Re: [PATCH v3 1/2] kexec: return -ENOEXEC from image probe functions on mismatch

[Mukesh Pilaniya]

Hi Will,

On 25/08/26 8:44 pm, Will Deacon wrote:
> On Tue, Aug 25, 2026 at 10:43:48AM +0530, Mukesh Pilaniya wrote:
>> On 24/08/26 7:37 pm, Will Deacon wrote:
>>> On Fri, Aug 21, 2026 at 07:19:57PM +0530, Mukesh Pilaniya wrote:
>>>> Several kexec_file_load() image probe functions return -EINVAL when
>>>> they do not recognize the image format.  A probe function that rejects
>>>> an image should return -ENOEXEC to indicate that the image is not a
>>>> recognized executable format.  -EINVAL implies a problem with the
>>>> syscall parameters, not with image recognition.
>>>>
>>>> kexec_image_probe_default() iterates through registered loaders and
>>>> returns the last probe's error code to the caller.  That error
>>>> propagates as the kexec_file_load() return value to userspace.
>>>> Returning -EINVAL from a probe when no loader matches is semantically
>>>> incorrect and misleads userspace about the nature of the failure.
>>>>
>>>> Return -ENOEXEC from all probe functions and their helpers when the
>>>> image format is not recognized.
>>>>
>>>> Signed-off-by: Mukesh Pilaniya <mpilaniy@xxxxxxxxxx>
>>>> Reviewed-by: Philipp Rudo <prudo@xxxxxxxxxx>
>>>> Reviewed-by: Pratyush Yadav <pratyush@xxxxxxxxxx>
>>>> Reviewed-by: Bradley Morgan <include@xxxxxxxxx>
>>>> ---
>>>>  arch/arm64/kernel/kexec_image.c   | 4 ++--
>>>>  arch/loongarch/kernel/kexec_efi.c | 4 ++--
>>>>  arch/riscv/kernel/kexec_image.c   | 4 ++--
>>>>  kernel/kexec_elf.c                | 4 ++--
>>>>  4 files changed, 8 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
>>>
>>> Hmm, so after this patch, are there actually any implementations of .probe()
>>> that return anything other than 0 or -ENOEXEC? I couldn't spot any after
>>> a quick look.
>>>
>>> Willkexec_elf_probe() can return -ENOMEM if memory allocation (kzalloc())
>> fails inside elf_read_phdrs(). This behavior was previously discussed in
>> the first patch of this series [1].
> 
> Fair enough, but I'd have thought it would be easier to special-case the
> one -ENOMEM path instead of changing all the backends to return
> -ENOEXEC all over the place (and hoping people don't start returning
> -EINVAL again in future).
> 
> Will

Returning -EINVAL from a probe on format mismatch is semantically wrong
on its own — independent of how kexec_image_probe_default() handles
the return value.  x86 bzImage64_probe() and s390 s390_elf_probe()
already return -ENOEXEC correctly; this patch just brings the remaining
backends in line.

Also IMHO, checking for err != -ENOEXEC in kexec_image_probe_default()
is more robust than special-casing err == -ENOMEM.

-- 
Regards,
Mukesh Pilaniya