[PATCH v6 3/3] kexec: Introduce sysctl parameters kexec_load_limit_*

From: Ricardo Ribalda
Date: Wed Jan 04 2023 - 09:39:29 EST


kexec allows replacing the current kernel with a different one. This is
usually a source of concerns for sysadmins that want to harden a system.

Linux already provides a way to disable loading new kexec kernel via
kexec_load_disabled, but that control is very coard, it is all or
nothing and does not make distinction between a panic kexec and a
normal kexec.

This patch introduces new sysctl parameters, with finner tunning to
specify how many times a kexec kernel can be loaded. The sysadmin can
set different limits for kexec panic and kexec reboot kernels. The
value can be modified at runtime via sysctl, but only with a stricter
value.

With these new parameters on place, a system with loadpin and verity
enabled, using the following kernel parameters:
sysctl.kexec_load_limit_reboot=0 sysct.kexec_load_limit_panic=1
can have a good warranty that if initrd tries to load a panic kernel,
a malitious user will have small chances to replace that kernel with a
different one, even if they can trigger timeouts on the disk where the
panic kernel lives.

Reviewed-by: Steven Rostedt (Google) <rostedt@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Signed-off-by: Ricardo Ribalda <ribalda@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
---
Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/kernel.rst | 18 ++++++
include/linux/kexec.h | 2 +-
kernel/kexec.c | 4 +-
kernel/kexec_core.c | 87 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
kernel/kexec_file.c | 11 ++--
5 files changed, 114 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/kernel.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/kernel.rst
index 97394bd9d065..d5fb4b6ef405 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/kernel.rst
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/kernel.rst
@@ -461,6 +461,24 @@ allowing a system to set up (and later use) an image without it being
altered.
Generally used together with the `modules_disabled`_ sysctl.

+kexec_load_limit_panic
+======================
+
+This parameter specifies a limit to the number of times the syscalls
+``kexec_load`` and ``kexec_file_load`` can be called with a crash
+image. It can only be set with a more restrictive value than the
+current one.
+
+== ======================================================
+-1 Unlimited calls to kexec. This is the default setting.
+N Number of calls left.
+== ======================================================
+
+kexec_load_limit_reboot
+=======================
+
+Similar functionality as ``kexec_load_limit_panic``, but for a normal
+image.

kptr_restrict
=============
diff --git a/include/linux/kexec.h b/include/linux/kexec.h
index 182e0c11b87b..791e65829f86 100644
--- a/include/linux/kexec.h
+++ b/include/linux/kexec.h
@@ -407,7 +407,7 @@ extern int kimage_crash_copy_vmcoreinfo(struct kimage *image);
extern struct kimage *kexec_image;
extern struct kimage *kexec_crash_image;

-bool kexec_load_permitted(void);
+bool kexec_load_permitted(int kexec_image_type);

#ifndef kexec_flush_icache_page
#define kexec_flush_icache_page(page)
diff --git a/kernel/kexec.c b/kernel/kexec.c
index ce1bca874a8d..92d301f98776 100644
--- a/kernel/kexec.c
+++ b/kernel/kexec.c
@@ -190,10 +190,12 @@ static int do_kexec_load(unsigned long entry, unsigned long nr_segments,
static inline int kexec_load_check(unsigned long nr_segments,
unsigned long flags)
{
+ int image_type = (flags & KEXEC_ON_CRASH) ?
+ KEXEC_TYPE_CRASH : KEXEC_TYPE_DEFAULT;
int result;

/* We only trust the superuser with rebooting the system. */
- if (!kexec_load_permitted())
+ if (!kexec_load_permitted(image_type))
return -EPERM;

/* Permit LSMs and IMA to fail the kexec */
diff --git a/kernel/kexec_core.c b/kernel/kexec_core.c
index a1efc70f4158..951541d78ca8 100644
--- a/kernel/kexec_core.c
+++ b/kernel/kexec_core.c
@@ -926,10 +926,64 @@ int kimage_load_segment(struct kimage *image,
return result;
}

