Re: [PATCH v2 1/1] prctl: add PR_{GET,SET}_KILL_DESCENDANTS_ON_EXIT
From: Florian Weimer
Date: Sat Dec 01 2018 - 07:29:11 EST
* JÃrg Billeter:
> On Fri, 2018-11-30 at 14:40 +0100, Florian Weimer wrote:
>> * JÃrg Billeter:
>>
>> > This introduces a new thread group flag that can be set by calling
>> >
>> > prctl(PR_SET_KILL_DESCENDANTS_ON_EXIT, 1, 0, 0, 0)
>> >
>> > When a thread group exits with this flag set, it will send SIGKILL to
>> > all descendant processes. This can be used to prevent stray child
>> > processes.
>> >
>> > This flag is cleared on privilege gaining execve(2) to ensure an
>> > unprivileged process cannot get a privileged process to send SIGKILL.
>>
>> So this is inherited across regular execve? I'm not sure that's a good
>> idea.
>
> Yes, this matches PR_SET_CHILD_SUBREAPER (and other process
> attributes). Besides consistency and allowing a parent to configure the
> flag for a spawned process, this is also needed to prevent a process
> from clearing the flag (in combination with a seccomp filter).
I think the semantics of PR_SET_CHILD_SUBREAPER are different, and the
behavior makes more sense there.
>> > Descendants that are orphaned and reparented to an ancestor of the
>> > current process before the current process exits, will not be killed.
>> > PR_SET_CHILD_SUBREAPER can be used to contain orphaned processes.
>>
>> For double- or triple-forking daemons, the reparenting will be racy, if
>> I understand things correctly.
>
> Can you please elaborate, if you're concerned about a particular race?
> As the commit message mentions, for containment this flag can be
> combined with PR_SET_CHILD_SUBREAPER (and PR_SET_NO_NEW_PRIVS).
Without PR_SET_CHILD_SUBREAPER, if a newly execve'ed daemon performs
double/triple forking to disentangle itself from the parent process
session, and the parent process which set
PR_SET_KILL_DESCENDANTS_ON_EXIT terminates, behavior depends on when
exactly the parent process terminates. The daemon process will leak if
it has completed its reparenting.
I think this could be sufficiently common that solution is needed here.
Thanks,
Florian