diff mbox

[3/3] Introduce STATIC_USERMODEHELPER to mediate call_usermodehelper()

Message ID 20170116165044.GC29693@kroah.com (mailing list archive)
State New, archived
Headers show

Commit Message

Greg KH Jan. 16, 2017, 4:50 p.m. UTC
From: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>

Some usermode helper applications are defined at kernel build time, while
others can be changed at runtime.  To provide a sane way to filter these, add a
new kernel option "STATIC_USERMODEHELPER".  This option routes all
call_usermodehelper() calls through this binary, no matter what the caller
wishes to have called.

The new binary (by default set to /sbin/usermode-helper, but can be changed
through the STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH option) can properly filter the
requested programs to be run by the kernel by looking at the first argument
that is passed to it.  All other options should then be passed onto the proper
program if so desired.

To disable all call_usermodehelper() calls by the kernel, set
STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH to an empty string.

Thanks to Neil Brown for the idea of this feature.

Cc: NeilBrown <neilb@suse.com>
Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>
---
 kernel/kmod.c    | 14 ++++++++++++++
 security/Kconfig | 35 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 49 insertions(+)

Comments

Jeff Layton Jan. 17, 2017, 4:20 p.m. UTC | #1
On Mon, 2017-01-16 at 17:50 +0100, Greg KH wrote:
> From: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>
> 
> Some usermode helper applications are defined at kernel build time, while
> others can be changed at runtime.  To provide a sane way to filter these, add a
> new kernel option "STATIC_USERMODEHELPER".  This option routes all
> call_usermodehelper() calls through this binary, no matter what the caller
> wishes to have called.
> 
> The new binary (by default set to /sbin/usermode-helper, but can be changed
> through the STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH option) can properly filter the
> requested programs to be run by the kernel by looking at the first argument
> that is passed to it.  All other options should then be passed onto the proper
> program if so desired.
> 
> To disable all call_usermodehelper() calls by the kernel, set
> STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH to an empty string.
> 
> Thanks to Neil Brown for the idea of this feature.
> 
> Cc: NeilBrown <neilb@suse.com>
> Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>
> ---
>  kernel/kmod.c    | 14 ++++++++++++++
>  security/Kconfig | 35 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  2 files changed, 49 insertions(+)
> 
> diff --git a/kernel/kmod.c b/kernel/kmod.c
> index 426a614e97fe..0c407f905ca4 100644
> --- a/kernel/kmod.c
> +++ b/kernel/kmod.c
> @@ -528,7 +528,12 @@ struct subprocess_info *call_usermodehelper_setup(const char *path, char **argv,
>  		goto out;
>  
>  	INIT_WORK(&sub_info->work, call_usermodehelper_exec_work);
> +
> +#ifdef CONFIG_STATIC_USERMODEHELPER
> +	sub_info->path = CONFIG_STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH;
> +#else
>  	sub_info->path = path;
> +#endif
>  	sub_info->argv = argv;
>  	sub_info->envp = envp;
>  
> @@ -566,6 +571,15 @@ int call_usermodehelper_exec(struct subprocess_info *sub_info, int wait)
>  		retval = -EBUSY;
>  		goto out;
>  	}
> +
> +	/*
> +	 * If there is no binary for us to call, then just return and get out of
> +	 * here.  This allows us to set STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH to "" and
> +	 * disable all call_usermodehelper() calls.
> +	 */
> +	if (strlen(sub_info->path) == 0)
> +		goto out;
> +
>  	/*
>  	 * Set the completion pointer only if there is a waiter.
>  	 * This makes it possible to use umh_complete to free
> diff --git a/security/Kconfig b/security/Kconfig
> index 118f4549404e..d900f47eaa68 100644
> --- a/security/Kconfig
> +++ b/security/Kconfig
> @@ -158,6 +158,41 @@ config HARDENED_USERCOPY_PAGESPAN
>  	  been removed. This config is intended to be used only while
>  	  trying to find such users.
>  
> +config STATIC_USERMODEHELPER
> +	bool "Force all usermode helper calls through a single binary"
> +	help
> +	  By default, the kernel can call many different userspace
> +	  binary programs through the "usermode helper" kernel
> +	  interface.  Some of these binaries are statically defined
> +	  either in the kernel code itself, or as a kernel configuration
> +	  option.  However, some of these are dynamically created at
> +	  runtime, or can be modified after the kernel has started up.
> +	  To provide an additional layer of security, route all of these
> +	  calls through a single executable that can not have its name
> +	  changed.
> +
> +	  Note, it is up to this single binary to then call the relevant
> +	  "real" usermode helper binary, based on the first argument
> +	  passed to it.  If desired, this program can filter and pick
> +	  and choose what real programs are called.
> +
> +	  If you wish for all usermode helper programs are to be
> +	  disabled, choose this option and then set
> +	  STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH to an empty string.
> +
> +config STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH
> +	string "Path to the static usermode helper binary"
> +	depends on STATIC_USERMODEHELPER
> +	default "/sbin/usermode-helper"
> +	help
> +	  The binary called by the kernel when any usermode helper
> +	  program is wish to be run.  The "real" application's name will
> +	  be in the first argument passed to this program on the command
> +	  line.
> +
> +	  If you wish for all usermode helper programs to be disabled,
> +	  specify an empty string here (i.e. "").
> +
>  source security/selinux/Kconfig
>  source security/smack/Kconfig
>  source security/tomoyo/Kconfig

