Re: Detecting missing hook functions

From: jmjonesat_private
Date: Fri Oct 26 2001 - 13:28:39 PDT

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    On Fri, 26 Oct 2001, Chris Wright wrote:
    
    > hmm, i guess this is possible.  of course, a NULL pointer is the same as
    > a useful pointer that returns a-ok.  it's nice to sanity check as much
    > as possible.  how about we leave this for the time being, given the work
    > arounds (good pointer, return 0 implementation, bad non-zero pointer)?
    
    Actually, that's not true.  A NULL pointer, checked by the caller, might
    prevent a call and a kernel-panic.
    
    I agree that sanity-checking is most useful in development, but the
    difference that I see is that there MUST be a valid "a-ok" function for a
    hook, but there need not be a valid pointer to a function passed in the
    structure during the call.  Having the kernel CHECK, irrevocably, the
    values in a parameter smacks of "policy imposition" to me when it passes a
    pointer to another entity for review.
    
    Again, based on the simple code for security_register(), I think that a
    full-verify is probably a good idea, but, by passing an unverified pointer
    to the module, you not only lose nothing but ALSO gain something: the
    module can use that pointer for another purpose, or verify that it is
    proper within the context of its registration.
    
    Remember, a module family is assumed (by LSM) to KNOW the nature of the
    passed information from other modules of the same family.  The check is
    inappropriate in mod_reg...
    
    Sincerely,
    J. Melvin Jones
    
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