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diff --git a/Documentation/dev-tools/kfence.rst b/Documentation/dev-tools/kfence.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..936f6aaa7 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/dev-tools/kfence.rst @@ -0,0 +1,333 @@ +.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 +.. Copyright (C) 2020, Google LLC. + +Kernel Electric-Fence (KFENCE) +============================== + +Kernel Electric-Fence (KFENCE) is a low-overhead sampling-based memory safety +error detector. KFENCE detects heap out-of-bounds access, use-after-free, and +invalid-free errors. + +KFENCE is designed to be enabled in production kernels, and has near zero +performance overhead. Compared to KASAN, KFENCE trades performance for +precision. The main motivation behind KFENCE's design, is that with enough +total uptime KFENCE will detect bugs in code paths not typically exercised by +non-production test workloads. One way to quickly achieve a large enough total +uptime is when the tool is deployed across a large fleet of machines. + +Usage +----- + +To enable KFENCE, configure the kernel with:: + + CONFIG_KFENCE=y + +To build a kernel with KFENCE support, but disabled by default (to enable, set +``kfence.sample_interval`` to non-zero value), configure the kernel with:: + + CONFIG_KFENCE=y + CONFIG_KFENCE_SAMPLE_INTERVAL=0 + +KFENCE provides several other configuration options to customize behaviour (see +the respective help text in ``lib/Kconfig.kfence`` for more info). + +Tuning performance +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +The most important parameter is KFENCE's sample interval, which can be set via +the kernel boot parameter ``kfence.sample_interval`` in milliseconds. The +sample interval determines the frequency with which heap allocations will be +guarded by KFENCE. The default is configurable via the Kconfig option +``CONFIG_KFENCE_SAMPLE_INTERVAL``. Setting ``kfence.sample_interval=0`` +disables KFENCE. + +The sample interval controls a timer that sets up KFENCE allocations. By +default, to keep the real sample interval predictable, the normal timer also +causes CPU wake-ups when the system is completely idle. This may be undesirable +on power-constrained systems. The boot parameter ``kfence.deferrable=1`` +instead switches to a "deferrable" timer which does not force CPU wake-ups on +idle systems, at the risk of unpredictable sample intervals. The default is +configurable via the Kconfig option ``CONFIG_KFENCE_DEFERRABLE``. + +.. warning:: + The KUnit test suite is very likely to fail when using a deferrable timer + since it currently causes very unpredictable sample intervals. + +The KFENCE memory pool is of fixed size, and if the pool is exhausted, no +further KFENCE allocations occur. With ``CONFIG_KFENCE_NUM_OBJECTS`` (default +255), the number of available guarded objects can be controlled. Each object +requires 2 pages, one for the object itself and the other one used as a guard +page; object pages are interleaved with guard pages, and every object page is +therefore surrounded by two guard pages. + +The total memory dedicated to the KFENCE memory pool can be computed as:: + + ( #objects + 1 ) * 2 * PAGE_SIZE + +Using the default config, and assuming a page size of 4 KiB, results in +dedicating 2 MiB to the KFENCE memory pool. + +Note: On architectures that support huge pages, KFENCE will ensure that the +pool is using pages of size ``PAGE_SIZE``. This will result in additional page +tables being allocated. + +Error reports +~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +A typical out-of-bounds access looks like this:: + + ================================================================== + BUG: KFENCE: out-of-bounds read in test_out_of_bounds_read+0xa6/0x234 + + Out-of-bounds read at 0xffff8c3f2e291fff (1B left of kfence-#72): + test_out_of_bounds_read+0xa6/0x234 + kunit_try_run_case+0x61/0xa0 + kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x16/0x30 + kthread+0x176/0x1b0 + ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 + + kfence-#72: 0xffff8c3f2e292000-0xffff8c3f2e29201f, size=32, cache=kmalloc-32 + + allocated by task 484 on cpu 0 at 32.919330s: + test_alloc+0xfe/0x738 + test_out_of_bounds_read+0x9b/0x234 + kunit_try_run_case+0x61/0xa0 + kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x16/0x30 + kthread+0x176/0x1b0 + ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 + + CPU: 0 PID: 484 Comm: kunit_try_catch Not tainted 5.13.0-rc3+ #7 + Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.14.0-2 04/01/2014 + ================================================================== + +The header of the report provides a short summary of the function involved in +the access. It is followed by more detailed information about the access and +its origin. Note that, real kernel addresses are only shown when using the +kernel command line option ``no_hash_pointers``. + +Use-after-free accesses are reported as:: + + ================================================================== + BUG: KFENCE: use-after-free read in test_use_after_free_read+0xb3/0x143 + + Use-after-free read at 0xffff8c3f2e2a0000 (in kfence-#79): + test_use_after_free_read+0xb3/0x143 + kunit_try_run_case+0x61/0xa0 + kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x16/0x30 + kthread+0x176/0x1b0 + ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 + + kfence-#79: 0xffff8c3f2e2a0000-0xffff8c3f2e2a001f, size=32, cache=kmalloc-32 + + allocated by task 488 on cpu 2 at 33.871326s: + test_alloc+0xfe/0x738 + test_use_after_free_read+0x76/0x143 + kunit_try_run_case+0x61/0xa0 + kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x16/0x30 + kthread+0x176/0x1b0 + ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 + + freed by task 488 on cpu 2 at 33.871358s: + test_use_after_free_read+0xa8/0x143 + kunit_try_run_case+0x61/0xa0 + kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x16/0x30 + kthread+0x176/0x1b0 + ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 + + CPU: 2 PID: 488 Comm: kunit_try_catch Tainted: G B 5.13.0-rc3+ #7 + Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.14.0-2 04/01/2014 + ================================================================== + +KFENCE also reports on invalid frees, such as double-frees:: + + ================================================================== + BUG: KFENCE: invalid free in test_double_free+0xdc/0x171 + + Invalid free of 0xffff8c3f2e2a4000 (in kfence-#81): + test_double_free+0xdc/0x171 + kunit_try_run_case+0x61/0xa0 + kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x16/0x30 + kthread+0x176/0x1b0 + ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 + + kfence-#81: 0xffff8c3f2e2a4000-0xffff8c3f2e2a401f, size=32, cache=kmalloc-32 + + allocated by task 490 on cpu 1 at 34.175321s: + test_alloc+0xfe/0x738 + test_double_free+0x76/0x171 + kunit_try_run_case+0x61/0xa0 + kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x16/0x30 + kthread+0x176/0x1b0 + ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 + + freed by task 490 on cpu 1 at 34.175348s: + test_double_free+0xa8/0x171 + kunit_try_run_case+0x61/0xa0 + kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x16/0x30 + kthread+0x176/0x1b0 + ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 + + CPU: 1 PID: 490 Comm: kunit_try_catch Tainted: G B 5.13.0-rc3+ #7 + Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.14.0-2 04/01/2014 + ================================================================== + +KFENCE also uses pattern-based redzones on the other side of an object's guard +page, to detect out-of-bounds writes on the unprotected side of the object. +These are reported on frees:: + + ================================================================== + BUG: KFENCE: memory corruption in test_kmalloc_aligned_oob_write+0xef/0x184 + + Corrupted memory at 0xffff8c3f2e33aff9 [ 0xac . . . . . . ] (in kfence-#156): + test_kmalloc_aligned_oob_write+0xef/0x184 + kunit_try_run_case+0x61/0xa0 + kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x16/0x30 + kthread+0x176/0x1b0 + ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 + + kfence-#156: 0xffff8c3f2e33afb0-0xffff8c3f2e33aff8, size=73, cache=kmalloc-96 + + allocated by task 502 on cpu 7 at 42.159302s: + test_alloc+0xfe/0x738 + test_kmalloc_aligned_oob_write+0x57/0x184 + kunit_try_run_case+0x61/0xa0 + kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x16/0x30 + kthread+0x176/0x1b0 + ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 + + CPU: 7 PID: 502 Comm: kunit_try_catch Tainted: G B 5.13.0-rc3+ #7 + Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.14.0-2 04/01/2014 + ================================================================== + +For such errors, the address where the corruption occurred as well as the +invalidly written bytes (offset from the address) are shown; in this +representation, '.' denote untouched bytes. In the example above ``0xac`` is +the value written to the invalid address at offset 0, and the remaining '.' +denote that no following bytes have been touched. Note that, real values are +only shown if the kernel was booted with ``no_hash_pointers``; to avoid +information disclosure otherwise, '!' is used instead to denote invalidly +written bytes. + +And finally, KFENCE may also report on invalid accesses to any protected page +where it was not possible to determine an associated object, e.g. if adjacent +object pages had not yet been allocated:: + + ================================================================== + BUG: KFENCE: invalid read in test_invalid_access+0x26/0xe0 + + Invalid read at 0xffffffffb670b00a: + test_invalid_access+0x26/0xe0 + kunit_try_run_case+0x51/0x85 + kunit_generic_run_threadfn_adapter+0x16/0x30 + kthread+0x137/0x160 + ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 + + CPU: 4 PID: 124 Comm: kunit_try_catch Tainted: G W 5.8.0-rc6+ #7 + Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.13.0-1 04/01/2014 + ================================================================== + +DebugFS interface +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Some debugging information is exposed via debugfs: + +* The file ``/sys/kernel/debug/kfence/stats`` provides runtime statistics. + +* The file ``/sys/kernel/debug/kfence/objects`` provides a list of objects + allocated via KFENCE, including