I like the core of this idea (having a single dispatch binary) a lot. It
seems like a good way to limit the attack surface. We could even
consider signing this binary as well, etc...

I'm less excited though about using the binary pathnames in argv[0].
Would it be better to pass a non-path string of some sort that the
binary would have to turn into a path to the binary to exec?
Greg KH Jan. 17, 2017, 4:26 p.m. UTC | #2
On Tue, Jan 17, 2017 at 11:20:23AM -0500, Jeff Layton wrote:
> On Mon, 2017-01-16 at 17:50 +0100, Greg KH wrote:
> > From: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>
> > 
> > Some usermode helper applications are defined at kernel build time, while
> > others can be changed at runtime.  To provide a sane way to filter these, add a
> > new kernel option "STATIC_USERMODEHELPER".  This option routes all
> > call_usermodehelper() calls through this binary, no matter what the caller
> > wishes to have called.
> > 
> > The new binary (by default set to /sbin/usermode-helper, but can be changed
> > through the STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH option) can properly filter the
> > requested programs to be run by the kernel by looking at the first argument
> > that is passed to it.  All other options should then be passed onto the proper
> > program if so desired.
> > 
> > To disable all call_usermodehelper() calls by the kernel, set
> > STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH to an empty string.
> > 
> > Thanks to Neil Brown for the idea of this feature.
> > 
> > Cc: NeilBrown <neilb@suse.com>
> > Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>
> > ---
> >  kernel/kmod.c    | 14 ++++++++++++++
> >  security/Kconfig | 35 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> >  2 files changed, 49 insertions(+)
> > 
> > diff --git a/kernel/kmod.c b/kernel/kmod.c
> > index 426a614e97fe..0c407f905ca4 100644
> > --- a/kernel/kmod.c
> > +++ b/kernel/kmod.c
> > @@ -528,7 +528,12 @@ struct subprocess_info *call_usermodehelper_setup(const char *path, char **argv,
> >  		goto out;
> >  
> >  	INIT_WORK(&sub_info->work, call_usermodehelper_exec_work);
> > +
> > +#ifdef CONFIG_STATIC_USERMODEHELPER
> > +	sub_info->path = CONFIG_STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH;
> > +#else
> >  	sub_info->path = path;
> > +#endif
> >  	sub_info->argv = argv;
> >  	sub_info->envp = envp;
> >  
> > @@ -566,6 +571,15 @@ int call_usermodehelper_exec(struct subprocess_info *sub_info, int wait)
> >  		retval = -EBUSY;
> >  		goto out;
> >  	}
> > +
> > +	/*
> > +	 * If there is no binary for us to call, then just return and get out of
> > +	 * here.  This allows us to set STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH to "" and
> > +	 * disable all call_usermodehelper() calls.
> > +	 */
> > +	if (strlen(sub_info->path) == 0)
> > +		goto out;
> > +
> >  	/*
> >  	 * Set the completion pointer only if there is a waiter.
> >  	 * This makes it possible to use umh_complete to free
> > diff --git a/security/Kconfig b/security/Kconfig
> > index 118f4549404e..d900f47eaa68 100644
> > --- a/security/Kconfig
> > +++ b/security/Kconfig
> > @@ -158,6 +158,41 @@ config HARDENED_USERCOPY_PAGESPAN
> >  	  been removed. This config is intended to be used only while
> >  	  trying to find such users.
> >  
> > +config STATIC_USERMODEHELPER
> > +	bool "Force all usermode helper calls through a single binary"
> > +	help
> > +	  By default, the kernel can call many different userspace
> > +	  binary programs through the "usermode helper" kernel
> > +	  interface.  Some of these binaries are statically defined
> > +	  either in the kernel code itself, or as a kernel configuration
> > +	  option.  However, some of these are dynamically created at
> > +	  runtime, or can be modified after the kernel has started up.
> > +	  To provide an additional layer of security, route all of these
> > +	  calls through a single executable that can not have its name
> > +	  changed.
> > +
> > +	  Note, it is up to this single binary to then call the relevant
> > +	  "real" usermode helper binary, based on the first argument
> > +	  passed to it.  If desired, this program can filter and pick
> > +	  and choose what real programs are called.
> > +
> > +	  If you wish for all usermode helper programs are to be
> > +	  disabled, choose this option and then set
> > +	  STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH to an empty string.
> > +
> > +config STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH
> > +	string "Path to the static usermode helper binary"
> > +	depends on STATIC_USERMODEHELPER
> > +	default "/sbin/usermode-helper"
> > +	help
> > +	  The binary called by the kernel when any usermode helper
> > +	  program is wish to be run.  The "real" application's name will
> > +	  be in the first argument passed to this program on the command
> > +	  line.
> > +
> > +	  If you wish for all usermode helper programs to be disabled,
> > +	  specify an empty string here (i.e. "").
> > +
> >  source security/selinux/Kconfig
> >  source security/smack/Kconfig
> >  source security/tomoyo/Kconfig
> 
> I like the core of this idea (having a single dispatch binary) a lot. It
> seems like a good way to limit the attack surface. We could even
> consider signing this binary as well, etc...

