[RFC 0/3] kbuild: modules: Fixup arm64 BTI relocations
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From: Jeremy Linton <hidden>
Date: 2026-10-06 22:18:29
Also in:
linux-arm-kernel, linux-kbuild, lkml
The kernel module loader, the arm64 ABI, GCC/Clang, and the static linkers operate with slightly different assumptions about which functions require BTI landing pads. A static function called only directly does not normally need a BTI landing pad, so compilers omit it. A static linker producing an ET_REL module treats R_AARCH64_CALL26 as a direct branch and leaves the relocation for the module loader or later link pass. It does not know the final distance between sections or whether the loader will later require an indirect branch fixup. This matters when a caller and callee are placed in different sections, for example by __init. The arm64 module loader may replace such a CALL26 relocation with a fixup containing an indirect branch, making an otherwise direct only function a BTI target. Ftrace makes this more likely because its entry NOP can replace a PAC instruction that would otherwise be a valid BTI landing pad. A linker could conservatively add veneers to affected cross section calls, but that would require knowledge of arm64 module loader fixup semantics and is not part of the generic relocatable link contract. Lets fix this by handling the module specific transformation during the kernel build. Scan cross section calls and, when the target lacks a BTI compatible landing pad, place a veneer in the target section, redirect the relocation to the veneer, and branch directly from the veneer to the original function entry. Jeremy Linton (3): kbuild: modules: Add arm64 BTI fixup utility kbuild: modules: Build and trigger BTI scanner for arm64 arm64: bti: Drop compiler specific BTI checks arch/arm64/Kconfig | 6 - scripts/Makefile | 3 + scripts/Makefile.modfinal | 12 +- scripts/module-bti-check.c | 665 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 4 files changed, 679 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-) create mode 100644 scripts/module-bti-check.c -- 2.55.0