This patch implements bitwise tracking (tnum analysis) for BPF_END
(byte swap) operation.
Currently, the BPF verifier does not track value for BPF_END operation,
treating the result as completely unknown. This limits the verifier's
ability to prove safety of programs that perform endianness conversions,
which are common in networking code.
For example, the following code pattern for port number validation:
int test(struct pt_regs *ctx) {
__u64 x = bpf_get_prandom_u32();
x &= 0x3f00; // Range: [0, 0x3f00], var_off: (0x0; 0x3f00)
x = bswap16(x); // Should swap to range [0, 0x3f], var_off: (0x0; 0x3f)
if (x > 0x3f) goto trap;
return 0;
trap:
return *(u64 *)NULL; // Should be unreachable
}
Currently generates verifier output:
1: (54) w0 &= 16128 ; R0=scalar(smin=smin32=0,smax=umax=smax32=umax32=16128,var_off=(0x0; 0x3f00))
2: (d7) r0 = bswap16 r0 ; R0=scalar()
3: (25) if r0 > 0x3f goto pc+2 ; R0=scalar(smin=smin32=0,smax=umax=smax32=umax32=63,var_off=(0x0; 0x3f))
Without this patch, even though the verifier knows `x` has certain bits
set, after bswap16, it loses all tracking information and treats port
as having a completely unknown value [0, 65535].
According to the BPF instruction set[1], there are 3 kinds of BPF_END:
1. `bswap(16|32|64)`: opcode=0xd7 (BPF_END | BPF_ALU64 | BPF_TO_LE)
- do unconditional swap
2. `le(16|32|64)`: opcode=0xd4 (BPF_END | BPF_ALU | BPF_TO_LE)
- on big-endian: do swap
- on little-endian: truncation (16/32-bit) or no-op (64-bit)
3. `be(16|32|64)`: opcode=0xdc (BPF_END | BPF_ALU | BPF_TO_BE)
- on little-endian: do swap
- on big-endian: truncation (16/32-bit) or no-op (64-bit)
Since BPF_END operations are inherently bit-wise permutations, tnum
(bitwise tracking) offers the most efficient and precise mechanism
for value analysis. By implementing `tnum_bswap16`, `tnum_bswap32`,
and `tnum_bswap64`, we can derive exact `var_off` values concisely,
directly reflecting the bit-level changes.
Here is the overview of changes:
1. In `tnum_bswap(16|32|64)` (kernel/bpf/tnum.c):
Call `swab(16|32|64)` function on the value and mask of `var_off`, and
do truncation for 16/32-bit cases.
2. In `adjust_scalar_min_max_vals` (kernel/bpf/verifier.c):
Call helper function `scalar_byte_swap`.
- Only do byte swap when
* alu64 (unconditional swap) OR
* switching between big-endian and little-endian machines.
- If need do byte swap:
* Firstly call `tnum_bswap(16|32|64)` to update `var_off`.
* Then reset the bound since byte swap scrambles the range.
- For 16/32-bit cases, truncate dst register to match the swapped size.
This enables better verification of networking code that frequently uses
byte swaps for protocol processing, reducing false positive rejections.
[1] https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/bpf/standardization/instruction-set.rst
Co-developed-by: Shenghao Yuan <shenghaoyuan0928@163.com>
Signed-off-by: Shenghao Yuan <shenghaoyuan0928@163.com>
Co-developed-by: Yazhou Tang <tangyazhou518@outlook.com>
Signed-off-by: Yazhou Tang <tangyazhou518@outlook.com>
Signed-off-by: Tianci Cao <ziye@zju.edu.cn>
Acked-by: Eduard Zingerman <eddyz87@gmail.com>
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20260204111503.77871-2-ziye@zju.edu.cn
Signed-off-by: Alexei Starovoitov <ast@kernel.org>
9d21199842