Re: [PATCH] ima: fix deadlock within RCU list of ima_rules

Hi Liqiong,

On 8/25/21 1:45 PM, liqiong wrote:

Hi Mimi,

This copy may be better.


subject: ima: fix deadlock when iterating over the init "ima_rules" list.

As Mimi said, consider adding an introducing paragraph, like:
'The current IMA ruleset is identified by the variable "ima_rules",
and the pointer starts pointing at the list "ima_default_rules". When
loading a custom policy for the first time, the variable is
updated to point to the list "ima_policy_rules" instead. That update
isn't RCU-safe, and deadlocks are possible.'

When traversing back to head, the init "ima_rules" list can't exit
iterating if "ima_rules" has been updated to "ima_policy_rules".
It causes soft lockup and RCU stalls. So we can introduce a duplicate
of "ima_rules" for each "ima_rules" list loop.

Per the process (see 'Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst'),
please prefer an imperative style (written in another paragraph):
'Introduce a temporary value for "ima_rules" when iterating over the ruleset.'


Thanks,
Simon