linux.git/kernel/trace/trace_probe.h, branch v6.12.80

tracing: Fix race condition in kprobe initialization causing NULL pointer dereference

2025-10-19T14:34:01+00:00

[ Upstream commit 9cf9aa7b0acfde7545c1a1d912576e9bab28dc6f ]

There is a critical race condition in kprobe initialization that can lead to
NULL pointer dereference and kernel crash.

[1135630.084782] Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address 0000710a04630000
...
[1135630.260314] pstate: 404003c9 (nZcv DAIF +PAN -UAO)
[1135630.269239] pc : kprobe_perf_func+0x30/0x260
[1135630.277643] lr : kprobe_dispatcher+0x44/0x60
[1135630.286041] sp : ffffaeff4977fa40
[1135630.293441] x29: ffffaeff4977fa40 x28: ffffaf015340e400
[1135630.302837] x27: 0000000000000000 x26: 0000000000000000
[1135630.312257] x25: ffffaf029ed108a8 x24: ffffaf015340e528
[1135630.321705] x23: ffffaeff4977fc50 x22: ffffaeff4977fc50
[1135630.331154] x21: 0000000000000000 x20: ffffaeff4977fc50
[1135630.340586] x19: ffffaf015340e400 x18: 0000000000000000
[1135630.349985] x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000
[1135630.359285] x15: 0000000000000000 x14: 0000000000000000
[1135630.368445] x13: 0000000000000000 x12: 0000000000000000
[1135630.377473] x11: 0000000000000000 x10: 0000000000000000
[1135630.386411] x9 : 0000000000000000 x8 : 0000000000000000
[1135630.395252] x7 : 0000000000000000 x6 : 0000000000000000
[1135630.403963] x5 : 0000000000000000 x4 : 0000000000000000
[1135630.412545] x3 : 0000710a04630000 x2 : 0000000000000006
[1135630.421021] x1 : ffffaeff4977fc50 x0 : 0000710a04630000
[1135630.429410] Call trace:
[1135630.434828]  kprobe_perf_func+0x30/0x260
[1135630.441661]  kprobe_dispatcher+0x44/0x60
[1135630.448396]  aggr_pre_handler+0x70/0xc8
[1135630.454959]  kprobe_breakpoint_handler+0x140/0x1e0
[1135630.462435]  brk_handler+0xbc/0xd8
[1135630.468437]  do_debug_exception+0x84/0x138
[1135630.475074]  el1_dbg+0x18/0x8c
[1135630.480582]  security_file_permission+0x0/0xd0
[1135630.487426]  vfs_write+0x70/0x1c0
[1135630.493059]  ksys_write+0x5c/0xc8
[1135630.498638]  __arm64_sys_write+0x24/0x30
[1135630.504821]  el0_svc_common+0x78/0x130
[1135630.510838]  el0_svc_handler+0x38/0x78
[1135630.516834]  el0_svc+0x8/0x1b0

kernel/trace/trace_kprobe.c: 1308
0xffff3df8995039ec :     ldr     x21, [x24,#120]
include/linux/compiler.h: 294
0xffff3df8995039f0 :     ldr     x1, [x21,x0]

kernel/trace/trace_kprobe.c
1308: head = this_cpu_ptr(call->perf_events);
1309: if (hlist_empty(head))
1310: 	return 0;

crash> struct trace_event_call -o
struct trace_event_call {
  ...
  [120] struct hlist_head *perf_events;  //(call->perf_event)
  ...
}

crash> struct trace_event_call ffffaf015340e528
struct trace_event_call {
  ...
  perf_events = 0xffff0ad5fa89f088, //this value is correct, but x21 = 0
  ...
}

Race Condition Analysis:

The race occurs between kprobe activation and perf_events initialization:

  CPU0                                    CPU1
  ====                                    ====
  perf_kprobe_init
    perf_trace_event_init
      tp_event->perf_events = list;(1)
      tp_event->class->reg (2)← KPROBE ACTIVE
                                          Debug exception triggers
                                          ...
                                          kprobe_dispatcher
                                            kprobe_perf_func (tk->tp.flags & TP_FLAG_PROFILE)
                                              head = this_cpu_ptr(call->perf_events)(3)
                                              (perf_events is still NULL)

Problem:
1. CPU0 executes (1) assigning tp_event->perf_events = list
2. CPU0 executes (2) enabling kprobe functionality via class->reg()
3. CPU1 triggers and reaches kprobe_dispatcher
4. CPU1 checks TP_FLAG_PROFILE - condition passes (step 2 completed)
5. CPU1 calls kprobe_perf_func() and crashes at (3) because
   call->perf_events is still NULL

CPU1 sees that kprobe functionality is enabled but does not see that
perf_events has been assigned.

