Linux kernel mirror (for testing) git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git
kernel os linux

exec: Fix a deadlock in strace

This fixes a deadlock in the tracer when tracing a multi-threaded
application that calls execve while more than one thread are running.

I observed that when running strace on the gcc test suite, it always
blocks after a while, when expect calls execve, because other threads
have to be terminated. They send ptrace events, but the strace is no
longer able to respond, since it is blocked in vm_access.

The deadlock is always happening when strace needs to access the
tracees process mmap, while another thread in the tracee starts to
execve a child process, but that cannot continue until the
PTRACE_EVENT_EXIT is handled and the WIFEXITED event is received:

strace D 0 30614 30584 0x00000000
Call Trace:
__schedule+0x3ce/0x6e0
schedule+0x5c/0xd0
schedule_preempt_disabled+0x15/0x20
__mutex_lock.isra.13+0x1ec/0x520
__mutex_lock_killable_slowpath+0x13/0x20
mutex_lock_killable+0x28/0x30
mm_access+0x27/0xa0
process_vm_rw_core.isra.3+0xff/0x550
process_vm_rw+0xdd/0xf0
__x64_sys_process_vm_readv+0x31/0x40
do_syscall_64+0x64/0x220
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xa9

expect D 0 31933 30876 0x80004003
Call Trace:
__schedule+0x3ce/0x6e0
schedule+0x5c/0xd0
flush_old_exec+0xc4/0x770
load_elf_binary+0x35a/0x16c0
search_binary_handler+0x97/0x1d0
__do_execve_file.isra.40+0x5d4/0x8a0
__x64_sys_execve+0x49/0x60
do_syscall_64+0x64/0x220
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xa9

This changes mm_access to use the new exec_update_mutex
instead of cred_guard_mutex.

This patch is based on the following patch by Eric W. Biederman:
"[PATCH 0/5] Infrastructure to allow fixing exec deadlocks"
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/87v9ne5y4y.fsf_-_@x220.int.ebiederm.org/

Signed-off-by: Bernd Edlinger <bernd.edlinger@hotmail.de>
Reviewed-by: Kees Cook <keescook@chromium.org>
Signed-off-by: Eric W. Biederman <ebiederm@xmission.com>

authored by

Bernd Edlinger and committed by
Eric W. Biederman
3e74fabd eea96732

+2 -2
+2 -2
kernel/fork.c
··· 1224 1224 struct mm_struct *mm; 1225 1225 int err; 1226 1226 1227 - err = mutex_lock_killable(&task->signal->cred_guard_mutex); 1227 + err = mutex_lock_killable(&task->signal->exec_update_mutex); 1228 1228 if (err) 1229 1229 return ERR_PTR(err); 1230 1230 ··· 1234 1234 mmput(mm); 1235 1235 mm = ERR_PTR(-EACCES); 1236 1236 } 1237 - mutex_unlock(&task->signal->cred_guard_mutex); 1237 + mutex_unlock(&task->signal->exec_update_mutex); 1238 1238 1239 1239 return mm; 1240 1240 }