Or use a read-only partition that is checked with dm-verity at boot so
you know it's safe.  Lots of ways to protect this file.

> I'm less excited though about using the binary pathnames in argv[0].
> Would it be better to pass a non-path string of some sort that the
> binary would have to turn into a path to the binary to exec?

What exactly do you mean by "non-path" string?  You can do whatever you
want with the argv[0] value in your new binary, but rewriting all of the
users of this interface in the kernel to pass in some other type of
value instead of a full path, that doesn't make much sense (hint a path
is just as good as anything else.)

thanks,

greg k-h
Jeff Layton Jan. 17, 2017, 4:52 p.m. UTC | #3
On Tue, 2017-01-17 at 17:26 +0100, Greg KH wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 17, 2017 at 11:20:23AM -0500, Jeff Layton wrote:
> > On Mon, 2017-01-16 at 17:50 +0100, Greg KH wrote:
> > > From: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>
> > > 
> > > Some usermode helper applications are defined at kernel build time, while
> > > others can be changed at runtime.  To provide a sane way to filter these, add a
> > > new kernel option "STATIC_USERMODEHELPER".  This option routes all
> > > call_usermodehelper() calls through this binary, no matter what the caller
> > > wishes to have called.
> > > 
> > > The new binary (by default set to /sbin/usermode-helper, but can be changed
> > > through the STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH option) can properly filter the
> > > requested programs to be run by the kernel by looking at the first argument
> > > that is passed to it.  All other options should then be passed onto the proper
> > > program if so desired.
> > > 
> > > To disable all call_usermodehelper() calls by the kernel, set
> > > STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH to an empty string.
> > > 
> > > Thanks to Neil Brown for the idea of this feature.
> > > 
> > > Cc: NeilBrown <neilb@suse.com>
> > > Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>
> > > ---
> > >  kernel/kmod.c    | 14 ++++++++++++++
> > >  security/Kconfig | 35 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> > >  2 files changed, 49 insertions(+)
> > > 
> > > diff --git a/kernel/kmod.c b/kernel/kmod.c
> > > index 426a614e97fe..0c407f905ca4 100644
> > > --- a/kernel/kmod.c
> > > +++ b/kernel/kmod.c
> > > @@ -528,7 +528,12 @@ struct subprocess_info *call_usermodehelper_setup(const char *path, char **argv,
> > >  		goto out;
> > >  
> > >  	INIT_WORK(&sub_info->work, call_usermodehelper_exec_work);
> > > +
> > > +#ifdef CONFIG_STATIC_USERMODEHELPER
> > > +	sub_info->path = CONFIG_STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH;
> > > +#else
> > >  	sub_info->path = path;
> > > +#endif
> > >  	sub_info->argv = argv;
> > >  	sub_info->envp = envp;
> > >  
> > > @@ -566,6 +571,15 @@ int call_usermodehelper_exec(struct subprocess_info *sub_info, int wait)
> > >  		retval = -EBUSY;
> > >  		goto out;
> > >  	}
> > > +
> > > +	/*
> > > +	 * If there is no binary for us to call, then just return and get out of
