertions(+), 24 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/Documentation/security/credentials.rst b/Documentation/security/credentials.rst
> index d0191c8b8060edb7b272402c019cff941ec22743..81d3b5737d85bde9b77bff94dfb93ed8037b2302 100644
> --- a/Documentation/security/credentials.rst
> +++ b/Documentation/security/credentials.rst
> @@ -393,16 +393,14 @@ the credentials so obtained when they're finished with.
>      The result of ``__task_cred()`` should not be passed directly to
>      ``get_cred()`` as this may race with ``commit_cred()``.
>   
> -There are a couple of convenience functions to access bits of another task's
> -credentials, hiding the RCU magic from the caller::
> +There is a convenience function to access bits of another task's credentials,
> +hiding the RCU magic from the caller::
>   
>   	uid_t task_uid(task)		Task's real UID
> -	uid_t task_euid(task)		Task's effective UID
>   
>   If the caller is holding the RCU read lock at the time anyway, then::
>   
>   	__task_cred(task)->uid
> -	__task_cred(task)->euid
>   
>   should be used instead.  Similarly, if multiple aspects of a task's credentials
>   need to be accessed, RCU read lock should be used, ``__task_cred()`` called,
> diff --git a/Documentation/translations/zh_CN/security/credentials.rst b/Documentation/translations/zh_CN/security/credentials.rst
> index 88fcd9152ffe91d79fc10bfc7b2a37d301b4938a..f0b2efec342438b81be415dc513622c961bb7e59 100644
> --- a/Documentation/translations/zh_CN/security/credentials.rst
> +++ b/Documentation/translations/zh_CN/security/credentials.rst
> @@ -337,15 +337,13 @@ const指针上操作，因此不需要进行类型转换，但需要临时放弃
>      ``__task_cred()`` 的结果不应直接传递给 ``get_cred()`` ，
>      因为这可能与 ``commit_cred()`` 发生竞争条件。
>   
> -还有一些方便的函数可以访问另一个任务凭据的特定部分，将RCU操作对调用方隐藏起来::
> +有一个方便的函数可用于访问另一个任务凭据的特定部分，从而对调用方隐藏RCU机制::

LGTM.

>   
>   	uid_t task_uid(task)		Task's real UID
> -	uid_t task_euid(task)		Task's effective UID
>   
> -如果调用方在此时已经持有RCU读锁，则应使用::
> +如果调用方在此时已经持有RCU读锁，则应改为使用::

Please keep the old version. the new one is a bit ambiguous.

Thanks
Alex

Re: [PATCH] task: delete task_euid()

[Alice Ryhl]

On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 10:27:01PM +0800, Alex Shi wrote:
> 
> 
> On 2026/2/19 20:14, Alice Ryhl wrote:
> > task_euid() is a very weird operation. You can see how weird it is by
> > grepping for task_euid() - binder is its only user. task_euid() obtains
> > the objective effective UID - it looks at the credentials of the task
> > for purposes of acting on it as an object, but then accesses the
> > effective UID (which the credentials.7 man page describes as "[...] used
> > by the kernel to determine the permissions that the process will have
> > when accessing shared resources [...]").
> > 
> > Since usage in Binder has now been removed, get rid of the resulting
> > dead code.
> > 
> > Changes to the zh_CN translation was carried out with the help of
> > Gemini and Google Translate.

> > diff --git a/Documentation/translations/zh_CN/security/credentials.rst b/Documentation/translations/zh_CN/security/credentials.rst
> > index 88fcd9152ffe91d79fc10bfc7b2a37d301b4938a..f0b2efec342438b81be415dc513622c961bb7e59 100644
> > --- a/Documentation/translations/zh_CN/security/credentials.rst
> > +++ b/Documentation/translations/zh_CN/security/credentials.rst
> > @@ -337,15 +337,13 @@ const指针上操作，因此不需要进行类型转换，但需要临时放弃
> >      ``__task_cred()`` 的结果不应直接传递给 ``get_cred()`` ，
> >      因为这可能与 ``commit_cred()`` 发生竞争条件。
> > -还有一些方便的函数可以访问另一个任务凭据的特定部分，将RCU操作对调用方隐藏起来::
> > +有一个方便的函数可用于访问另一个任务凭据的特定部分，从而对调用方隐藏RCU机制::
> 
> LGTM.
> 
> >   	uid_t task_uid(task)		Task's real UID
> > -	uid_t task_euid(task)		Task's effective UID
> > -如果调用方在此时已经持有RCU读锁，则应使用::
> > +如果调用方在此时已经持有RCU读锁，则应改为使用::
> 
> Please keep the old version. the new one is a bit ambiguous.

Thanks for checking!

Alice

Re: [PATCH] task: delete task_euid()

[Gary Guo]

On 2026-02-19 12:14, Alice Ryhl wrote:
> task_euid() is a very weird operation. You can see how weird it is by
> grepping for task_euid() - binder is its only user. task_euid() obtains
> the objective effective UID - it looks at the credentials of the task
> for purposes of acting on it as an object, but then accesses the
> effective UID (which the credentials.7 man page describes as "[...] 
> used
> by the kernel to determine the permissions that the process will have
> when accessing shared resources [...]").
> 
> Since usage in Binder has now been removed, get rid of the resulting
> dead code.
> 
> Changes to the zh_CN translation was carried out with the help of
> Gemini and Google Translate.
> 
> Suggested-by: Jann Horn <jannh@google.com>
> Signed-off-by: Alice Ryhl <aliceryhl@google.com>

Reviewed-by: Gary Guo <gary@garyguo.net>

With Alex's translation suggestion applied.

Thanks,
Gary

> ---
> Depends on these two changes:
> https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260212-rust-uid-v1-1-deff4214c766@google.com/
> https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260213-binder-uid-v1-0-7b795ae05523@google.com/
> ---
>  Documentation/security/credentials.rst                    |  6 ++----
>  Documentation/translations/zh_CN/security/credentials.rst |  6 ++----
>  include/linux/cred.h                                      |  1 -
>  rust/helpers/task.c                                       |  5 -----
>  rust/kernel/task.rs                                       | 10 
> ----------
>  5 files changed, 4 insertions(+), 24 deletions(-)

Re: [PATCH] task: delete task_euid()

[Alice Ryhl]

On Thu, Feb 19, 2026 at 12:14:39PM +0000, Alice Ryhl wrote:
>  include/linux/cred.h                                      |  1 -

I guess the title of this should probably be

	cred: delete task_euid()

rather than use the 'task:' prefix.

Alice