[PATCH net-next 11/11] netfilter: conntrack: make filtering by zone discoverable
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COOLING8d
SUPERSEDED
From: Pablo Neira Ayuso <pablo@netfilter.org>
Date: 2026-09-27 22:35:01
Also in:
netfilter-devel
Subsystem:
kernel selftest framework, netfilter, networking [general], the rest, yaml netlink (ynl) · Maintainers:
Shuah Khan, Shuah Khan, Pablo Neira Ayuso, Florian Westphal, "David S. Miller", Eric Dumazet, Jakub Kicinski, Paolo Abeni, Linus Torvalds, Donald Hunter
Revision v1 of 72 in this series.
Revisions (72)
From: Ilya Maximets <i.maximets@ovn.org> Conntrack flush supports filtering by zone using CTA_ZONE, but this attribute is really hard to use from user space applications. The reason is that it is not possible to tell if it's supported or not. Older kernels silently ignore CTA_ZONE. And in that case they just happily flush all the entries from all zones breaking all the existing connections. So, applications have to infer support from the kernel version. While it works in most cases, it's not a particularly reliable or desired way to check kernel capabilities from applications that aim to be portable. There should be a better way to probe or discover features in the kernel. The CTA_FILTER interface on the other hand is simple enough to probe. We can check for NLM_F_DUMP_FILTERED in the dump to see if filtering is supported. And unknown sub-attributes in CTA_FILTER are rejected explicitly since strict validation is in use there. Let's add new CTA_FILTER_ZONE that signals that CTA_ZONE should be filtered on. It is a flag, since everything in the CTA_FILTER is a bit mask, i.e., a form of a flag. If set, it means that CTA_ZONE must be present and be used for filtering. If the flag is not set however, the filtering on CTA_ZONE will still take place to ensure backwards compatibility. So, the flag doesn't really change the filtering behavior, but it allows user space applications to properly discover support for CTA_ZONE filtering without need to rely on kernel version parsing or risk accidental flushes of the entire conntrack table, and also without modifying the kernel state. A new test variant is added to test with and without the new flag. Since the setup code is moved into a shared function, expectations replaced with assertions to bail early if the base setup fails to avoid the cascade of secondary failures that can be misleading. Error return is only for the SKIP cases. Signed-off-by: Ilya Maximets <i.maximets@ovn.org> Signed-off-by: Pablo Neira Ayuso <pablo@netfilter.org> --- Documentation/netlink/specs/conntrack.yaml | 6 + .../linux/netfilter/nfnetlink_conntrack.h | 1 + net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_netlink.c | 11 ++ .../net/netfilter/conntrack_dump_flush.c | 145 ++++++++++++------ 4 files changed, 117 insertions(+), 46 deletions(-)
diff --git a/Documentation/netlink/specs/conntrack.yaml b/Documentation/netlink/specs/conntrack.yaml
index 1d163130241a..56c13705243b 100644
--- a/Documentation/netlink/specs/conntrack.yaml
+++ b/Documentation/netlink/specs/conntrack.yaml@@ -393,6 +393,12 @@ attribute-sets: name: reply-flags type: u32 doc: bitmask of tuple fields to filter on, reply direction + - + name: zone + type: flag + doc: >- + Filter on conntrack zone id; requires the top-level zone + (``CTA_ZONE``) attribute. - name: conntrack-attrs attributes:
