[PATCH v2 0/3] pidfd: add task path ioctls

From: Chen Linxuan via B4 Relay

Date: Sun Aug 30 2026 - 23:00:16 EST


Obtaining a target task's executable, working directory, or root
currently requires walking procfs symlinks such as /proc/<pid>/exe,
/proc/<pid>/cwd, and /proc/<pid>/root. That makes the operation depend
on procfs being mounted and visible to the caller, even when it already
holds a pidfd for the target.

This series adds PIDFD_GET_EXE, PIDFD_GET_CWD, and PIDFD_GET_ROOT. Each
ioctl takes no argument and returns a close-on-exec O_PATH file
descriptor referencing the corresponding task path. The new ioctls use
the same ptrace permission check and nonzero-argument rejection as the
existing pidfd namespace ioctls.

The target task is sampled while holding its exec_update_lock. This
keeps the access decision and the task-state read in the same exec
critical section, preventing a concurrent execve() from changing the
credentials or target state between the check and the use.

The first patch factors out helpers for acquiring referenced task paths
and reuses them in procfs and AppArmor. The second patch introduces
scoped cleanup for privileged pidfd task access and separates namespace
lookup from namespace fd creation. The final patch uses these pieces to
implement the three new ioctls.

Signed-off-by: Chen Linxuan <me@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
---
Changes in v2:
- Make pidfd_get_task_locked() own the task reference until it is
transferred to the pidfd_task_locked cleanup class.
- Link to v1: https://patch.msgid.link/20260820-pidfd-get-paths-v1-0-ac3eee4003d5@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

To: Alexander Viro <viro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Christian Brauner <brauner@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: Jan Kara <jack@xxxxxxx>
To: Andrew Morton <akpm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: David Hildenbrand <david@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: Lorenzo Stoakes <ljs@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Liam R. Howlett" <liam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: Mike Rapoport <rppt@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: Michal Hocko <mhocko@xxxxxxxx>
To: Ingo Molnar <mingo@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Juri Lelli <juri.lelli@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: Vincent Guittot <vincent.guittot@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: Dietmar Eggemann <dietmar.eggemann@xxxxxxx>
To: Steven Rostedt <rostedt@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Ben Segall <bsegall@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: Mel Gorman <mgorman@xxxxxxx>
To: Valentin Schneider <vschneid@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: K Prateek Nayak <kprateek.nayak@xxxxxxx>
To: Kees Cook <kees@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: John Johansen <john.johansen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Georgia Garcia <georgia.garcia@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Paul Moore <paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: James Morris <jmorris@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Serge E. Hallyn" <serge@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: linux-fsdevel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: linux-kernel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: linux-mm@xxxxxxxxx
Cc: apparmor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: linux-security-module@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

---
Chen Linxuan (3):
fs: Introduce task path helpers
pidfd: Use scoped cleanup for task access
pidfd: Add task path ioctls

fs/fs_struct.c | 44 +++++++++++++
fs/pidfs.c | 153 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------------
fs/proc/base.c | 34 +---------
include/linux/fs_struct.h | 3 +
include/linux/mm.h | 1 +
include/uapi/linux/pidfd.h | 7 +++
kernel/fork.c | 21 +++++++
security/apparmor/task.c | 12 +---
8 files changed, 190 insertions(+), 85 deletions(-)
---
base-commit: cee9395acd8043be0644b25c34bfa86623f2b935
change-id: 20260819-pidfd-get-paths-59640d8cd1ee

Best regards,
--
Chen Linxuan <me@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>