[PATCH v2 perf-tools-next 0/6] perf trace: Validate payload bounds across augmented argument beautifiers

[PATCH v2 perf-tools-next 0/6] perf trace: Validate payload bounds across augmented argument beautifiers

[Aaron Tomlin]

When pretty-printing augmented syscall arguments in perf trace, raw payload
data captured from BPF programs is passed to various argument formatters
via struct syscall_arg.

However, when processing malformed, truncated, or untrusted perf.data
records (e.g., truncated reads in BPF ringbuffers, cross-architecture
replays, or crafted sample records), the payload can be shorter than
expected or contain invalid size fields:
    1.  Dereferencing augmented_arg fields before validating that
        arg->augmented.size is at least sizeof(struct augmented_arg) can read
        past the available buffer.

    2.  Passing augmented_arg->size to formatters or loop counters without
        bounding it against the remaining buffer can cause out-of-bounds memory
        reads.

    3.  In multi-argument syscalls, calculating consumed bytes as:

            consumed = sizeof(*augmented_arg) + augmented_arg->size;

        without bounds checking can overflow signed integer bounds or cause
        arg->augmented.size to underflow. This advances arg->augmented.args
        out of bounds, corrupting parsing state for all subsequent
        arguments in the same syscall.

    4.  Type/family-specific beautifiers (i.e., BTF struct dump, sockaddr,
        timespec, perf_event_attr) can dereference structure fields without
        verifying that the payload contains sufficient bytes for the target
        type.

This series adds comprehensive upper-bound and payload-size checks across
all augmented argument beautifiers in perf trace. If validation fails in
any beautifier, it cleanly falls back to printing the raw pointer/hex
value.

To facilitate clean, conflict-free backports across active LTS kernels,
each formatter fix is isolated to its own commit.

Changes since v1:

 - Expanded the original single patch into a 6-patch series in response to
   reviewer feedback from sashiko-bot regarding similar bounds check
   omissions across other augmented formatters in perf trace

 - Added new patch validating payload bounds and consumed offset
   calculations in syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_string()

 - Added new patch validating payload bounds before byte traversal in
   syscall_arg__scnprintf_buf(), isolated to ensure an independent Fixes:
   tag for stable backports

 - Added new patch validating payload size against sizeof(struct timespec)
   in syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_timespec()

 - Added new patch validating payload bounds and family-specific lengths in
   syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_sockaddr()

 - Added new patch validating payload size against at least
   PERF_ATTR_SIZE_VER0 in
   syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_perf_event_attr()

 - Link to v1: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260906011132.279321-1-atomlin@atomlin.com/

Aaron Tomlin (6):
  perf trace: Add upper bound checks for augmented BTF struct printing
  perf trace: Validate payload bounds in augmented string beautifier
  perf trace: Validate payload bounds in augmented buffer beautifier
  perf trace beauty: Validate payload size in augmented timespec
    beautifier
  perf trace beauty: Validate payload size in augmented sockaddr
    beautifier
  perf trace beauty: Validate payload size in augmented perf_event_open
    beautifier

 tools/perf/builtin-trace.c                | 36 +++++++++++++++++------
 tools/perf/trace/beauty/perf_event_open.c | 19 ++++++++++--
 tools/perf/trace/beauty/sockaddr.c        | 35 ++++++++++++++++++----
 tools/perf/trace/beauty/timespec.c        | 19 ++++++++++--
 4 files changed, 89 insertions(+), 20 deletions(-)


base-commit: 02f6847e1822714a4201b87e42f92b0d43e8549d
-- 
2.55.0

[PATCH v2 perf-tools-next 1/6] perf trace: Add upper bound checks for augmented BTF struct printing

[Aaron Tomlin]

When pretty-printing augmented struct payloads using BTF via
btf_struct_scnprintf(), augmented_arg->size is currently only validated
against values <= 0.

However, several edge cases can result in size mismatches or buffer
over-reads:
    1.  If arg->augmented.size is smaller than sizeof(*augmented_arg),
        dereferencing augmented_arg->size reads past the available
        buffer.

    2.  If augmented_arg->size exceeds arg->augmented.size -
        sizeof(*augmented_arg), calculating consumed =
        sizeof(*augmented_arg) + augmented_arg->size can overflow signed
        integer limits (e.g., with crafted INT_MAX values in an
        untrusted perf.data file) or cause arg->augmented.size to
        underflow. This advances arg->augmented.args out of bounds,
        corrupting the parsing state for subsequent arguments in
        multi-argument syscalls.