diff --git a/include/uapi/linux/netfilter/nfnetlink_conntrack.h b/include/uapi/linux/netfilter/nfnetlink_conntrack.h
index 43233af75b9d..985f9c08d3e9 100644
--- a/include/uapi/linux/netfilter/nfnetlink_conntrack.h
+++ b/include/uapi/linux/netfilter/nfnetlink_conntrack.h@@ -285,6 +285,7 @@ enum ctattr_filter { CTA_FILTER_UNSPEC, CTA_FILTER_ORIG_FLAGS, CTA_FILTER_REPLY_FLAGS, + CTA_FILTER_ZONE, __CTA_FILTER_MAX }; #define CTA_FILTER_MAX (__CTA_FILTER_MAX - 1)
diff --git a/net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_netlink.c b/net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_netlink.c
index e8477f792c95..4b6abe36028e 100644
--- a/net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_netlink.c
+++ b/net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_netlink.c@@ -911,6 +911,7 @@ struct ctnetlink_filter { static const struct nla_policy cta_filter_nla_policy[CTA_FILTER_MAX + 1] = { [CTA_FILTER_ORIG_FLAGS] = NLA_POLICY_MASK(NLA_U32, CTA_FILTER_F_ALL), [CTA_FILTER_REPLY_FLAGS] = NLA_POLICY_MASK(NLA_U32, CTA_FILTER_F_ALL), + [CTA_FILTER_ZONE] = { .type = NLA_FLAG }, }; static int ctnetlink_parse_filter(const struct nlattr *attr,
@@ -930,6 +931,9 @@ static int ctnetlink_parse_filter(const struct nlattr *attr, if (tb[CTA_FILTER_REPLY_FLAGS]) filter->reply_flags = nla_get_u32(tb[CTA_FILTER_REPLY_FLAGS]); + if (tb[CTA_FILTER_ZONE]) + filter->zone_filter = true; + return 0; }
@@ -1006,6 +1010,7 @@ ctnetlink_alloc_filter(const struct nlattr * const cda[], u8 family) if (err) goto err_filter; + /* CTA_ZONE is allowed without CTA_FILTER_ZONE. */ if (cda[CTA_ZONE]) { err = ctnetlink_parse_zone(cda[CTA_ZONE], &filter->zone); if (err < 0)
@@ -1020,6 +1025,12 @@ ctnetlink_alloc_filter(const struct nlattr * const cda[], u8 family) if (err < 0) goto err_filter; + /* CTA_FILTER_ZONE cannot be set without CTA_ZONE. */ + if (filter->zone_filter && !cda[CTA_ZONE]) { + err = -EINVAL; + goto err_filter; + } + if (filter->orig_flags) { if (!cda[CTA_TUPLE_ORIG]) { err = -EINVAL;
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/net/netfilter/conntrack_dump_flush.c b/tools/testing/selftests/net/netfilter/conntrack_dump_flush.c
index 31b8250ddc53..0c777323f4ba 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/net/netfilter/conntrack_dump_flush.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/net/netfilter/conntrack_dump_flush.c@@ -215,7 +215,22 @@ static int count_entries(const struct nlmsghdr *nlh, void *data) return MNL_CB_OK; } -static int conntrack_count_zone(struct mnl_socket *sock, uint16_t zone) +static void put_zone_attr(struct nlmsghdr *nlh, uint16_t zone, + bool use_cta_filter) +{ + struct nlattr *nest; + + mnl_attr_put_u16(nlh, CTA_ZONE, htons(zone)); + + if (use_cta_filter) { + nest = mnl_attr_nest_start(nlh, CTA_FILTER); + mnl_attr_put(nlh, CTA_FILTER_ZONE, 0, NULL); + mnl_attr_nest_end(nlh, nest); + } +} + +static int conntrack_count_zone(struct mnl_socket *sock, uint16_t zone, + bool use_cta_filter) { char buf[MNL_SOCKET_BUFFER_SIZE]; struct nlmsghdr *nlh;
@@ -235,7 +250,7 @@ static int conntrack_count_zone(struct mnl_socket *sock, uint16_t zone) nfh->version = NFNETLINK_V0; nfh->res_id = 0; - mnl_attr_put_u16(nlh, CTA_ZONE, htons(zone)); + put_zone_attr(nlh, zone, use_cta_filter); ret = mnl_socket_sendto(sock, nlh, nlh->nlmsg_len); if (ret < 0) {
