[PATCH] ppp: add IFLA_PPP_UNIT netlink attribute
From: Martin Olivier
Date: Wed Mar 11 2026 - 13:46:24 EST
Currently, the PPP rtnetlink API allows creating a new network interface
with a custom ifname, but it lacks the ability to specify a custom PPP
unit id.
Setting a specific unit id is currently only possible with the
PPPIOCNEWUNIT ioctl. If a user-space program also requires a custom
interface name, it must create the interface first with PPPIOCNEWUNIT
and then rename it.
Resolve this by introducing the IFLA_PPP_UNIT netlink attribute. This
allows user-space programs to atomically request both a custom ifname
and a specific PPP unit id during the RTM_NEWLINK creation process,
eliminating the post-creation renaming for this use case.
Signed-off-by: Martin Olivier <martin.olivier@xxxxxxx>
---
drivers/net/ppp/ppp_generic.c | 7 +++++++
include/uapi/linux/if_link.h | 1 +
tools/include/uapi/linux/if_link.h | 1 +
3 files changed, 9 insertions(+)
diff --git a/drivers/net/ppp/ppp_generic.c b/drivers/net/ppp/ppp_generic.c
index e9b41777be80..57d0124b9f37 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ppp/ppp_generic.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ppp/ppp_generic.c
@@ -1292,6 +1292,7 @@ static int ppp_dev_configure(struct net *src_net, struct net_device *dev,
static const struct nla_policy ppp_nl_policy[IFLA_PPP_MAX + 1] = {
[IFLA_PPP_DEV_FD] = { .type = NLA_S32 },
+ [IFLA_PPP_UNIT] = { .type = NLA_S32 },
};
static int ppp_nl_validate(struct nlattr *tb[], struct nlattr *data[],
@@ -1305,6 +1306,9 @@ static int ppp_nl_validate(struct nlattr *tb[], struct nlattr *data[],
if (nla_get_s32(data[IFLA_PPP_DEV_FD]) < 0)
return -EBADF;
+ if (data[IFLA_PPP_UNIT] && nla_get_s32(data[IFLA_PPP_UNIT]) < 0)
+ return -EINVAL;
+
return 0;
}
@@ -1326,6 +1330,9 @@ static int ppp_nl_newlink(struct net_device *dev,
if (!file)
return -EBADF;
+ if (data[IFLA_PPP_UNIT])
+ conf.unit = nla_get_s32(data[IFLA_PPP_UNIT]);
+
/* rtnl_lock is already held here, but ppp_create_interface() locks
* ppp_mutex before holding rtnl_lock. Using mutex_trylock() avoids
* possible deadlock due to lock order inversion, at the cost of
diff --git a/include/uapi/linux/if_link.h b/include/uapi/linux/if_link.h
index e9b5f79e1ee1..40523cd01a8b 100644
--- a/include/uapi/linux/if_link.h
+++ b/include/uapi/linux/if_link.h
@@ -1477,6 +1477,7 @@ enum {
enum {
IFLA_PPP_UNSPEC,
IFLA_PPP_DEV_FD,
+ IFLA_PPP_UNIT,
__IFLA_PPP_MAX
};
#define IFLA_PPP_MAX (__IFLA_PPP_MAX - 1)
diff --git a/tools/include/uapi/linux/if_link.h b/tools/include/uapi/linux/if_link.h
index 7e46ca4cd31b..150a582ae498 100644
--- a/tools/include/uapi/linux/if_link.h
+++ b/tools/include/uapi/linux/if_link.h
@@ -1465,6 +1465,7 @@ enum {
enum {
IFLA_PPP_UNSPEC,
IFLA_PPP_DEV_FD,
+ IFLA_PPP_UNIT,
__IFLA_PPP_MAX
};
#define IFLA_PPP_MAX (__IFLA_PPP_MAX - 1)
--
2.51.0