[PATCH v4 4/6] x86/shstk: support via prctl
From: Bill Roberts
Date: Tue Sep 15 2026 - 15:45:12 EST
Historically, managing the user-space shadow stack state on x86 has
been handled exclusively through the arch_prctl() interface via the
ARCH_SHSTK_* operations. However, other architectures (such as arm64 and
riscv) do not implement arch_prctl() and instead utilize the newer,
arch-agnostic, prctl() interface (i.e. PR_GET_SHADOW_STACK_STATUS and
PR_SET_SHADOW_STACK_STATUS).
To provide language runtimes, toolchains, and libc implementations with a
consistent, cross-architecture interface for managing control-flow
integrity, wire up the generic shadow stack prctl handlers for x86.
Map the generic PR_SHADOW_STACK_ENABLE, PR_SHADOW_STACK_DISABLE, and
PR_SHADOW_STACK_LOCK operations onto the underlying x86 internal CET helper
routines. This allows portable userspace applications to toggle or query
shadow stack states without relying on architecture-specific system calls,
while maintaining backward compatibility with existing arch_prctl() calls.
Signed-off-by: Bill Roberts <bill.roberts@xxxxxxx>
---
arch/x86/kernel/shstk.c | 83 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 file changed, 83 insertions(+)
diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/shstk.c b/arch/x86/kernel/shstk.c
index 0ca64900192f..249c4998732a 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kernel/shstk.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/shstk.c
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
#include <linux/sizes.h>
#include <linux/user.h>
#include <linux/syscalls.h>
+#include <linux/prctl.h>
#include <asm/msr.h>
#include <asm/fpu/xstate.h>
#include <asm/fpu/types.h>
@@ -630,3 +631,85 @@ bool shstk_is_enabled(void)
{
return features_enabled(ARCH_SHSTK_SHSTK);
}
+
+/* Handles the generic prctl interface for PR_SET_SHADOW_STACK_STATUS and its feature bits */
+int arch_set_shadow_stack_status(struct task_struct *t, unsigned long status)
+{
+ int rc;
+ bool shstk_was_enabled = features_enabled(ARCH_SHSTK_SHSTK);
+
+ /*
+ * One must explicitly perform enable/disable calls for the whole feature set so
+ * that the locked bits are checked. It is also important to capture entry state
+ * for roll-back if needed. However, we must NOT try to enable or disable a feature
+ * unless there is a change in feature status from old to new state. This is
+ * because shstk_prctl(), correctly, checks locked bits before feature enabled/disabled
+ * short circuit.
+ */
+ switch (status) {
+ case 0:
+ /*
+ * We do NOT explicitly disable WRSS here, disabling shadow stack will disable WRSS,
+ * and we don't want a locked WRSS to prevent disable.
+ */
+ return shstk_was_enabled ?
+ shstk_prctl(t, ARCH_SHSTK_DISABLE, ARCH_SHSTK_SHSTK) : 0;
+
+ case PR_SHADOW_STACK_ENABLE:
+ if (!shstk_was_enabled) {
+ rc = shstk_prctl(t, ARCH_SHSTK_ENABLE, ARCH_SHSTK_SHSTK);
+ if (rc)
+ return rc;
+ }
+
+ if (features_enabled(ARCH_SHSTK_WRSS)) {
+ rc = shstk_prctl(t, ARCH_SHSTK_DISABLE, ARCH_SHSTK_WRSS);
+ if (rc && !shstk_was_enabled)
+ shstk_prctl(t, ARCH_SHSTK_DISABLE, ARCH_SHSTK_SHSTK);
+ return rc;
+ }
+
+ return 0;
+
+ case PR_SHADOW_STACK_ENABLE|PR_SHADOW_STACK_WRITE:
+ if (!shstk_was_enabled) {
+ rc = shstk_prctl(t, ARCH_SHSTK_ENABLE, ARCH_SHSTK_SHSTK);
+ if (rc)
+ return rc;
+ }
+
+ if (!features_enabled(ARCH_SHSTK_WRSS)) {
+ rc = shstk_prctl(t, ARCH_SHSTK_ENABLE, ARCH_SHSTK_WRSS);
+ if (rc && !shstk_was_enabled)
+ shstk_prctl(t, ARCH_SHSTK_DISABLE, ARCH_SHSTK_SHSTK);
+
+ return rc;
+ }
+
+ return 0;
+
+ /*
+ * Unknown bit mapping, unsupported PR_SHADOW_STACK_PUSH or *only*
+ * PR_SHADOW_STACK_WRITE.
+ */
+ default:
+ return -EINVAL;
+ }
+}
+
+/* Handles the generic prctl interface for PR_LOCK_SHADOW_STACK_STATUS and its feature bits */
+int arch_lock_shadow_stack_status(struct task_struct *t, unsigned long status)
+{
+ return shstk_prctl(t, ARCH_SHSTK_LOCK, status);
+}
+
+/*
+ * We assume the prctl() feature bits line up with the arch_prctl() specific ones. If not,
+ * the flags returned via arch_get_shadow_stack_status will be mapped wrong.
+ */
+static_assert(PR_SHADOW_STACK_ENABLE == ARCH_SHSTK_SHSTK);
+static_assert(PR_SHADOW_STACK_WRITE == ARCH_SHSTK_WRSS);
+int arch_get_shadow_stack_status(struct task_struct *t, unsigned long __user *status)
+{
+ return shstk_prctl(t, ARCH_SHSTK_STATUS, (unsigned long)status);
+}
--
2.55.0