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diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/binfmt-misc.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/binfmt-misc.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..7a864131e --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/binfmt-misc.rst @@ -0,0 +1,151 @@ +Kernel Support for miscellaneous Binary Formats (binfmt_misc) +============================================================= + +This Kernel feature allows you to invoke almost (for restrictions see below) +every program by simply typing its name in the shell. +This includes for example compiled Java(TM), Python or Emacs programs. + +To achieve this you must tell binfmt_misc which interpreter has to be invoked +with which binary. Binfmt_misc recognises the binary-type by matching some bytes +at the beginning of the file with a magic byte sequence (masking out specified +bits) you have supplied. Binfmt_misc can also recognise a filename extension +aka ``.com`` or ``.exe``. + +First you must mount binfmt_misc:: + + mount binfmt_misc -t binfmt_misc /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc + +To actually register a new binary type, you have to set up a string looking like +``:name:type:offset:magic:mask:interpreter:flags`` (where you can choose the +``:`` upon your needs) and echo it to ``/proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc/register``. + +Here is what the fields mean: + +- ``name`` + is an identifier string. A new /proc file will be created with this + ``name below /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc``; cannot contain slashes ``/`` for + obvious reasons. +- ``type`` + is the type of recognition. Give ``M`` for magic and ``E`` for extension. +- ``offset`` + is the offset of the magic/mask in the file, counted in bytes. This + defaults to 0 if you omit it (i.e. you write ``:name:type::magic...``). + Ignored when using filename extension matching. +- ``magic`` + is the byte sequence binfmt_misc is matching for. The magic string + may contain hex-encoded characters like ``\x0a`` or ``\xA4``. Note that you + must escape any NUL bytes; parsing halts at the first one. In a shell + environment you might have to write ``\\x0a`` to prevent the shell from + eating your ``\``. + If you chose filename extension matching, this is the extension to be + recognised (without the ``.``, the ``\x0a`` specials are not allowed). + Extension matching is case sensitive, and slashes ``/`` are not allowed! +- ``mask`` + is an (optional, defaults to all 0xff) mask. You can mask out some + bits from matching by supplying a string like magic and as long as magic. + The mask is anded with the byte sequence of the file. Note that you must + escape any NUL bytes; parsing halts at the first one. Ignored when using + filename extension matching. +- ``interpreter`` + is the program that should be invoked with the binary as first + argument (specify the full path) +- ``flags`` + is an optional field that controls several aspects of the invocation + of the interpreter. It is a string of capital letters, each controls a + certain aspect. The following flags are supported: + + ``P`` - preserve-argv[0] + Legacy behavior of binfmt_misc is to overwrite + the original argv[0] with the full path to the binary. When this + flag is included, binfmt_misc will add an argument to the argument + vector for this purpose, thus preserving the original ``argv[0]``. + e.g. If your interp is set to ``/bin/foo`` and you run ``blah`` + (which is in ``/usr/local/bin``), then the kernel will execute + ``/bin/foo`` with ``argv[]`` set to ``["/bin/foo", "/usr/local/bin/blah", "blah"]``. The interp has to be aware of this so it can + execute ``/usr/local/bin/blah`` + with ``argv[]`` set to ``["blah"]``. + ``O`` - open-binary + Legacy behavior of binfmt_misc is to pass the full path + of the binary to the interpreter as an argument. When this flag is + included, binfmt_misc will open the file for reading and pass its + descriptor as an argument, instead of the full path, thus allowing + the interpreter to execute non-readable binaries. This feature + should be used with care - the interpreter has to be trusted not to + emit the contents of the non-readable binary. + ``C`` - credentials + Currently, the behavior of binfmt_misc is to calculate + the credentials and security token of the new process according to + the interpreter. When this flag is included, these attributes are + calculated according to the binary. It also implies the ``O`` flag. + This feature should be used with care as the interpreter + will run with root permissions when a setuid binary owned by root + is run with binfmt_misc. + ``F`` - fix binary + The usual behaviour of binfmt_misc is to spawn the + binary lazily when the misc format file is invoked. However, + this doesn``t work very well in the face of mount namespaces and + changeroots, so the ``F`` mode opens the binary as soon as the + emulation is installed and uses the opened image to spawn the + emulator, meaning it is always available once installed, + regardless of how the environment changes. + + +There are some restrictions: + + - the whole register string may not exceed 1920 characters + - the magic must reside in the first 128 bytes of the file, i.e. + offset+size(magic) has to be less than 128 + - the interpreter string may not exceed 127 characters + +To use binfmt_misc you have to mount it first. You can mount it with +``mount -t binfmt_misc none /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc`` command, or you can add +a line ``none /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc binfmt_misc defaults 0 0`` to your +``/etc/fstab`` so it auto mounts on boot. + +You may want to add the binary formats in one of your ``/etc/rc`` scripts during +boot-up. Read the manual of your init program to figure out how to do this +right. + +Think about the order of adding entries! Later added entries are matched first! + + +A few examples (assumed you are in ``/proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc``): + +- enable support for em86 (like binfmt_em86, for Alpha AXP only):: + + echo ':i386:M::\x7fELF\x01\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x02\x00\x03:\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xfe\xfe\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xfb\xff\xff:/bin/em86:' > register + echo ':i486:M::\x7fELF\x01\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x00\x02\x00\x06:\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xfe\xfe\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xff\xfb\xff\xff:/bin/em86:' > register + +- enable support for packed DOS applications (pre-configured dosemu hdimages):: + + echo ':DEXE:M::\x0eDEX::/usr/bin/dosexec:' > register + +- enable support for Windows executables using wine:: + + echo ':DOSWin:M::MZ::/usr/local/bin/wine:' > register + +For java support see Documentation/admin-guide/java.rst + + +You can enable/disable binfmt_misc or one binary type by echoing 0 (to disable) +or 1 (to enable) to ``/proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc/status`` or +``/proc/.../the_name``. +Catting the file tells you the current status of ``binfmt_misc/the_entry``. + +You can remove one entry or all entries by echoing -1 to ``/proc/.../the_name`` +or ``/proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc/status``. + + +Hints +----- + +If you want to pass special arguments to your interpreter, you can +write a wrapper script for it. +See :doc:`Documentation/admin-guide/java.rst <./java>` for an example. + +Your interpreter should NOT look in the PATH for the filename; the kernel +passes it the full filename (or the file descriptor) to use. Using ``$PATH`` can +cause unexpected behaviour and can be a security hazard. + + +Richard Günther <rguenth@tat.physik.uni-tuebingen.de> |