Re: [PATCH 1/2] x86/entry/64: Do not clear %rbx under Xen

[M. Vefa Bicakci]

On 07/21/2018 05:45 PM, Andy Lutomirski wrote:
> On Sat, Jul 21, 2018 at 12:49 PM, M. Vefa Bicakci <m.v.b@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > Commit 3ac6d8c787b8 ("x86/entry/64: Clear registers for
> > exceptions/interrupts, to reduce speculation attack surface") unintendedly
> > broke Xen PV virtual machines by clearing the %rbx register at the end of
> > xen_failsafe_callback before the latter jumps to error_exit.
> > error_exit expects the %rbx register to be a flag indicating whether
> > there should be a return to kernel mode.
> >
> > This commit makes sure that the %rbx register is not cleared by
> > the PUSH_AND_CLEAR_REGS macro, when the macro in question is instantiated
> > by xen_failsafe_callback, to avoid the issue.
>
> Seems like a genuine problem, but:
>
> > diff --git a/arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S b/arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S
> > index c7449f377a77..96e8ff34129e 100644
> > --- a/arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S
> > +++ b/arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S
> > @@ -1129,7 +1129,7 @@ ENTRY(xen_failsafe_callback)
> >          addq    $0x30, %rsp
> >          UNWIND_HINT_IRET_REGS
> >          pushq   $-1 /* orig_ax = -1 => not a system call */
> > -       PUSH_AND_CLEAR_REGS
> > +       PUSH_AND_CLEAR_REGS clear_rbx=0
> >          ENCODE_FRAME_POINTER
> >          jmp     error_exit
>
> The old code first set RBX to zero then, if frame pointers are on,
> sets it to some special non-zero value, then crosses its fingers and
> hopes for the best.  Your patched code just skips the zeroing part, so
> RBX either contains the ENCODE_FRAME_POINTER result or is
> uninitialized.
>
> How about actually initializing rbx to something sensible like, say, 1?

Hello Andy,

Thank you for the review! Apparently, I have not done my homework fully.
I will test your suggestion and report back, most likely in a few hours.

I have been testing with the next/linux-next tree's master branch
(dated 20180720), and I noticed that ENCODE_FRAME_POINTER changes the
frame pointer (i.e., RBP) register, as opposed to the RBX register,
which the patch aims to avoid changing before jumping to error_exit.
It is possible that I am missing something though -- I am not sure about
the connection between the RBP and RBX registers.

The change introduced by commit 3ac6d8c787b8 is in the excerpt below. Would it
be valid to state that the original code had the same issue that you referred
to (i.e., leaving the RBX register uninitialized)?

[I also realized that I forgot to include Andi Kleen and Dan Williams, authors
of 3ac6d8c787b8, in the discussion; I am copying this e-mail to them as well.]

Thank you,

Vefa

$ git show -W 3ac6d8c787b8 -- arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S
 ...
 ENTRY(xen_failsafe_callback)
 	UNWIND_HINT_EMPTY
 	movl	%ds, %ecx
 	cmpw	%cx, 0x10(%rsp)
 	jne	1f
 	movl	%es, %ecx
 	cmpw	%cx, 0x18(%rsp)
 	jne	1f
 	movl	%fs, %ecx
 	cmpw	%cx, 0x20(%rsp)
 	jne	1f
 	movl	%gs, %ecx
 	cmpw	%cx, 0x28(%rsp)
 	jne	1f
 	/* All segments match their saved values => Category 2 (Bad IRET). */
 	movq	(%rsp), %rcx
 	movq	8(%rsp), %r11
 	addq	$0x30, %rsp
 	pushq	$0				/* RIP */
 	UNWIND_HINT_IRET_REGS offset=8
 	jmp	general_protection
 1:	/* Segment mismatch => Category 1 (Bad segment). Retry the IRET. */
 	movq	(%rsp), %rcx
 	movq	8(%rsp), %r11
 	addq	$0x30, %rsp
 	UNWIND_HINT_IRET_REGS
 	pushq	$-1 /* orig_ax = -1 => not a system call */
 	ALLOC_PT_GPREGS_ON_STACK
 	SAVE_C_REGS
 	SAVE_EXTRA_REGS
+	CLEAR_REGS_NOSPEC
 	ENCODE_FRAME_POINTER
 	jmp	error_exit
 END(xen_failsafe_callback)
 ...