> > > +	 * here.  This allows us to set STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH to "" and
> > > +	 * disable all call_usermodehelper() calls.
> > > +	 */
> > > +	if (strlen(sub_info->path) == 0)
> > > +		goto out;
> > > +
> > >  	/*
> > >  	 * Set the completion pointer only if there is a waiter.
> > >  	 * This makes it possible to use umh_complete to free
> > > diff --git a/security/Kconfig b/security/Kconfig
> > > index 118f4549404e..d900f47eaa68 100644
> > > --- a/security/Kconfig
> > > +++ b/security/Kconfig
> > > @@ -158,6 +158,41 @@ config HARDENED_USERCOPY_PAGESPAN
> > >  	  been removed. This config is intended to be used only while
> > >  	  trying to find such users.
> > >  
> > > +config STATIC_USERMODEHELPER
> > > +	bool "Force all usermode helper calls through a single binary"
> > > +	help
> > > +	  By default, the kernel can call many different userspace
> > > +	  binary programs through the "usermode helper" kernel
> > > +	  interface.  Some of these binaries are statically defined
> > > +	  either in the kernel code itself, or as a kernel configuration
> > > +	  option.  However, some of these are dynamically created at
> > > +	  runtime, or can be modified after the kernel has started up.
> > > +	  To provide an additional layer of security, route all of these
> > > +	  calls through a single executable that can not have its name
> > > +	  changed.
> > > +
> > > +	  Note, it is up to this single binary to then call the relevant
> > > +	  "real" usermode helper binary, based on the first argument
> > > +	  passed to it.  If desired, this program can filter and pick
> > > +	  and choose what real programs are called.
> > > +
> > > +	  If you wish for all usermode helper programs are to be
> > > +	  disabled, choose this option and then set
> > > +	  STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH to an empty string.
> > > +
> > > +config STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH
> > > +	string "Path to the static usermode helper binary"
> > > +	depends on STATIC_USERMODEHELPER
> > > +	default "/sbin/usermode-helper"
> > > +	help
> > > +	  The binary called by the kernel when any usermode helper
> > > +	  program is wish to be run.  The "real" application's name will
> > > +	  be in the first argument passed to this program on the command
> > > +	  line.
> > > +
> > > +	  If you wish for all usermode helper programs to be disabled,
> > > +	  specify an empty string here (i.e. "").
> > > +
> > >  source security/selinux/Kconfig
> > >  source security/smack/Kconfig
> > >  source security/tomoyo/Kconfig
> > 
> > I like the core of this idea (having a single dispatch binary) a lot. It
> > seems like a good way to limit the attack surface. We could even
> > consider signing this binary as well, etc...
> 
> Or use a read-only partition that is checked with dm-verity at boot so
> you know it's safe.  Lots of ways to protect this file.
> 

...and the binary could be even more helpful too -- drop capabilities or
change task creds before calling exec, for some binaries for instance. 

This may even provide a way to allow the upcalls to switch to the
appropriate namespaces maybe based  on info passed in env vars?

