diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/security/self-protection.rst | 10 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt | 18 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/x86/x86_64/mm.txt | 3 |
3 files changed, 26 insertions, 5 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/security/self-protection.rst b/Documentation/security/self-protection.rst index e1ca698e0006..f584fb74b4ff 100644 --- a/Documentation/security/self-protection.rst +++ b/Documentation/security/self-protection.rst @@ -302,11 +302,11 @@ sure structure holes are cleared. Memory poisoning ---------------- -When releasing memory, it is best to poison the contents (clear stack on -syscall return, wipe heap memory on a free), to avoid reuse attacks that -rely on the old contents of memory. This frustrates many uninitialized -variable attacks, stack content exposures, heap content exposures, and -use-after-free attacks. +When releasing memory, it is best to poison the contents, to avoid reuse +attacks that rely on the old contents of memory. E.g., clear stack on a +syscall return (``CONFIG_GCC_PLUGIN_STACKLEAK``), wipe heap memory on a +free. This frustrates many uninitialized variable attacks, stack content +exposures, heap content exposures, and use-after-free attacks. Destination tracking -------------------- diff --git a/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt b/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt index 37a679501ddc..1b8775298cf7 100644 --- a/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt +++ b/Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt @@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ show up in /proc/sys/kernel: - shmmni - softlockup_all_cpu_backtrace - soft_watchdog +- stack_erasing - stop-a [ SPARC only ] - sysrq ==> Documentation/admin-guide/sysrq.rst - sysctl_writes_strict @@ -987,6 +988,23 @@ detect a hard lockup condition. ============================================================== +stack_erasing + +This parameter can be used to control kernel stack erasing at the end +of syscalls for kernels built with CONFIG_GCC_PLUGIN_STACKLEAK. + +That erasing reduces the information which kernel stack leak bugs +can reveal and blocks some uninitialized stack variable attacks. +The tradeoff is the performance impact: on a single CPU system kernel +compilation sees a 1% slowdown, other systems and workloads may vary. + + 0: kernel stack erasing is disabled, STACKLEAK_METRICS are not updated. + + 1: kernel stack erasing is enabled (default), it is performed before + returning to the userspace at the end of syscalls. + +============================================================== + tainted: Non-zero if the kernel has been tainted. Numeric values, which can be diff --git a/Documentation/x86/x86_64/mm.txt b/Documentation/x86/x86_64/mm.txt index 702898633b00..73aaaa3da436 100644 --- a/Documentation/x86/x86_64/mm.txt +++ b/Documentation/x86/x86_64/mm.txt @@ -146,3 +146,6 @@ Their order is preserved but their base will be offset early at boot time. Be very careful vs. KASLR when changing anything here. The KASLR address range must not overlap with anything except the KASAN shadow area, which is correct as KASAN disables KASLR. + +For both 4- and 5-level layouts, the STACKLEAK_POISON value in the last 2MB +hole: ffffffffffff4111 |