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Dedicated caches are available for fixed size allocations via kmem_cache_alloc(), but for dynamically sized allocations there is only the global kmalloc API's set of buckets available. This means it isn't possible to separate specific sets of dynamically sized allocations into a separate collection of caches. This leads to a use-after-free exploitation weakness in the Linux kernel since many heap memory spraying/grooming attacks depend on using userspace-controllable dynamically sized allocations to collide with fixed size allocations that end up in same cache. While CONFIG_RANDOM_KMALLOC_CACHES provides a probabilistic defense against these kinds of "type confusion" attacks, including for fixed same-size heap objects, we can create a complementary deterministic defense for dynamically sized allocations that are directly user controlled. Addressing these cases is limited in scope, so isolating these kinds of interfaces will not become an unbounded game of whack-a-mole. For example, many pass through memdup_user(), making isolation there very effective. In order to isolate user-controllable dynamically-sized allocations from the common system kmalloc allocations, introduce kmem_buckets_create(), which behaves like kmem_cache_create(). Introduce kmem_buckets_alloc(), which behaves like kmem_cache_alloc(). Introduce kmem_buckets_alloc_track_caller() for where caller tracking is needed. Introduce kmem_buckets_valloc() for cases where vmalloc fallback is needed. Note that these caches are specifically flagged with SLAB_NO_MERGE, since merging would defeat the entire purpose of the mitigation. This can also be used in the future to extend allocation profiling's use of code tagging to implement per-caller allocation cache isolation[1] even for dynamic allocations. Memory allocation pinning[2] is still needed to plug the Use-After-Free cross-allocator weakness (where attackers can arrange to free an entire slab page and have it reallocated to a different cache), but that is an existing and separate issue which is complementary to this improvement. Development continues for that feature via the SLAB_VIRTUAL[3] series (which could also provide guard pages -- another complementary improvement). Link: https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/202402211449.401382D2AF@keescook [1] Link: https://googleprojectzero.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-simple-linux-kernel-memory.html [2] Link: https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20230915105933.495735-1-matteorizzo@google.com/ [3] Signed-off-by: Kees Cook <kees@kernel.org> Signed-off-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
Linux kernel
============
There are several guides for kernel developers and users. These guides can
be rendered in a number of formats, like HTML and PDF. Please read
Documentation/admin-guide/README.rst first.
In order to build the documentation, use ``make htmldocs`` or
``make pdfdocs``. The formatted documentation can also be read online at:
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/
There are various text files in the Documentation/ subdirectory,
several of them using the reStructuredText markup notation.
Please read the Documentation/process/changes.rst file, as it contains the
requirements for building and running the kernel, and information about
the problems which may result by upgrading your kernel.