Re: [PATCH 0/2] Adjust brk randomness

[H. Peter Anvin]

On February 16, 2024 10:25:42 PM PST, Kees Cook <keescook@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>Hi,
>
>It was recently pointed out[1] that x86_64 brk entropy was not great,
>and that on all architectures the brk can (when the random offset is 0)
>be immediately adjacent to .bss, leaving no gap that could stop linear
>overflows from the .bss. Address both issues.
>
>-Kees
>
>Link: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-hardening/CA+2EKTVLvc8hDZc+2Yhwmus=dzOUG5E4gV7ayCbu0MPJTZzWkw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [1]
>
>Kees Cook (2):
>  x86: Increase brk randomness entropy on x86_64
>  binfmt_elf: Leave a gap between .bss and brk
>
> arch/x86/kernel/process.c | 5 ++++-
> fs/binfmt_elf.c           | 3 +++
> 2 files changed, 7 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
>

Why do we even have the brk, or perhaps more importantly, why do we use it? Is there any reason whatsoever why glibc uses brk instead of mmap to her heap memory?

I thought the base of the brk wasn't even known to userspace other than in the form of the image end...