[BUG] x86: 32-bit uprobes are broken

From: Oleg Nesterov

Date: Wed Jan 07 2026 - 09:33:09 EST


Paulo reported that uprobing the 32-bit tasks is broken.

This script

#!/usr/bin/bash

echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/randomize_va_space

echo 'void main(void) {}' > TEST.c

# -fcf-protection to ensure that the 1st endbr32 insn can't be eulated
gcc -m32 -fcf-protection=branch TEST.c -o test

bpftrace -e 'uprobe:./test:main {}' -c ./test

"hangs", the probed ./test task enters the endless loop.

This patch

--- a/kernel/events/uprobes.c
+++ b/kernel/events/uprobes.c
@@ -1710,8 +1710,11 @@ static int xol_add_vma(struct mm_struct *mm, struct xol_area *area)

if (!area->vaddr) {
/* Try to map as high as possible, this is only a hint. */
+ if (test_thread_flag(TIF_ADDR32))
+ current_thread_info()->status |= TS_COMPAT;
area->vaddr = get_unmapped_area(NULL, TASK_SIZE - PAGE_SIZE,
PAGE_SIZE, 0, 0);
+ current_thread_info()->status &= ~TS_COMPAT;
if (IS_ERR_VALUE(area->vaddr)) {
ret = area->vaddr;
goto fail;

or this one

--- a/arch/x86/kernel/sys_x86_64.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/sys_x86_64.c
@@ -205,6 +205,8 @@ arch_get_unmapped_area_topdown(struct file *filp, unsigned long addr0,
info.low_limit = PAGE_SIZE;

info.high_limit = get_mmap_base(0);
+ if (test_thread_flag(TIF_ADDR32))
+ info.high_limit = current->mm->mmap_compat_base;
if (!(filp && is_file_hugepages(filp))) {
info.start_gap = stack_guard_placement(vm_flags);
info.align_offset = pgoff << PAGE_SHIFT;

"fixes" the problem.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The problem is that with randomize_va_space == 0 get_unmapped_area(TASK_SIZE - PAGE_SIZE)
called by xol_add_vma() can't just return the "addr == TASK_SIZE - PAGE_SIZE" hint, this
addr is used by the stack vma.

arch_get_unmapped_area/arch_get_unmapped_area_topdown() doesn't take TIF_ADDR32 into
account and in_32bit_syscall() is false, this leads to info.high_limit > TASK_SIZE.
get_area() happily returns the "high" address and then get_unmapped_area() returns
ENOMEM after the

if (addr > TASK_SIZE - len)
return -ENOMEM;

check; TASK_SIZE checks TIF_ADDR32.

handle_swbp() doesn't report this failure (probably it should) and silently restarts
the probed insn. Endless loop.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am considering the patch which adds something like

// x86 version will use the TS_COMPAT hack
unsigned long __weak arch_uprobe_area(void)
{
return get_unmapped_area(NULL, TASK_SIZE - PAGE_SIZE, PAGE_SIZE, 0, 0);
}

but perhaps there is a better solution? perhaps it makes more sense to change
arch/x86/kernel/sys_x86_64.c? What is the point of ignoring TIF_ADDR32 if the
high adress will be nacked by the "if (addr > TASK_SIZE - len)" check anyway?

Oleg.