@@ -261,7 +276,8 @@ static int conntrack_count_zone(struct mnl_socket *sock, uint16_t zone) return reply_counter; } -static int conntrack_flush_zone(struct mnl_socket *sock, uint16_t zone) +static int conntrack_flush_zone(struct mnl_socket *sock, uint16_t zone, + bool use_cta_filter) { char buf[MNL_SOCKET_BUFFER_SIZE]; struct nlmsghdr *nlh;
@@ -281,7 +297,7 @@ static int conntrack_flush_zone(struct mnl_socket *sock, uint16_t zone) nfh->version = NFNETLINK_V0; nfh->res_id = 0; - mnl_attr_put_u16(nlh, CTA_ZONE, htons(zone)); + put_zone_attr(nlh, zone, use_cta_filter); ret = mnl_socket_sendto(sock, nlh, nlh->nlmsg_len); if (ret < 0) {
@@ -304,43 +320,40 @@ static int conntrack_flush_zone(struct mnl_socket *sock, uint16_t zone) return 0; } -FIXTURE(conntrack_dump_flush) -{ - struct mnl_socket *sock; -}; - -FIXTURE_SETUP(conntrack_dump_flush) +static int conntrack_zone_setup(struct __test_metadata *_metadata, + struct mnl_socket **sock) { struct in6_addr src, dst; int ret; - self->sock = mnl_socket_open(NETLINK_NETFILTER); - if (!self->sock) { + *sock = mnl_socket_open(NETLINK_NETFILTER); + if (!*sock) { perror("mnl_socket_open"); - SKIP(return, "cannot open netlink_netfilter socket"); + SKIP(return -1, "cannot open netlink_netfilter socket"); } - ret = mnl_socket_bind(self->sock, 0, MNL_SOCKET_AUTOPID); - EXPECT_EQ(ret, 0); + ret = mnl_socket_bind(*sock, 0, MNL_SOCKET_AUTOPID); + ASSERT_EQ(ret, 0); - ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID); + ret = conntrack_count_zone(*sock, TEST_ZONE_ID, false); if (ret < 0 && errno == EPERM) - SKIP(return, "Needs to be run as root"); + SKIP(return -1, "Needs to be run as root"); else if (ret < 0 && errno == EOPNOTSUPP) - SKIP(return, "Kernel does not seem to support conntrack zones"); + SKIP(return -1, + "Kernel does not seem to support conntrack zones"); - ret = conntrack_data_generate_v4(self->sock, 0xf0f0f0f0, 0xf1f1f1f1, + ret = conntrack_data_generate_v4(*sock, 0xf0f0f0f0, 0xf1f1f1f1, TEST_ZONE_ID); - EXPECT_EQ(ret, 0); - ret = conntrack_data_generate_v4(self->sock, 0xf2f2f2f2, 0xf3f3f3f3, + ASSERT_EQ(ret, 0); + ret = conntrack_data_generate_v4(*sock, 0xf2f2f2f2, 0xf3f3f3f3, TEST_ZONE_ID + 1); - EXPECT_EQ(ret, 0); - ret = conntrack_data_generate_v4(self->sock, 0xf4f4f4f4, 0xf5f5f5f5, + ASSERT_EQ(ret, 0); + ret = conntrack_data_generate_v4(*sock, 0xf4f4f4f4, 0xf5f5f5f5, TEST_ZONE_ID + 2); - EXPECT_EQ(ret, 0); - ret = conntrack_data_generate_v4(self->sock, 0xf6f6f6f6, 0xf7f7f7f7, + ASSERT_EQ(ret, 0); + ret = conntrack_data_generate_v4(*sock, 0xf6f6f6f6, 0xf7f7f7f7, NF_CT_DEFAULT_ZONE_ID); - EXPECT_EQ(ret, 0); + ASSERT_EQ(ret, 0); src = (struct in6_addr) {{ .__u6_addr32 = {
@@ -358,9 +371,9 @@ FIXTURE_SETUP(conntrack_dump_flush) 0x02000000 } }}; - ret = conntrack_data_generate_v6(self->sock, src, dst, + ret = conntrack_data_generate_v6(*sock, src, dst, TEST_ZONE_ID); - EXPECT_EQ(ret, 0); + ASSERT_EQ(ret, 0); src = (struct in6_addr) {{ .__u6_addr32 = { 0xb80d0120,
@@ -377,9 +390,9 @@ FIXTURE_SETUP(conntrack_dump_flush) 0x04000000 } }}; - ret = conntrack_data_generate_v6(self->sock, src, dst, + ret = conntrack_data_generate_v6(*sock, src, dst, TEST_ZONE_ID + 1); - EXPECT_EQ(ret, 0); + ASSERT_EQ(ret, 0); src = (struct in6_addr) {{ .__u6_addr32 = { 0xb80d0120,
@@ -396,9 +409,9 @@ FIXTURE_SETUP(conntrack_dump_flush) 0x06000000 } }}; - ret = conntrack_data_generate_v6(self->sock, src, dst, + ret = conntrack_data_generate_v6(*sock, src, dst, TEST_ZONE_ID + 2); - EXPECT_EQ(ret, 0); + ASSERT_EQ(ret, 0); src = (struct in6_addr) {{ .__u6_addr32 = {
