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-rw-r--r-- | Documentation/bpf/graph_ds_impl.rst | 266 | ||||
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diff --git a/Documentation/bpf/graph_ds_impl.rst b/Documentation/bpf/graph_ds_impl.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..8bbf1815efe7 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/bpf/graph_ds_impl.rst @@ -0,0 +1,266 @@ +========================= +BPF Graph Data Structures +========================= + +This document describes implementation details of new-style "graph" data +structures (linked_list, rbtree), with particular focus on the verifier's +implementation of semantics specific to those data structures. + +Although no specific verifier code is referred to in this document, the document +assumes that the reader has general knowledge of BPF verifier internals, BPF +maps, and BPF program writing. + +Note that the intent of this document is to describe the current state of +these graph data structures. **No guarantees** of stability for either +semantics or APIs are made or implied here. + +.. contents:: + :local: + :depth: 2 + +Introduction +------------ + +The BPF map API has historically been the main way to expose data structures +of various types for use within BPF programs. Some data structures fit naturally +with the map API (HASH, ARRAY), others less so. Consequentially, programs +interacting with the latter group of data structures can be hard to parse +for kernel programmers without previous BPF experience. + +Luckily, some restrictions which necessitated the use of BPF map semantics are +no longer relevant. With the introduction of kfuncs, kptrs, and the any-context +BPF allocator, it is now possible to implement BPF data structures whose API +and semantics more closely match those exposed to the rest of the kernel. + +Two such data structures - linked_list and rbtree - have many verification +details in common. Because both have "root"s ("head" for linked_list) and +"node"s, the verifier code and this document refer to common functionality +as "graph_api", "graph_root", "graph_node", etc. + +Unless otherwise stated, examples and semantics below apply to both graph data +structures. + +Unstable API +------------ + +Data structures implemented using the BPF map API have historically used BPF +helper functions - either standard map API helpers like ``bpf_map_update_elem`` +or map-specific helpers. The new-style graph data structures instead use kfuncs +to define their manipulation helpers. Because there are no stability guarantees +for kfuncs, the API and semantics for these data structures can be evolved in +a way that breaks backwards compatibility if necessary. + +Root and node types for the new data structures are opaquely defined in the +``uapi/linux/bpf.h`` header. + +Locking +------- + +The new-style data structures are intrusive and are defined similarly to their +vanilla kernel counterparts: + +.. code-block:: c + struct node_data { + long key; + long data; + struct bpf_rb_node node; + }; + + struct bpf_spin_lock glock; + struct bpf_rb_root groot __contains(node_data, node); + +The "root" type for both linked_list and rbtree expects to be in a map_value +which also contains a ``bpf_spin_lock`` - in the above example both global +variables are placed in a single-value arraymap. The verifier considers this +spin_lock to be associated with the ``bpf_rb_root`` by virtue of both being in +the same map_value and will enforce that the correct lock is held when +verifying BPF programs that manipulate the tree. Since this lock checking +happens at verification time, there is no runtime penalty. + +Non-owning references +--------------------- + +**Motivation** + +Consider the following BPF code: + +.. code-block:: c + + struct node_data *n = bpf_obj_new(typeof(*n)); /* ACQUIRED */ + + bpf_spin_lock(&lock); + + bpf_rbtree_add(&tree, n); /* PASSED */ + + bpf_spin_unlock(&lock); + +From the verifier's perspective, the pointer ``n`` returned from ``bpf_obj_new`` +has type ``PTR_TO_BTF_ID | MEM_ALLOC``, with a ``btf_id`` of +``struct node_data`` and a nonzero ``ref_obj_id``. Because it holds ``n``, the +program has ownership of the pointee's (object pointed to by ``n``) lifetime. +The BPF program must pass off ownership before exiting - either via +``bpf_obj_drop``, which ``free``'s the object, or by adding it to ``tree`` with +``bpf_rbtree_add``. + +(``ACQUIRED`` and ``PASSED`` comments in the example denote statements where +"ownership is acquired" and "ownership is passed", respectively) + +What should the verifier do with ``n`` after ownership is passed off? If the +object was ``free``'d with ``bpf_obj_drop`` the answer is obvious: the verifier +should reject programs which attempt to access ``n`` after ``bpf_obj_drop`` as +the object is no longer valid. The underlying memory may have been reused for +some other allocation, unmapped, etc. + +When ownership is passed to ``tree`` via ``bpf_rbtree_add`` the answer is less +obvious. The verifier could enforce the same semantics as for ``bpf_obj_drop``, +but that would result in programs with useful, common coding patterns being +rejected, e.g.: + +.. code-block:: c + + int x; + struct node_data *n = bpf_obj_new(typeof(*n)); /* ACQUIRED */ + + bpf_spin_lock(&lock); + + bpf_rbtree_add(&tree, n); /* PASSED */ + x = n->data; + n->data = 42; + + bpf_spin_unlock(&lock); + +Both the read from and write to ``n->data`` would be rejected. The verifier +can do better, though, by taking advantage of two details: + + * Graph data structure