those already freed but protected. + +Implementation Details +---------------------- + +Guarded allocations are set up based on the sample interval. After expiration +of the sample interval, the next allocation through the main allocator (SLAB or +SLUB) returns a guarded allocation from the KFENCE object pool (allocation +sizes up to PAGE_SIZE are supported). At this point, the timer is reset, and +the next allocation is set up after the expiration of the interval. + +When using ``CONFIG_KFENCE_STATIC_KEYS=y``, KFENCE allocations are "gated" +through the main allocator's fast-path by relying on static branches via the +static keys infrastructure. The static branch is toggled to redirect the +allocation to KFENCE. Depending on sample interval, target workloads, and +system architecture, this may perform better than the simple dynamic branch. +Careful benchmarking is recommended. + +KFENCE objects each reside on a dedicated page, at either the left or right +page boundaries selected at random. The pages to the left and right of the +object page are "guard pages", whose attributes are changed to a protected +state, and cause page faults on any attempted access. Such page faults are then +intercepted by KFENCE, which handles the fault gracefully by reporting an +out-of-bounds access, and marking the page as accessible so that the faulting +code can (wrongly) continue executing (set ``panic_on_warn`` to panic instead). + +To detect out-of-bounds writes to memory within the object's page itself, +KFENCE also uses pattern-based redzones. For each object page, a redzone is set +up for all non-object memory. For typical alignments, the redzone is only +required on the unguarded side of an object. Because KFENCE must honor the +cache's requested alignment, special alignments may result in unprotected gaps +on either side of an object, all of which are redzoned. + +The following figure illustrates the page layout:: + + ---+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+--- + | xxxxxxxxx | O : | xxxxxxxxx | : O | xxxxxxxxx | + | xxxxxxxxx | B : | xxxxxxxxx | : B | xxxxxxxxx | + | x GUARD x | J : RED- | x GUARD x | RED- : J | x GUARD x | + | xxxxxxxxx | E : ZONE | xxxxxxxxx | ZONE : E | xxxxxxxxx | + | xxxxxxxxx | C : | xxxxxxxxx | : C | xxxxxxxxx | + | xxxxxxxxx | T : | xxxxxxxxx | : T | xxxxxxxxx | + ---+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+--- + +Upon deallocation of a KFENCE object, the object's page is again protected and +the object is marked as freed. Any further access to the object causes a fault +and KFENCE reports a use-after-free access. Freed objects are inserted at the +tail of KFENCE's freelist, so that the least recently freed objects are reused +first, and the chances of detecting use-after-frees of recently freed objects +is increased. + +If pool utilization reaches 75% (default) or above, to reduce the risk of the +pool eventually being fully occupied by allocated objects yet ensure diverse +coverage of allocations, KFENCE limits currently covered allocations of the +same source from further filling up the pool. The "source" of an allocation is +based on its partial allocation stack trace. A side-effect is that this also +limits frequent long-lived allocations (e.g. pagecache) of the same source +filling up the pool permanently, which is the most common risk for the pool +becoming full and the sampled allocation rate dropping to zero. The threshold +at which to start limiting currently covered allocations can be configured via +the boot parameter ``kfence.skip_covered_thresh`` (pool usage%). + +Interface +--------- + +The following describes the functions which are used by allocators as well as +page handling code to set up and deal with KFENCE allocations. + +.. kernel-doc:: include/linux/kfence.h + :functions: is_kfence_address + kfence_shutdown_cache + kfence_alloc kfence_free __kfence_free + kfence_ksize kfence_object_start + kfence_handle_page_fault + +Related Tools +------------- + +In userspace, a similar approach is taken by `GWP-ASan +<http://llvm.org/docs/GwpAsan.html>`_. GWP-ASan also relies on guard pages and +a sampling strategy to detect memory unsafety bugs at scale. KFENCE's design is +directly influenced by GWP-ASan, and can be seen as its kernel sibling. Another +similar but non-sampling approach, that also inspired the name "KFENCE", can be +found in the userspace `Electric Fence Malloc Debugger +<https://linux.die.net/man/3/efence>`_. + +In the kernel, several tools exist to debug memory access errors, and in +particular KASAN can detect all bug classes that KFENCE can detect. While KASAN +is more precise, relying on compiler instrumentation, this comes at a +performance cost. + +It is worth highlighting that KASAN and KFENCE are complementary, with +different target environments. For instance, KASAN is the better debugging-aid, +where test cases or reproducers exists: due to the lower chance to detect the +error, it would require more effort using KFENCE to debug. Deployments at scale +that cannot afford to enable KASAN, however, would benefit from using KFENCE to +discover bugs due to code paths not exercised by test cases or fuzzers. |