diff mbox series

elf: Extend glibc.rtld.execstack tunable to force executable stack (BZ 32653)

Message ID 20250210193026.3387809-1-adhemerval.zanella@linaro.org
State Superseded
Headers show
Series elf: Extend glibc.rtld.execstack tunable to force executable stack (BZ 32653) | expand

Commit Message

Adhemerval Zanella Feb. 10, 2025, 7:29 p.m. UTC
From the bug report [1], multiple programs still require to dlopen
shared libraries with either missing PT_GNU_STACK or with the executable
bit set.  Although, in some cases, it seems to be a hard-craft assembly
source without the required PT_GNU_STACK mark (so the loader is forced to
set an RWE), other cases seem that the library uses trampolines [2].

Unfortunately, READ_IMPLIES_EXEC is not an option since on some ABIs
(x86_64), the kernel clears the bit, making it unsupported.  To avoid
reinstating the broken code that changes stack permission on dlopen
(0ca8785a28), this patch extends the glibc.rtld.execstack tunable to
 allow an option to force an executable stack at the program startup.

The tunable is a security issue because it defeats the PT_GNU_STACK
hardening.  It has the slight advantage of making it explicit by the
caller, and, as for other tunables, this is disabled for setuid binaries.
A tunable also allows us to eventually remove it, but from previous
experiences, it would require some time.

Checked on x86_64-linux-gnu and i686-linux-gnu.

[1] https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=32653
[2] https://github.com/conda-forge/ctng-compiler-activation-feedstock/issues/143

---

I am marking this a RFC because I am not about the security implications.
The glibc 2.41 with 0ca8785a28 fixed a long standing security issue where
some security guarantee were being change during process execution, while
still enforcing the PT_GNU_STACK during process execution.

This compatibility patch removes the enforcement, since user may override the
PT_GNU_STACK with an environment variable.  This in theory is a hardening
drowgrade, but this is also what users seems to be doing with execstack
to override the binary PT_GNU_STACK header.

---
 csu/libc-start.c                              |  3 ++
 elf/dl-tunables.list                          |  2 +-
 elf/rtld.c                                    |  1 +
 elf/tst-rtld-list-tunables.exp                |  2 +-
 manual/tunables.texi                          | 10 +++--
 sysdeps/generic/ldsodefs.h                    |  4 ++
 sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/Makefile              | 12 ++++++
 sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/dl-execstack.c        | 29 ++++++++++++--
 .../unix/sysv/linux/include/sys/personality.h | 12 ++++++
 .../linux/tst-execstack-tunable-execstack.c   |  1 +
 .../linux/tst-execstack-tunable-skeleton.c    | 39 +++++++++++++++++++
 .../unix/sysv/linux/tst-execstack-tunable.c   | 39 +++++++++++++++++++
 12 files changed, 145 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/include/sys/personality.h
 create mode 100644 sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/tst-execstack-tunable-execstack.c
 create mode 100644 sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/tst-execstack-tunable-skeleton.c
 create mode 100644 sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/tst-execstack-tunable.c

Comments

Adhemerval Zanella Feb. 10, 2025, 7:39 p.m. UTC | #1
On 10/02/25 16:29, Adhemerval Zanella wrote:
> From the bug report [1], multiple programs still require to dlopen
> shared libraries with either missing PT_GNU_STACK or with the executable
> bit set.  Although, in some cases, it seems to be a hard-craft assembly
> source without the required PT_GNU_STACK mark (so the loader is forced to
> set an RWE), other cases seem that the library uses trampolines [2].
> 
> Unfortunately, READ_IMPLIES_EXEC is not an option since on some ABIs
> (x86_64), the kernel clears the bit, making it unsupported.  To avoid
> reinstating the broken code that changes stack permission on dlopen
> (0ca8785a28), this patch extends the glibc.rtld.execstack tunable to
>  allow an option to force an executable stack at the program startup.
> 
> The tunable is a security issue because it defeats the PT_GNU_STACK
> hardening.  It has the slight advantage of making it explicit by the
> caller, and, as for other tunables, this is disabled for setuid binaries.
> A tunable also allows us to eventually remove it, but from previous
> experiences, it would require some time.
> 
> Checked on x86_64-linux-gnu and i686-linux-gnu.
> 
> [1] https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=32653
> [2] https://github.com/conda-forge/ctng-compiler-activation-feedstock/issues/143

Sigh... I forgot to git add some file before sending the patch.  I will
sent a v2.
diff mbox series

Patch

diff --git a/csu/libc-start.c b/csu/libc-start.c
index 6f3d52e223..7a13961b18 100644
--- a/csu/libc-start.c
+++ b/csu/libc-start.c
@@ -307,6 +307,9 @@  LIBC_START_MAIN (int (*main) (int, char **, char ** MAIN_AUXVEC_DECL),
 