Add pairing read and write memory barriers to guarantee that if CPU1
sees that kprobe functionality is enabled, it must also see that
perf_events has been assigned.

Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20251001022025.44626-1-chenyuan_fl@163.com/

Fixes: 50d780560785 ("tracing/kprobes: Add probe handler dispatcher to support perf and ftrace concurrent use")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Yuan Chen 
Signed-off-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google) 
[ Adjust context ]
Signed-off-by: Sasha Levin 
Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman

tracing: probe-events: Remove unused MAX_ARG_BUF_LEN macro

2025-03-13T12:02:05+00:00

[ Upstream commit fd5ba38390c59e1c147480ae49b6133c4ac24001 ]

Commit 18b1e870a496 ("tracing/probes: Add $arg* meta argument for all
function args") introduced MAX_ARG_BUF_LEN but it is not used.
Remove it.

Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/174055075876.4079315.8805416872155957588.stgit@mhiramat.tok.corp.google.com/

Fixes: 18b1e870a496 ("tracing/probes: Add $arg* meta argument for all function args")
Signed-off-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google) 
Reviewed-by: Steven Rostedt (Google) 
Signed-off-by: Sasha Levin

tracing: tprobe-events: Reject invalid tracepoint name

2025-03-13T12:01:49+00:00

commit d0453655b6ddc685a4837f3cc0776ae8eef62d01 upstream.

Commit 57a7e6de9e30 ("tracing/fprobe: Support raw tracepoints on
future loaded modules") allows user to set a tprobe on non-exist
tracepoint but it does not check the tracepoint name is acceptable.
So it leads tprobe has a wrong character for events (e.g. with
subsystem prefix). In this case, the event is not shown in the
events directory.

Reject such invalid tracepoint name.

The tracepoint name must consist of alphabet or digit or '_'.

Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/174055073461.4079315.15875502830565214255.stgit@mhiramat.tok.corp.google.com/

Fixes: 57a7e6de9e30 ("tracing/fprobe: Support raw tracepoints on future loaded modules")
Signed-off-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google) 
Reviewed-by: Steven Rostedt (Google) 
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman

tracing/probes: support '%pd' type for print struct dentry's name

2024-05-01T14:18:47+00:00

During fault locating, the file name needs to be printed based on the
dentry  address. The offset needs to be calculated each time, which
is troublesome. Similar to printk, kprobe support print type '%pd' for
print dentry's name. For example "name=$arg1:%pd" casts the `$arg1`
as (struct dentry *), dereferences the "d_name.name" field and stores
it to "name" argument as a kernel string.
Here is an example:
[tracing]# echo 'p:testprobe dput name=$arg1:%pd' > kprobe_events
[tracing]# echo 1 > events/kprobes/testprobe/enable
[tracing]# grep -q "1" events/kprobes/testprobe/enable
[tracing]# echo 0 > events/kprobes/testprobe/enable
[tracing]# cat trace | grep "enable"
	    bash-14844   [002] ..... 16912.889543: testprobe: (dput+0x4/0x30) name="enable"
            grep-15389   [003] ..... 16922.834182: testprobe: (dput+0x4/0x30) name="enable"
            grep-15389   [003] ..... 16922.836103: testprobe: (dput+0x4/0x30) name="enable"
            bash-14844   [001] ..... 16931.820909: testprobe: (dput+0x4/0x30) name="enable"

Note that this expects the given argument (e.g. $arg1) is an address of struct
dentry. User must ensure it.

Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20240322064308.284457-2-yebin10@huawei.com/

Signed-off-by: Ye Bin 
Acked-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google) 
Signed-off-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google)

tracing/probes: Support $argN in return probe (kprobe and fprobe)

2024-03-06T15:27:34+00:00

Support accessing $argN in the return probe events. This will help users to
record entry data in function return (exit) event for simplfing the function
entry/exit information in one event, and record the result values (e.g.
allocated object/initialized object) at function exit.

For example, if we have a function `int init_foo(struct foo *obj, int param)`
sometimes we want to check how `obj` is initialized. In such case, we can
define a new return event like below;

 # echo 'r init_foo retval=$retval param=$arg2 field1=+0($arg1)' >> kprobe_events

Thus it records the function parameter `param` and its result `obj->field1`
(the dereference will be done in the function exit timing) value at once.

This also support fprobe, BTF args and'$arg*'. So if CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO_BTF
is enabled, we can trace both function parameters and the return value
by following command.

 # echo 'f target_function%return $arg* $retval' >> dynamic_events

Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/170952365552.229804.224112990211602895.stgit@devnote2/

Signed-off-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google)

tracing/probes: cleanup: Set trace_probe::nr_args at trace_probe_init

2024-03-06T15:27:15+00:00

Instead of incrementing the trace_probe::nr_args, init it at
trace_probe_init(). Without this change, there is no way to get the number
of trace_probe arguments while parsing it.
This is a cleanup, so the behavior is not changed.

Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/170952363585.229804.13060759900346411951.stgit@devnote2/

Signed-off-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google)

tracing/probes: Fix to show a parse error for bad type for $comm

2024-02-08T14:26:13+00:00

Fix to show a parse error for bad type (non-string) for $comm/$COMM and
immediate-string. With this fix, error_log file shows appropriate error
message as below.

 /sys/kernel/tracing # echo 'p vfs_read $comm:u32' >> kprobe_events
sh: write error: Invalid argument
 /sys/kernel/tracing # echo 'p vfs_read \"hoge":u32' >> kprobe_events
sh: write error: Invalid argument
 /sys/kernel/tracing # cat error_log

[   30.144183] trace_kprobe: error: $comm and immediate-string only accepts string type
  Command: p vfs_read $comm:u32
                            ^
[   62.618500] trace_kprobe: error: $comm and immediate-string only accepts string type
  Command: p vfs_read \"hoge":u32
                              ^
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/170602215411.215583.2238016352271091852.stgit@devnote2/

Fixes: 3dd1f7f24f8c ("tracing: probeevent: Fix to make the type of $comm string")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google)

tracing/kprobes: Return EADDRNOTAVAIL when func matches several symbols

2023-10-20T13:10:41+00:00

When a kprobe is attached to a function that's name is not unique (is
static and shares the name with other functions in the kernel), the
kprobe is attached to the first function it finds. This is a bug as the
function that it is attaching to is not necessarily the one that the
user wants to attach to.

Instead of blindly picking a function to attach to what is ambiguous,
error with EADDRNOTAVAIL to let the user know that this function is not
unique, and that the user must use another unique function with an
address offset to get to the function they want to attach to.

Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20231020104250.9537-2-flaniel@linux.microsoft.com/

Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Fixes: 413d37d1eb69 ("tracing: Add kprobe-based event tracer")
Suggested-by: Masami Hiramatsu 
Signed-off-by: Francis Laniel 
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20230819101105.b0c104ae4494a7d1f2eea742@kernel.org/
Acked-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google) 
Signed-off-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google)

Merge tag 'probes-v6.6' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/trace/linux-trace

2023-09-02T18:10:50+00:00

Pull probes updates from Masami Hiramatsu:

 - kprobes: use struct_size() for variable size kretprobe_instance data
   structure.

 - eprobe: Simplify trace_eprobe list iteration.

 - probe events: Data structure field access support on BTF argument.

     - Update BTF argument support on the functions in the kernel
       loadable modules (only loaded modules are supported).

     - Move generic BTF access function (search function prototype and
       get function parameters) to a separated file.

     - Add a function to search a member of data structure in BTF.

     - Support accessing BTF data structure member from probe args by
       C-like arrow('->') and dot('.') operators. e.g.
          't sched_switch next=next->pid vruntime=next->se.vruntime'

     - Support accessing BTF data structure member from $retval. e.g.
          'f getname_flags%return +0($retval->name):string'

     - Add string type checking if BTF type info is available. This will
       reject if user specify ":string" type for non "char pointer"
       type.

     - Automatically assume the fprobe event as a function return event
       if $retval is used.

 - selftests/ftrace: Add BTF data field access test cases.

 - Documentation: Update fprobe event example with BTF data field.

* tag 'probes-v6.6' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/trace/linux-trace:
  Documentation: tracing: Update fprobe event example with BTF field
  selftests/ftrace: Add BTF fields access testcases
  tracing/fprobe-event: Assume fprobe is a return event by $retval
  tracing/probes: Add string type check with BTF
  tracing/probes: Support BTF field access from $retval
  tracing/probes: Support BTF based data structure field access
  tracing/probes: Add a function to search a member of a struct/union
  tracing/probes: Move finding func-proto API and getting func-param API to trace_btf
  tracing/probes: Support BTF argument on module functions
  tracing/eprobe: Iterate trace_eprobe directly
  kernel: kprobes: Use struct_size()

tracing/probes: Add string type check with BTF

2023-08-23T00:41:13+00:00

Add a string type checking with BTF information if possible.
This will check whether the given BTF argument (and field) is
signed char array or pointer to signed char. If not, it reject
the 'string' type. If it is pointer to signed char, it adds
a dereference opration so that it can correctly fetch the
string data from memory.

 # echo 'f getname_flags%return retval->name:string' >> dynamic_events
 # echo 't sched_switch next->comm:string' >> dynamic_events

The above cases, 'struct filename::name' is 'char *' and
'struct task_struct::comm' is 'char []'. But in both case,
user can specify ':string' to fetch the string data.

Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/169272159250.160970.1881112937198526188.stgit@devnote2/

Signed-off-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google) 
Acked-by: Steven Rostedt (Google)