[PATCH v3 3/4] landlock: Document LANDLOCK_RESTRICT_SELF_NO_NEW_PRIVS
From: Justin Suess <hidden>
Date: 2026-08-03 22:31:19
Also in:
lkml
Subsystem:
documentation, landlock security module, the rest · Maintainers:
Jonathan Corbet, Mickaël Salaün, Linus Torvalds
Document setting no_new_privs with ruleset enforcement, following the
same compatibility section style as previous ABI additions.
Include a section explaining the tradeoffs of setting no_new_privs
through any means for privileged users of Landlock.
Signed-off-by: Justin Suess <redacted>
---
Notes:
v2->v3:
- Update the tutorial: restrict_flags per ABI version and prctl call
skipped when LANDLOCK_RESTRICT_SELF_NO_NEW_PRIVS is used
- Drop "Atomic" from the section title; describe the ordering instead
- Explain that not setting no_new_privs is risky even when not required
- Fix ABI 8/9 switch coverage (case 8 ... 10) and indentation
Documentation/userspace-api/landlock.rst | 47 +++++++++++++++++++++---
1 file changed, 41 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)
diff --git a/Documentation/userspace-api/landlock.rst b/Documentation/userspace-api/landlock.rst
index 5085822d8930..0e4a73fd5ea4 100644
--- a/Documentation/userspace-api/landlock.rst
+++ b/Documentation/userspace-api/landlock.rst@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ Landlock: unprivileged access control ===================================== :Author: Mickaël Salaün -:Date: July 2026 +:Date: August 2026 The goal of Landlock is to enable restriction of ambient rights (e.g. global filesystem or network access) for a set of processes. Because Landlock
@@ -250,7 +250,8 @@ similar backwards compatibility check is needed for the restrict flags __u32 restrict_flags = LANDLOCK_RESTRICT_SELF_LOG_NEW_EXEC_ON | - LANDLOCK_RESTRICT_SELF_TSYNC; + LANDLOCK_RESTRICT_SELF_TSYNC | + LANDLOCK_RESTRICT_SELF_NO_NEW_PRIVS; switch (abi) { case 1 ... 6: /* Removes logging flags for ABI < 7 */
@@ -269,16 +270,36 @@ similar backwards compatibility check is needed for the restrict flags * children (and not for all threads, including parents and siblings). */ restrict_flags &= ~LANDLOCK_RESTRICT_SELF_TSYNC; + __attribute__((fallthrough)); + case 8 ... 10: + /* Removes no new privs flag for ABI < 11 */ + restrict_flags &= ~LANDLOCK_RESTRICT_SELF_NO_NEW_PRIVS; } The next step is to restrict the current thread from gaining more privileges -(e.g. through a SUID binary). We now have a ruleset with the first rule -allowing read and execute access to ``/usr`` while denying all other handled -accesses for the filesystem, and two more rules allowing DNS queries. +(e.g. through a SUID binary). For unprivileged processes, setting the +no_new_privs attribute is required by Landlock. + +Processes with ``CAP_SYS_ADMIN`` in their namespace can enforce a ruleset +without it, but not setting no_new_privs is risky even when it is not +required: sandboxed processes could still execute set-user-ID, set-group-ID +or file-capability binaries, which would then run with elevated privileges +while being restricted by a Landlock domain they may not expect, making them +potential confused deputies. Setting no_new_privs should only be avoided if +such a privilege transition is expected. + +We now have a ruleset with the first rule allowing read and execute access to +``/usr`` while denying all other handled accesses for the filesystem, and two +more rules allowing DNS queries. .. code-block:: c - if (prctl(PR_SET_NO_NEW_PRIVS, 1, 0, 0, 0)) { + /* + * If the ABI > 10, we can tie setting no_new_privs with successful ruleset + * enforcement and skip the manual prctl(PR_SET_NO_NEW_PRIVS, ...) call. + */ + if (!(restrict_flags & LANDLOCK_RESTRICT_SELF_NO_NEW_PRIVS) && + prctl(PR_SET_NO_NEW_PRIVS, 1, 0, 0, 0)) { perror("Failed to restrict privileges"); close(ruleset_fd); return 1;
@@ -792,6 +813,20 @@ when at least one sys_landlock_add_rule() call is made for it with the ``LANDLOCK_ADD_RULE_QUIET`` flag, additional add-rule calls for the same object without this flag do not clear it. +no_new_privs flag (ABI < 11) +---------------------------- + +Starting with the Landlock ABI version 11, sys_landlock_restrict_self() +accepts the ``LANDLOCK_RESTRICT_SELF_NO_NEW_PRIVS`` flag, which sets the +no_new_privs attribute of the calling thread only once the enforcement of +the ruleset succeeded: no_new_privs is set if and only if the call +succeeds. This removes the need for a prior :manpage:`prctl(2)` +``PR_SET_NO_NEW_PRIVS`` call, and with it the ``CAP_SYS_ADMIN`` +requirement. When combined with ``LANDLOCK_RESTRICT_SELF_TSYNC``, +no_new_privs is set on all threads of the process. As explained in the +tutorial above, not setting no_new_privs is risky even when it is not +required. + .. _kernel_support: Kernel support
--
2.54.0