 #endif /* !SHARED  */
 
+  /* Make the thread executable if required.  */
+  GLRO(dl_check_executable_stack) ();
+
   /* Register the destructor of the dynamic linker if there is any.  */
   if (__glibc_likely (rtld_fini != NULL))
     __cxa_atexit ((void (*) (void *)) rtld_fini, NULL, NULL);
diff --git a/elf/dl-tunables.list b/elf/dl-tunables.list
index 0b6721bc51..c03c9967f0 100644
--- a/elf/dl-tunables.list
+++ b/elf/dl-tunables.list
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@  glibc {
     execstack {
       type: INT_32
       minval: 0
-      maxval: 1
+      maxval: 2
       default: 1
     }
   }
diff --git a/elf/rtld.c b/elf/rtld.c
index 115f1da37f..573197a484 100644
--- a/elf/rtld.c
+++ b/elf/rtld.c
@@ -372,6 +372,7 @@  struct rtld_global_ro _rtld_global_ro attribute_relro =
     ._dl_error_free = _dl_error_free,
     ._dl_tls_get_addr_soft = _dl_tls_get_addr_soft,
     ._dl_libc_freeres = __rtld_libc_freeres,
+    ._dl_check_executable_stack = _dl_check_executable_stack,
   };
 /* If we would use strong_alias here the compiler would see a
    non-hidden definition.  This would undo the effect of the previous
diff --git a/elf/tst-rtld-list-tunables.exp b/elf/tst-rtld-list-tunables.exp
index 9f5990f340..8df6f5906e 100644
--- a/elf/tst-rtld-list-tunables.exp
+++ b/elf/tst-rtld-list-tunables.exp
@@ -13,6 +13,6 @@  glibc.malloc.top_pad: 0x20000 (min: 0x0, max: 0x[f]+)
 glibc.malloc.trim_threshold: 0x0 (min: 0x0, max: 0x[f]+)
 glibc.rtld.dynamic_sort: 2 (min: 1, max: 2)
 glibc.rtld.enable_secure: 0 (min: 0, max: 1)
-glibc.rtld.execstack: 1 (min: 0, max: 1)
+glibc.rtld.execstack: 1 (min: 0, max: 2)
 glibc.rtld.nns: 0x4 (min: 0x1, max: 0x10)
 glibc.rtld.optional_static_tls: 0x200 (min: 0x0, max: 0x[f]+)
diff --git a/manual/tunables.texi b/manual/tunables.texi
index 7f0246c789..5c96fae769 100644
--- a/manual/tunables.texi
+++ b/manual/tunables.texi
@@ -365,8 +365,11 @@  change the main stack permission if kernel starts with a non-executable stack.
 The @code{glibc.rtld.execstack} can be used to control whether an executable
 stack is allowed from the main program.  Setting the value to @code{0} disables
 the ABI auto-negotiation (meaning no executable stacks even if the ABI or ELF
-header requires it), while @code{1} enables auto-negotiation (although the
-program might not need an executable stack).
+header requires it), @code{1} enables auto-negotiation (although the program
+might not need an executable stack), while @code{2} forces and executable
+stack during initialization (this is provide for compatibility reasons, where
+the program requires to dynamically load modules with executable stacks with
+@code{dlopen}).
 
 When executable stacks are not allowed, and if the main program requires it,
 the loader will fail with an error message.
@@ -380,7 +383,8 @@  of hardware capabilities and kernel configuration.
 @strong{NB:} Trying to load a dynamic shared library with @code{dlopen} or
 @code{dlmopen} that requires an executable stack will always fail if the
 main program does not require an executable stack at loading time.  This
-is enforced regardless of the tunable value.
+can be disable by setting the tunable to @code{2}, where the stack is
+always executable.
 @end deftp
 
 @node Elision Tunables
diff --git a/sysdeps/generic/ldsodefs.h b/sysdeps/generic/ldsodefs.h
index 8465cbaa9b..caed31e17f 100644
--- a/sysdeps/generic/ldsodefs.h
+++ b/sysdeps/generic/ldsodefs.h
@@ -671,6 +671,8 @@  struct rtld_global_ro
   /* Called from __libc_shared to deallocate malloc'ed memory.  */
   void (*_dl_libc_freeres) (void);
 
+  int (*_dl_check_executable_stack) (void);
+
   /* Implementation of _dl_find_object.  The public entry point is in
      libc, and this is patched by __rtld_static_init to support static
      dlopen.  */
@@ -707,6 +709,8 @@  extern const ElfW(Phdr) *_dl_phdr;
 extern size_t _dl_phnum;
 #endif
 
