[PATCH v2 4/7] fs: support FD_FAILFS_ROOT in fchroot()
From: Christian Brauner
Date: Fri Jul 24 2026 - 09:43:17 EST
Allow a process to move its root directory into failfs via
fchroot(FD_FAILFS_ROOT). From that point on every absolute path lookup
and every absolute symlink fails with EOPNOTSUPP. Combined with
fchdir(FD_FAILFS_ROOT) this leaves the process with lookups anchored
at explicit directory file descriptors only. It is the fs_struct
equivalent of RESOLVE_BENEATH. This allows taks to drop their filesystem
state completely.
Callers with CAP_SYS_CHROOT in their user namespace may always do
this, mirroring chroot(2). Unprivileged callers are subject to three
requirements (which may be loosened later):
(1) no_new_privs must be set
After entering failfs suid binaries on regular mounts remain
reachable via inherited directory file descriptors or the working
directory. A setuid program executing with an unusable root
directory might be tricked by this. I'm not 100% convinced that this
is needed but it feels more secure initially and it also forces more
no_new_privs on userspace. So win-win imo.
(2) The caller must not already be chrooted.
The root directory is what confines .. resolution. The failfs root
can never be reached by walking up a real mount tree. A task whose
root is failfs has no .. barrier left below the top of its mount
tree. A .. walk from any real directory fd it still holds climbs
to the mount-namespace root. Which is kinda the point if you want to
do fd-based lookup only. If failfs prevented you from doing that
then it doesn't make a lot of sense.
A task that a privileged manager chrooted into a subtree could use
chroot()ing into failfs as a way to allow for an inherited fd to
resolve it again.
So reject already-chrooted callers closing that issue without losing
anything for the intended self-sandboxing use case.
(3) The caller must not share its fs_struct.
Requirement (1) is checked on the calling thread, but the root
lives in the fs_struct which may be shared via CLONE_FS. A sibling
thread without no_new_privs could then execute a setuid binary with
the failfs root and defeat (1). setns() to a mount or user namespace
refuses a shared fs_struct for the same kind of reason, so do the
same here and require fs->users == 1. no_new_privs is inherited
across clone() and can never be cleared, so any CLONE_FS child
created afterwards carries it too and the guarantee holds.
Privileged callers (CAP_SYS_CHROOT) are not subject to these
requirements and may share the fs_struct. They can already chroot and
exec a setuid binary today, so failfs hands them nothing new.
Backing out is currently hard, but that is a property of the current
implementation and not a promise. current_chrooted() treats a failfs
root as chrooted so for now the task cannot create user namespaces to
regain CAP_SYS_CHROOT and chroot()/fchroot() back out require
CAP_SYS_CHROOT. This is not guaranteed though. current_chrooted() may
change, or an unprivileged no_new_privs task could be allowed to chroot
to a real directory, either of which would loosen this. So don't treat
it as a permanent one-way door.
The remaining way out today is setns() to a mount namespace file
descriptor which requires CAP_SYS_ADMIN over the target namespace plus
CAP_SYS_CHROOT and CAP_SYS_ADMIN in the caller's user namespace and
resets both root and working directory. A task that closes or never had
such file descriptors and restricts *chdir()/*chroot()/setns() via
seccomp currently cannot get back out.
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner (Amutable) <brauner@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
fs/open.c | 47 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++---------------
1 file changed, 32 insertions(+), 15 deletions(-)
diff --git a/fs/open.c b/fs/open.c
index c57f641f2e29..6b1c14e684a9 100644
--- a/fs/open.c
+++ b/fs/open.c
@@ -620,31 +620,48 @@ SYSCALL_DEFINE1(chroot, const char __user *, filename)
SYSCALL_DEFINE2(fchroot, int, fd, unsigned int, flags)
{
+ struct path path;
int error;
if (flags)
return -EINVAL;
- CLASS(fd_raw, f)(fd);
- if (fd_empty(f))
- return -EBADF;
+ if (fd == FD_FAILFS_ROOT) {
+ if (!ns_capable(current_user_ns(), CAP_SYS_CHROOT)) {
+ if (!task_no_new_privs(current))
+ return -EPERM;
+ /* A shared fs_struct lets a sibling exec setuid past the check above. */
+ if (current->fs->users != 1)
+ return -EINVAL;
+ /* Moving the root to failfs lifts the old root's ".." barrier. */
+ if (current_chrooted())
+ return -EPERM;
+ }
+ failfs_get_root(&path);
+ } else {
+ CLASS(fd_raw, f)(fd);
+ if (fd_empty(f))
+ return -EBADF;
- if (!d_can_lookup(fd_file(f)->f_path.dentry))
- return -ENOTDIR;
+ if (!d_can_lookup(fd_file(f)->f_path.dentry))
+ return -ENOTDIR;
- error = file_permission(fd_file(f), MAY_EXEC | MAY_CHDIR);
- if (error)
- return error;
+ error = file_permission(fd_file(f), MAY_EXEC | MAY_CHDIR);
+ if (error)
+ return error;
- if (!ns_capable(current_user_ns(), CAP_SYS_CHROOT))
- return -EPERM;
+ if (!ns_capable(current_user_ns(), CAP_SYS_CHROOT))
+ return -EPERM;
- error = security_path_chroot(&fd_file(f)->f_path);
- if (error)
- return error;
+ path = fd_file(f)->f_path;
+ path_get(&path);
+ }
- set_fs_root(current->fs, &fd_file(f)->f_path);
- return 0;
+ error = security_path_chroot(&path);
+ if (!error)
+ set_fs_root(current->fs, &path);
+ path_put(&path);
+ return error;
}
int chmod_common(const struct path *path, umode_t mode)
--
2.53.0