Re: [PATCH v3 2/4] perf: Use CAP_SYS_ADMIN with perf_event_paranoid checks

From: Arnaldo Carvalho de Melo
Date: Mon Aug 12 2019 - 16:01:42 EST


Em Wed, Aug 07, 2019 at 10:44:15AM -0400, Igor Lubashev escreveu:
> +++ b/tools/perf/util/evsel.c
> @@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ struct evsel *perf_evsel__new_idx(struct perf_event_attr *attr, int idx)

> static bool perf_event_can_profile_kernel(void)
> {
> - return geteuid() == 0 || perf_event_paranoid() == -1;
> + return perf_event_paranoid_check(-1);
> }

While looking at your changes I think the pre-existing code is wrong,
i.e. the check in sys_perf_event_open(), in the kernel is:

if (!attr.exclude_kernel) {
if (perf_paranoid_kernel() && !capable(CAP_SYS_ADMIN))
return -EACCES;
}

And:

static inline bool perf_paranoid_kernel(void)
{
return sysctl_perf_event_paranoid > 1;
}

So we have to change that perf_event_paranoit_check(-1) to pass 1
instead?

bool perf_event_paranoid_check(int max_level)
{
return perf_cap__capable(CAP_SYS_ADMIN) ||
perf_event_paranoid() <= max_level;
}

Also you defined perf_cap__capable(anything) as:

#ifdef HAVE_LIBCAP_SUPPORT

#include <sys/capability.h>

bool perf_cap__capable(cap_value_t cap);

#else

static inline bool perf_cap__capable(int cap __maybe_unused)
{
return false;
}

#endif /* HAVE_LIBCAP_SUPPORT */


I think we should have:

#else

static inline bool perf_cap__capable(int cap __maybe_unused)
{
return geteuid() == 0;
}

#endif /* HAVE_LIBCAP_SUPPORT */

Right?

So I am removing the introduction of perf_cap__capable() from the first
patch you sent, leaving it with _only_ the feature detection part, using
that feature detection to do anything is then moved to a separate patch,
after we finish this discussion about what we should fallback to when
libcap-devel isn't available, i.e. we should use the previous checks,
etc.

- Arnaldo