@@ -416,14 +429,51 @@ FIXTURE_SETUP(conntrack_dump_flush) 0x08000000 } }}; - ret = conntrack_data_generate_v6(self->sock, src, dst, + ret = conntrack_data_generate_v6(*sock, src, dst, NF_CT_DEFAULT_ZONE_ID); - EXPECT_EQ(ret, 0); + ASSERT_EQ(ret, 0); - ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID); + return 0; +} + +FIXTURE(conntrack_dump_flush) +{ + struct mnl_socket *sock; +}; + +FIXTURE_VARIANT(conntrack_dump_flush) +{ + bool use_cta_filter; +}; + +FIXTURE_VARIANT_ADD(conntrack_dump_flush, cta_zone) +{ + .use_cta_filter = false, +}; + +FIXTURE_VARIANT_ADD(conntrack_dump_flush, cta_filter) +{ + .use_cta_filter = true, +}; + +FIXTURE_SETUP(conntrack_dump_flush) +{ + int ret; + + if (conntrack_zone_setup(_metadata, &self->sock)) + return; + + ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID, false); EXPECT_GE(ret, 2); if (ret > 2) SKIP(return, "kernel does not support filtering by zone"); + + if (variant->use_cta_filter) { + ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID, true); + if (ret < 0 && errno == EINVAL) + SKIP(return, "kernel does not support CTA_FILTER_ZONE"); + ASSERT_GE(ret, 0); + } } FIXTURE_TEARDOWN(conntrack_dump_flush)
@@ -434,39 +484,42 @@ TEST_F(conntrack_dump_flush, test_dump_by_zone) { int ret; - ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID); + ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID, + variant->use_cta_filter); EXPECT_EQ(ret, 2); } TEST_F(conntrack_dump_flush, test_flush_by_zone) { + bool filter = variant->use_cta_filter; int ret; - ret = conntrack_flush_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID); + ret = conntrack_flush_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID, filter); EXPECT_EQ(ret, 0); - ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID); + ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID, filter); EXPECT_EQ(ret, 0); - ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID + 1); + ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID + 1, filter); EXPECT_EQ(ret, 2); - ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID + 2); + ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID + 2, filter); EXPECT_EQ(ret, 2); - ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, NF_CT_DEFAULT_ZONE_ID); + ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, NF_CT_DEFAULT_ZONE_ID, filter); EXPECT_EQ(ret, 2); } TEST_F(conntrack_dump_flush, test_flush_by_zone_default) { + bool filter = variant->use_cta_filter; int ret; - ret = conntrack_flush_zone(self->sock, NF_CT_DEFAULT_ZONE_ID); + ret = conntrack_flush_zone(self->sock, NF_CT_DEFAULT_ZONE_ID, filter); EXPECT_EQ(ret, 0); - ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID); + ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID, filter); EXPECT_EQ(ret, 2); - ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID + 1); + ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID + 1, filter); EXPECT_EQ(ret, 2); - ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID + 2); + ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, TEST_ZONE_ID + 2, filter); EXPECT_EQ(ret, 2); - ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, NF_CT_DEFAULT_ZONE_ID); + ret = conntrack_count_zone(self->sock, NF_CT_DEFAULT_ZONE_ID, filter); EXPECT_EQ(ret, 0); }
--
2.47.3