APIs can only be used when the ``bpf_spin_lock`` + associated with the graph root is held + + * Both graph data structures have pointer stability + + * Because graph nodes are allocated with ``bpf_obj_new`` and + adding / removing from the root involves fiddling with the + ``bpf_{list,rb}_node`` field of the node struct, a graph node will + remain at the same address after either operation. + +Because the associated ``bpf_spin_lock`` must be held by any program adding +or removing, if we're in the critical section bounded by that lock, we know +that no other program can add or remove until the end of the critical section. +This combined with pointer stability means that, until the critical section +ends, we can safely access the graph node through ``n`` even after it was used +to pass ownership. + +The verifier considers such a reference a *non-owning reference*. The ref +returned by ``bpf_obj_new`` is accordingly considered an *owning reference*. +Both terms currently only have meaning in the context of graph nodes and API. + +**Details** + +Let's enumerate the properties of both types of references. + +*owning reference* + + * This reference controls the lifetime of the pointee + + * Ownership of pointee must be 'released' by passing it to some graph API + kfunc, or via ``bpf_obj_drop``, which ``free``'s the pointee + + * If not released before program ends, verifier considers program invalid + + * Access to the pointee's memory will not page fault + +*non-owning reference* + + * This reference does not own the pointee + + * It cannot be used to add the graph node to a graph root, nor ``free``'d via + ``bpf_obj_drop`` + + * No explicit control of lifetime, but can infer valid lifetime based on + non-owning ref existence (see explanation below) + + * Access to the pointee's memory will not page fault + +From verifier's perspective non-owning references can only exist +between spin_lock and spin_unlock. Why? After spin_unlock another program +can do arbitrary operations on the data structure like removing and ``free``-ing +via bpf_obj_drop. A non-owning ref to some chunk of memory that was remove'd, +``free``'d, and reused via bpf_obj_new would point to an entirely different thing. +Or the memory could go away. + +To prevent this logic violation all non-owning references are invalidated by the +verifier after a critical section ends. This is necessary to ensure the "will +not page fault" property of non-owning references. So if the verifier hasn't +invalidated a non-owning ref, accessing it will not page fault. + +Currently ``bpf_obj_drop`` is not allowed in the critical section, so +if there's a valid non-owning ref, we must be in a critical section, and can +conclude that the ref's memory hasn't been dropped-and- ``free``'d or +dropped-and-reused. + +Any reference to a node that is in an rbtree _must_ be non-owning, since +the tree has control of the pointee's lifetime. Similarly, any ref to a node +that isn't in rbtree _must_ be owning. This results in a nice property: +graph API add / remove implementations don't need to check if a node +has already been added (or already removed), as the ownership model +allows the verifier to prevent such a state from being valid by simply checking +types. + +However, pointer aliasing poses an issue for the above "nice property". +Consider the following example: + +.. code-block:: c + + struct node_data *n, *m, *o, *p; + n = bpf_obj_new(typeof(*n)); /* 1 */ + + bpf_spin_lock(&lock); + + bpf_rbtree_add(&tree, n); /* 2 */ + m = bpf_rbtree_first(&tree); /* 3 */ + + o = bpf_rbtree_remove(&tree, n); /* 4 */ + p = bpf_rbtree_remove(&tree, m); /* 5 */ + + bpf_spin_unlock(&lock); + + bpf_obj_drop(o); + bpf_obj_drop(p); /* 6 */ + +Assume the tree is empty before this program runs. If we track verifier state +changes here using numbers in above comments: + + 1) n is an owning reference + + 2) n is a non-owning reference, it's been added to the tree + + 3) n and m are non-owning references, they both point to the same node + + 4) o is an owning reference, n and m non-owning, all point to same node + + 5) o and p are owning, n and m non-owning, all point to the same node + + 6) a double-free has occurred, since o and p point to same node and o was + ``free``'d in previous statement + +States 4 and 5 violate our "nice property", as there are non-owning refs to +a node which is not in an rbtree. Statement 5 will try to remove a node which +has already been removed as a result of this violation. State 6 is a dangerous +double-free. + +At a minimum we should prevent state 6 from being possible. If we can't also +prevent state 5 then we must abandon our "nice property" and check whether a +node has already been removed at runtime. + +We prevent both by generalizing the "invalidate non-owning references" behavior +of ``bpf_spin_unlock`` and doing similar invalidation after +``bpf_rbtree_remove``. The logic here being that any graph API kfunc which: + + * takes an arbitrary node argument + + * removes it from the data structure + + * returns an owning reference to the removed node + +May result in a state where some other non-owning reference points to the same +node. So ``remove``-type kfuncs must be considered a non-owning reference +invalidation point as well. diff --git a/Documentation/bpf/other.rst b/Documentation/bpf/other.rst index 3d61963403b4..7e6b12018802 100644 --- a/Documentation/bpf/other.rst +++ b/Documentation/bpf/other.rst @@ -6,4 +6,5 @@ Other :maxdepth: 1 ringbuf - llvm_reloc
\ No newline at end of file + llvm_reloc + graph_ds_impl |