+int _dl_check_executable_stack (void) attribute_hidden;
+
 /* This function changes the permission of the memory region pointed
    by STACK_ENDP to executable and update the internal memory protection
    flags for future thread stack creation.  */
diff --git a/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/Makefile b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/Makefile
index 395d2d6593..364fd66aab 100644
--- a/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/Makefile
+++ b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/Makefile
@@ -681,6 +681,18 @@  tests-special += \
   $(objpfx)tst-nolink-libc-2.out \
   # tests-special
 endif
+
+ifeq ($(have-z-execstack),yes)
+tests += \
+  tst-execstack-tunable \
+  # tests
+
+# Re-use the module with an executable stack from elf/Makefile
+$(objpfx)tst-execstack.out: $(objpfx)tst-execstack-mod.so
+
+tst-execstack-tunable-ENV = GLIBC_TUNABLES=glibc.rtld.execstack=2
+endif
+
 endif # $(subdir) == elf
 
 ifeq ($(subdir),rt)
diff --git a/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/dl-execstack.c b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/dl-execstack.c
index 9791b339ca..a8fa21dfda 100644
--- a/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/dl-execstack.c
+++ b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/dl-execstack.c
@@ -17,9 +17,10 @@ 
    <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.  */
 
 #include <ldsodefs.h>
+#include <dl-tunables.h>
 
-int
-_dl_make_stack_executable (void **stack_endp)
+static int
+make_stack_executable (void **stack_endp)
 {
   /* This gives us the highest/lowest page that needs to be changed.  */
   uintptr_t page = ((uintptr_t) *stack_endp
@@ -35,11 +36,31 @@  _dl_make_stack_executable (void **stack_endp)
 		  ) != 0)
     return errno;
 
+  /* Remember that we changed the permission.  */
+  GL(dl_stack_flags) |= PF_X;
+
+  return 0;
+}
+
+int
+_dl_make_stack_executable (void **stack_endp)
+{
+  int r = make_stack_executable (stack_endp);
+  if (r != 0)
+    return r;
+
   /* Clear the address.  */
   *stack_endp = NULL;
 
-  /* Remember that we changed the permission.  */
-  GL(dl_stack_flags) |= PF_X;
+  return r;
+}
 
+int
+_dl_check_executable_stack (void)
+{
+  if (TUNABLE_GET (glibc, rtld, execstack, int32_t, NULL) == 2)
+    /* We can't clean the __libc_stack_end because it is marked as RO
+       when this function is called.  */
+    return make_stack_executable (&__libc_stack_end);
   return 0;
 }
diff --git a/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/include/sys/personality.h b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/include/sys/personality.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..794047a488
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/include/sys/personality.h
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ 
+#ifndef _INCLUDE_SYS_PERSONALITY_H
+#define _INCLUDE_SYS_PERSONALITY_H	1
+
+#include_next <sys/personality.h>
+
+# ifndef _ISOMAC
+
+extern __typeof (personality) __personality __THROW;
+hidden_proto (__personality)
+
+# endif /* _ISOMAC */
+#endif /* sys/sysinfo.h */
diff --git a/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/tst-execstack-tunable-execstack.c b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/tst-execstack-tunable-execstack.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..50e4fa5299
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/tst-execstack-tunable-execstack.c
@@ -0,0 +1 @@ 
+#include "tst-execstack-tunable-skeleton.c"
diff --git a/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/tst-execstack-tunable-skeleton.c b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/tst-execstack-tunable-skeleton.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e91f85edb7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/tst-execstack-tunable-skeleton.c
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ 
+/* Check glibc.rtld.execstack=2 makes the stack executable.
+
+   Copyright (C) 2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+   This file is part of the GNU C Library.
+
+   The GNU C Library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+   modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+   License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+   version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+
+   The GNU C Library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+   Lesser General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+   License along with the GNU C Library; if not, see
+   <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.  */
+
+#include <stdbool.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+#include <support/check.h>
+#include <support/xdlfcn.h>
+
+static int
+do_test (void)
+{
+  void *h = dlopen ("tst-execstack-mod.so", RTLD_LAZY);
+  TEST_VERIFY (h != NULL);
+
+  void (*f)(void) = xdlsym (h, "tryme");
+  f ();
+
+  return 0;
+}
+
+#include <support/test-driver.c>
diff --git a/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/tst-execstack-tunable.c b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/tst-execstack-tunable.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7a5954ad9c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/tst-execstack-tunable.c
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@ 
+/* Check if READ_IMPLIES_EXEC makes the initial stack executable (BZ#32653)
+
+   Copyright (C) 2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+   This file is part of the GNU C Library.
+
+   The GNU C Library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+   modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+   License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+   version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+
+   The GNU C Library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+   Lesser General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+   License along with the GNU C Library; if not, see
+   <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.  */
+
+#include <stdbool.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+#include <support/check.h>
+#include <support/xdlfcn.h>
+
+static int
+do_test (void)
+{
+  void *h = dlopen ("tst-execstack-mod.so", RTLD_LAZY);
+  TEST_VERIFY (h != NULL);
+
+  void (*f)(void) = xdlsym (h, "tryme");
+  f ();
+
+  return 0;
+}
+
+#include <support/test-driver.c>