Re: [RFC PATCH] userfaultfd: allow registration of ranges below mmap_min_addr

[Usama Arif]

On Tue,  7 Apr 2026 11:14:42 +0300 "Denis M. Karpov" <komlomal@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> The current implementation of validate_range() in fs/userfaultfd.c
> performs a hard check against mmap_min_addr without considering
> capabilities, but the mmap() syscall uses security_mmap_addr()
> which allows privileged processes (with CAP_SYS_RAWIO) to map below
> mmap_min_addr. Furthermore, security_mmap_addr()->cap_mmap_addr() uses
> dac_mmap_min_addr variable which can be changed with
> /proc/sys/vm/mmap_min_addr.
> 
> Because userfaultfd uses a different check, UFFDIO_REGISTER may fail
> with -EINVAL for valid memory areas that were successfully mapped
> below mmap_min_addr even with appropriate capabilities.
> 
> This prevents apps like binary compilers from using UFFD for valid memory
> regions mapped by application.
> 
> Replace the rigid mmap_min_addr check with security_mmap_addr() to align
> userfaultfd with the standard kernel memory mapping security policy.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Denis M. Karpov <komlomal@xxxxxxxxx>
> 
> ---
> Initial RFC following the discussion on the [BUG] thread.
> Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/CADtiZd0tWysx5HMCUnOXfSHB7PXAuXg1Mh4eY_hUmH29S=sejg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx/
> ---
>  fs/userfaultfd.c | 4 +---
>  1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 3 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/fs/userfaultfd.c b/fs/userfaultfd.c
> index bdc84e521..dbfe5b2a0 100644
> --- a/fs/userfaultfd.c
> +++ b/fs/userfaultfd.c
> @@ -1238,15 +1238,13 @@ static __always_inline int validate_unaligned_range(
>  		return -EINVAL;
>  	if (!len)
>  		return -EINVAL;
> -	if (start < mmap_min_addr)
> -		return -EINVAL;
>  	if (start >= task_size)
>  		return -EINVAL;
>  	if (len > task_size - start)
>  		return -EINVAL;
>  	if (start + len <= start)
>  		return -EINVAL;
> -	return 0;
> +	return security_mmap_addr(start);

Is this introducing an ABI change?

The old code returned -EINVAL when start was below mmap_min_addr.
The new code calls security_mmap_addr() which returns -EPERM when
the caller lacks CAP_SYS_RAWIO. Existing userspace callers checking
specifically for -EINVAL would see different behavior start is
below mmap_min_addr.

>  }
>  
>  static __always_inline int validate_range(struct mm_struct *mm,
> -- 
> 2.47.3
> 
>