In any case, there are a lot of useful possibilities here.

> > I'm less excited though about using the binary pathnames in argv[0].
> > Would it be better to pass a non-path string of some sort that the
> > binary would have to turn into a path to the binary to exec?
> 
> What exactly do you mean by "non-path" string?  You can do whatever you
> want with the argv[0] value in your new binary, but rewriting all of the
> users of this interface in the kernel to pass in some other type of
> value instead of a full path, that doesn't make much sense (hint a path
> is just as good as anything else.)
> 
> 

I guess I'm thinking that this new binary is an opportunity to formalize
the usermode helper upcall stuff to be more of a real ABI. It's rather
haphazard now.

So yeah, the pathname strings would work fine as dispatch keys, but it
is a rather ugly interface. It might be nicer to pass in some set of
opaque string tokens so that the upcalls being requested have a real
meaning that's not defined by the legacy pathnames?

Hmm...I guess in that case we could pass this token along in the env
array as well. Fair enough, I think this is fine.

Acked-by: Jeff Layton <jlayton@poochiereds.net>
diff mbox

Patch

diff --git a/kernel/kmod.c b/kernel/kmod.c
index 426a614e97fe..0c407f905ca4 100644
--- a/kernel/kmod.c
+++ b/kernel/kmod.c
@@ -528,7 +528,12 @@  struct subprocess_info *call_usermodehelper_setup(const char *path, char **argv,
 		goto out;
 
 	INIT_WORK(&sub_info->work, call_usermodehelper_exec_work);
+
+#ifdef CONFIG_STATIC_USERMODEHELPER
+	sub_info->path = CONFIG_STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH;
+#else
 	sub_info->path = path;
+#endif
 	sub_info->argv = argv;
 	sub_info->envp = envp;
 
@@ -566,6 +571,15 @@  int call_usermodehelper_exec(struct subprocess_info *sub_info, int wait)
 		retval = -EBUSY;
 		goto out;
 	}
+
+	/*
+	 * If there is no binary for us to call, then just return and get out of
+	 * here.  This allows us to set STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH to "" and
+	 * disable all call_usermodehelper() calls.
+	 */
+	if (strlen(sub_info->path) == 0)
+		goto out;
+
 	/*
 	 * Set the completion pointer only if there is a waiter.
 	 * This makes it possible to use umh_complete to free
diff --git a/security/Kconfig b/security/Kconfig
index 118f4549404e..d900f47eaa68 100644
--- a/security/Kconfig
+++ b/security/Kconfig
@@ -158,6 +158,41 @@  config HARDENED_USERCOPY_PAGESPAN
 	  been removed. This config is intended to be used only while
 	  trying to find such users.
 
+config STATIC_USERMODEHELPER
+	bool "Force all usermode helper calls through a single binary"
+	help
+	  By default, the kernel can call many different userspace
+	  binary programs through the "usermode helper" kernel
+	  interface.  Some of these binaries are statically defined
+	  either in the kernel code itself, or as a kernel configuration
+	  option.  However, some of these are dynamically created at
+	  runtime, or can be modified after the kernel has started up.
+	  To provide an additional layer of security, route all of these
+	  calls through a single executable that can not have its name
+	  changed.
+
+	  Note, it is up to this single binary to then call the relevant
+	  "real" usermode helper binary, based on the first argument
+	  passed to it.  If desired, this program can filter and pick
+	  and choose what real programs are called.
+
+	  If you wish for all usermode helper programs are to be
+	  disabled, choose this option and then set
+	  STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH to an empty string.
+
+config STATIC_USERMODEHELPER_PATH
+	string "Path to the static usermode helper binary"
+	depends on STATIC_USERMODEHELPER
+	default "/sbin/usermode-helper"
+	help
+	  The binary called by the kernel when any usermode helper
+	  program is wish to be run.  The "real" application's name will
+	  be in the first argument passed to this program on the command
+	  line.
+
+	  If you wish for all usermode helper programs to be disabled,
+	  specify an empty string here (i.e. "").
+
 source security/selinux/Kconfig
 source security/smack/Kconfig
 source security/tomoyo/Kconfig