This patch, which depends on the previous %ebx -> %ebp patch, removes all pop instruction in the sysenter return path. This leaks the thread_info address to user mode but this shouldn't be a security problem. This is what happens to the various registers: %eax: return value from system call: already in place %ebx, %esi, %edi: saved by the C compiler %ecx, %edx, %ebp: restored by user mode %esp, eip: copied to %ecx/%edx and restored by sysexit %ds, %es: initialized to __USER_DS on kernel entry %cs, %ss: restored by sysexit based on msr %fs, %gs: not modified by the kernel (saved around context switch) eflags: not preserved FP, XMM: any code that modifies them must save/restore them Note that while it is possible to change %ebx, %esi, %edi, %ecx, %edx or %ebp via struct pt_regs, anything that does should set TIF_IRET or another work flag (and it hopefully already does). diff --exclude-from=/home/ldb/src/exclude -urNdp linux-2.5.54-preldb/arch/i386/kernel/entry.S linux-2.5.54-ldb/arch/i386/kernel/entry.S --- linux-2.5.54-preldb/arch/i386/kernel/entry.S 2003-01-06 16:01:40.000000000 +0100 +++ linux-2.5.54-ldb/arch/i386/kernel/entry.S 2003-01-06 04:54:58.000000000 +0100 @@ -276,9 +276,9 @@ ENTRY(sysenter_entry) movl TI_FLAGS(%ebp), %ecx testw $_TIF_ALLWORK_MASK, %cx jne syscall_exit_work - RESTORE_INT_REGS - movl 12(%esp),%edx - movl 24(%esp),%ecx +/* if something modifies registers it must also disable sysexit */ + movl EIP(%esp), %edx + movl OLDESP(%esp), %ecx sti sysexit