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* [PATCH 0/7] Change skb secmarks to x-array indexes
@ 2026-08-31 22:37 Casey Schaufler
  2026-08-31 22:37 ` [PATCH 3/7] LSM: Two hooks for manipulating struct lsm_prop Casey Schaufler
  0 siblings, 1 reply; 8+ messages in thread
From: Casey Schaufler @ 2026-08-31 22:37 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: casey, paul, linux-security-module, pablo, fw, phil
  Cc: linux-kernel, netfilter-devel, coreteam, jmorris, serge, keescook,
	john.johansen, penguin-kernel, stephen.smalley.work, selinux

When security secmarks were added to the Linux network stack there was
only one Linux Security Module (LSM), SELinux.  SELinux already used the
concept of a security ID (secid) as the representation of the security
information about a system subject (active entity) or object (passive
entity). Adding a container for a secid, the secmark, to the sk_buff
structure allowed for efficient transmission of the SELinux secid for
socket based access controls.

Subsequent LSMs have chosen to represent security information more
directly. Smack and AppArmor use pointers to structures containing
relevant information. Alas, these pointers do not fit in the u32 secmark
on most modern architectures. These LSMs are required to provide a secid
mapping to use secmarks.

Even with all LSMs that use secmarks having a secid to reference the
security information the mechanism is imperfect. A system that wants
to use multiple LSMs that use secmarks is constrained by the size
of the secmark. There is no rational way to fit multiple secids in a
secmark. While it would be possible to allow one LSM to use the secmark
and any others to be told it is unavailable, this has been deemed an
unacceptable limitation.

There is a lsm_prop structure available that contains security information
for any LSM that maintains it. The secmark cannot, unfortunately,
contain one. Instead, an x-array of lsm_prop structures is maintained,
and the index (secxa) is used in the secmark instead of the single LSM
restricted secid.

Uses of security_secctx_to_secid() have been changed to
security_secctx_to_lsmprop() in the netfilter and iptables code.
The security_secmark_relabel_packet() function has been updated to accept
an lsm_prop pointer rather than a secid.
To support multiple LSMs using a secmark it is necessary to re-evaluate
which lsm_prop structure represents the current security information
at each step where the secmark can be set. Smack sets the secmark for
every packet.  Netfilter, used by SELinux, Smack and AppArmor, will set
the secmark on selected packets at a later time. If Smack and AppArmor
are active on a system Smack will set the secmark initially, and AppArmor
may reset it by netfilter rule.

v2: Address issues raised by Sashiko
 - Configuration option insufficiencies
 - Locking issues

https://github.com/cschaufler/lsm-stacking#secmark-xa-7.2-rc7-v2

Casey Schaufler (7):
  net, smack: Create a function to set secmarks
  LSM: Implement x array functions for secmarks
  LSM: Two hooks for manipulating struct lsm_prop
  SELinux: hooks for secctx_to_lsmprop and update_lsmprop
  Smack: hooks for secctx_to_lsmprop and update_lsmprop
  Apparmor: hooks for secctx_to_lsmprop and update_lsmprop
  net, lsm: Change skb secmarks to x-array indexes

 include/linux/lsm_hook_defs.h     |   6 +-
 include/linux/lsm_secxa.h         |  33 ++++++++
 include/linux/security.h          |  20 ++++-
 net/netfilter/nfnetlink_queue.c   |  12 ++-
 net/netfilter/nft_meta.c          |  20 +++--
 net/netfilter/xt_CONNSECMARK.c    |   3 +-
 net/netfilter/xt_SECMARK.c        |  19 +++--
 security/Makefile                 |   1 +
 security/apparmor/include/secid.h |   4 +
 security/apparmor/lsm.c           |   2 +
 security/apparmor/net.c           |   8 +-
 security/apparmor/secid.c         |  21 +++++
 security/lsm_secxa.c              | 128 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 security/security.c               |  38 ++++++++-
 security/selinux/hooks.c          |  87 +++++++++++++++++---
 security/smack/smack_lsm.c        |  43 +++++++++-
 security/smack/smack_netfilter.c  |  11 ++-
 17 files changed, 418 insertions(+), 38 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 include/linux/lsm_secxa.h
 create mode 100644 security/lsm_secxa.c

-- 
2.54.0


^ permalink raw reply	[flat|nested] 8+ messages in thread
end of thread, other threads:[~2026-08-31 22:48 UTC | newest]

Thread overview: 8+ messages (download: mbox.gz follow: Atom feed
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     [not found] <20260813204854.19211-1-casey.ref@schaufler-ca.com>
2026-08-13 20:48 ` [PATCH 0/7] Change skb secmarks to x-array indexes Casey Schaufler
2026-08-13 20:48   ` [PATCH 1/7] net, smack: Create a function to set secmarks Casey Schaufler
2026-08-13 20:48   ` [PATCH 2/7] LSM: Implement x array functions for secmarks Casey Schaufler
2026-08-13 20:48   ` [PATCH 3/7] LSM: Two hooks for manipulating struct lsm_prop Casey Schaufler
2026-08-13 20:48   ` [PATCH 4/7] SELinux: hooks for secctx_to_lsmprop and update_lsmprop Casey Schaufler
2026-08-13 20:48   ` [PATCH 5/7] Smack: " Casey Schaufler
2026-08-13 20:48   ` [PATCH 6/7] Apparmor: " Casey Schaufler
2026-08-31 22:37 [PATCH 0/7] Change skb secmarks to x-array indexes Casey Schaufler
2026-08-31 22:37 ` [PATCH 3/7] LSM: Two hooks for manipulating struct lsm_prop Casey Schaufler

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