@@ -359,11 +359,16 @@ static const struct bpf_func_proto bpf_probe_write_user_proto = {
static const struct bpf_func_proto *bpf_get_probe_write_proto(void)
{
+ static pid_t last_warn_pid = -1;
+
if (!capable(CAP_SYS_ADMIN))
return NULL;
- pr_warn_ratelimited("%s[%d] is installing a program with bpf_probe_write_user helper that may corrupt user memory!",
- current->comm, task_pid_nr(current));
+ if (READ_ONCE(last_warn_pid) != task_pid_nr(current)) {
+ pr_warn("%s[%d] is installing a program with bpf_probe_write_user\n",
+ current->comm, task_pid_nr(current));
+ WRITE_ONCE(last_warn_pid, task_pid_nr(current));
+ }
return &bpf_probe_write_user_proto;
}
The warning message for bpf_probe_write_user() was introduced in 96ae52279594 ("bpf: Add bpf_probe_write_user BPF helper to be called in tracers"), with the following in the commit message: Given this feature is meant for experiments, and it has a risk of crashing the system, and running programs, we print a warning on when a proglet that attempts to use this helper is installed, along with the pid and process name. After 8 years since 96ae52279594, bpf_probe_write_user() has found successful applications beyond experiments [1, 2], with no other good alternatives. Despite its intended purpose for "experiments", that doesn't stop Hyrum's law, and there are likely many more users depending on this helper: "[..] it does not matter what you promise [..] all observable behaviors of your system will be depended on by somebody." As such, the warning message can be improved: 1. The ominous "helper that may corrupt user memory!" offers no real benefit, and has been found to lead to confusion where the system administrator is loading programs with valid use cases. Remove it. No information is lost, and administrators who know their system should not load eBPF programs that use bpf_probe_write_user() know what they are looking for. 2. If multiple programs with bpf_probe_write_user() are loaded by the same task/PID consecutively, only print the message once. If another task loads a program with the helper, the message is printed once more, and so on. This also makes the need for rate limiting redundant. 3. Every printk line needs to be concluded with "\n" to be flushed. With the old version the warning message only appeared after any following printk. Fix this. Link: https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20240404190146.1898103-1-elver@google.com/ [1] Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/lkml/CAAn3qOUMD81-vxLLfep0H6rRd74ho2VaekdL4HjKq+Y1t9KdXQ@mail.gmail.com/ [2] Signed-off-by: Marco Elver <elver@google.com> --- kernel/trace/bpf_trace.c | 9 +++++++-- 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)