+struct kexec_load_limit {
+ /* Mutex protects the limit count. */
+ struct mutex mutex;
+ int limit;
+};
+
+static struct kexec_load_limit load_limit_reboot = {
+ .mutex = __MUTEX_INITIALIZER(load_limit_reboot.mutex),
+ .limit = -1,
+};
+
+static struct kexec_load_limit load_limit_panic = {
+ .mutex = __MUTEX_INITIALIZER(load_limit_panic.mutex),
+ .limit = -1,
+};
+
struct kimage *kexec_image;
struct kimage *kexec_crash_image;
static int kexec_load_disabled;
+
#ifdef CONFIG_SYSCTL
+static int kexec_limit_handler(struct ctl_table *table, int write,
+ void *buffer, size_t *lenp, loff_t *ppos)
+{
+ struct kexec_load_limit *limit = table->data;
+ int val;
+ struct ctl_table tmp = {
+ .data = &val,
+ .maxlen = sizeof(val),
+ .mode = table->mode,
+ };
+ int ret;
+
+ if (write) {
+ ret = proc_dointvec(&tmp, write, buffer, lenp, ppos);
+ if (ret)
+ return ret;
+
+ if (val < 0)
+ return -EINVAL;
+
+ mutex_lock(&limit->mutex);
+ if (limit->limit != -1 && val >= limit->limit)
+ ret = -EINVAL;
+ else
+ limit->limit = val;
+ mutex_unlock(&limit->mutex);
+
+ return ret;
+ }
+
+ mutex_lock(&limit->mutex);
+ val = limit->limit;
+ mutex_unlock(&limit->mutex);
+
+ return proc_dointvec(&tmp, write, buffer, lenp, ppos);
+}
+
static struct ctl_table kexec_core_sysctls[] = {
{
.procname = "kexec_load_disabled",
@@ -941,6 +995,18 @@ static struct ctl_table kexec_core_sysctls[] = {
.extra1 = SYSCTL_ONE,
.extra2 = SYSCTL_ONE,
},
+ {
+ .procname = "kexec_load_limit_panic",
+ .data = &load_limit_panic,
+ .mode = 0644,
+ .proc_handler = kexec_limit_handler,
+ },
+ {
+ .procname = "kexec_load_limit_reboot",
+ .data = &load_limit_reboot,
+ .mode = 0644,
+ .proc_handler = kexec_limit_handler,
+ },
{ }
};

@@ -952,13 +1018,30 @@ static int __init kexec_core_sysctl_init(void)
late_initcall(kexec_core_sysctl_init);
#endif

-bool kexec_load_permitted(void)
+bool kexec_load_permitted(int kexec_image_type)
{
+ struct kexec_load_limit *limit;
+
/*
* Only the superuser can use the kexec syscall and if it has not
* been disabled.
*/
- return capable(CAP_SYS_BOOT) && !kexec_load_disabled;
+ if (!capable(CAP_SYS_BOOT) || kexec_load_disabled)
+ return false;
+
+ /* Check limit counter and decrease it.*/
+ limit = (kexec_image_type == KEXEC_TYPE_CRASH) ?
+ &load_limit_panic : &load_limit_reboot;
+ mutex_lock(&limit->mutex);
+ if (!limit->limit) {
+ mutex_unlock(&limit->mutex);
+ return false;
+ }
+ if (limit->limit != -1)
+ limit->limit--;
+ mutex_unlock(&limit->mutex);
+
+ return true;
}

/*
diff --git a/kernel/kexec_file.c b/kernel/kexec_file.c
index 29efa43ea951..70e1e99038ee 100644
--- a/kernel/kexec_file.c
+++ b/kernel/kexec_file.c
@@ -326,11 +326,13 @@ SYSCALL_DEFINE5(kexec_file_load, int, kernel_fd, int, initrd_fd,
unsigned long, cmdline_len, const char __user *, cmdline_ptr,
unsigned long, flags)
{
- int ret = 0, i;
+ int image_type = (flags & KEXEC_FILE_ON_CRASH) ?
+ KEXEC_TYPE_CRASH : KEXEC_TYPE_DEFAULT;
struct kimage **dest_image, *image;
+ int ret = 0, i;

/* We only trust the superuser with rebooting the system. */
- if (!kexec_load_permitted())
+ if (!kexec_load_permitted(image_type))
return -EPERM;

/* Make sure we have a legal set of flags */
@@ -342,11 +344,12 @@ SYSCALL_DEFINE5(kexec_file_load, int, kernel_fd, int, initrd_fd,
if (!kexec_trylock())
return -EBUSY;

- dest_image = &kexec_image;
- if (flags & KEXEC_FILE_ON_CRASH) {
+ if (image_type == KEXEC_TYPE_CRASH) {
dest_image = &kexec_crash_image;
if (kexec_crash_image)
arch_kexec_unprotect_crashkres();
+ } else {
+ dest_image = &kexec_image;
}

if (flags & KEXEC_FILE_UNLOAD)

--
2.39.0.314.g84b9a713c41-goog-b4-0.11.0-dev-696ae