    3.  If the captured payload is truncated (e.g., short reads in BPF,
        or during cross-architecture analysis such as replaying a 32-bit
        perf.data on a 64-bit host where host BTF type->size exceeds the
        32-bit target payload), passing type->size to
        btf_dump__dump_type_data() causes libbpf to read past the end of
        the payload buffer.

Enforce an upper bound on augmented_arg->size against the remaining
buffer (arg->augmented.size - sizeof(*augmented_arg)) and verify that the
captured payload contains at least type->size bytes before passing it to
btf_dump__dump_type_data().

Fixes: cb32035214b9 ("perf trace: Pretty print struct data")
Reported-by: sashiko-bot <sashiko-bot@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Aaron Tomlin <atomlin@atomlin.com>
---
 tools/perf/builtin-trace.c | 5 +++--
 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c b/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
index be19d70eba09..20fffc24507b 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
@@ -1133,12 +1133,13 @@ static size_t btf_struct_scnprintf(const struct btf_type *type, struct btf *btf,
 	LIBBPF_OPTS(btf_dump_opts, dump_opts);
 	LIBBPF_OPTS(btf_dump_type_data_opts, dump_data_opts);
 
-	if (arg == NULL || arg->augmented.args == NULL || arg->augmented.size <= 0 ||
+	if (arg == NULL || arg->augmented.args == NULL || arg->augmented.size < (int)sizeof(*augmented_arg) ||
 	    arg->fmt == NULL || !arg->fmt->from_user)
 		return 0;
 
 	augmented_arg = arg->augmented.args;
-	if (augmented_arg->size <= 0)
+	if (augmented_arg->size <= 0 || augmented_arg->size > arg->augmented.size - (int)sizeof(*augmented_arg) ||
+	    (size_t)augmented_arg->size < type->size)
 		return 0;
 
 	dump_data_opts.compact	  = true;
-- 
2.55.0

[PATCH v2 perf-tools-next 2/6] perf trace: Validate payload bounds in augmented string beautifier

[Aaron Tomlin]

When pretty-printing augmented string arguments via
syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_string(), augmented_arg->size is not
validated against the remaining buffer size (arg->augmented.size).

If a malformed or truncated perf.data record provides an invalid or
excessively large augmented_arg->size:
    1.  If arg->augmented.size is smaller than sizeof(*augmented_arg),
        dereferencing augmented_arg->size reads past the available
        buffer.

    2.  Calculating consumed = sizeof(*augmented_arg) +
        augmented_arg->size can overflow signed integer bounds or cause
        arg->augmented.size to underflow, advancing arg->augmented.args
        out of bounds and corrupting the parsing state for subsequent
        arguments in multi-argument syscalls.

Validate that arg->augmented.size is large enough to hold
sizeof(*augmented_arg) and that augmented_arg->size is within the bounds
of the remaining buffer before printing or calculating consumed bytes. If
validation fails, fall back to printing the raw pointer value.

Fixes: 8195168e8779 ("perf trace: Consume the augmented_raw_syscalls payload")
Reported-by: sashiko-bot <sashiko-bot@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Aaron Tomlin <atomlin@atomlin.com>
---
 tools/perf/builtin-trace.c | 21 +++++++++++++++++----
 1 file changed, 17 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c b/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
index 20fffc24507b..91461ab927b6 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
@@ -1898,12 +1898,21 @@ static void thread__set_filename_pos(struct thread *thread, const char *bf,
 static size_t syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_string(struct syscall_arg *arg, char *bf, size_t size)
 {
 	struct augmented_arg *augmented_arg = arg->augmented.args;
-	size_t printed = scnprintf(bf, size, "\"%.*s\"", augmented_arg->size, augmented_arg->value);
+	size_t printed;
+	int consumed;
+
+	if (arg->augmented.size < (int)sizeof(*augmented_arg))
+		return 0;
+
+	if (augmented_arg->size <= 0 || augmented_arg->size > arg->augmented.size - (int)sizeof(*augmented_arg))
+		return 0;
+
+	printed = scnprintf(bf, size, "\"%.*s\"", augmented_arg->size, augmented_arg->value);
 	/*
 	 * So that the next arg with a payload can consume its augmented arg, i.e. for rename* syscalls
 	 * we would have two strings, each prefixed by its size.
 	 */
-	int consumed = sizeof(*augmented_arg) + augmented_arg->size;
+	consumed = sizeof(*augmented_arg) + augmented_arg->size;
 
 	arg->augmented.args = ((void *)arg->augmented.args) + consumed;
 	arg->augmented.size -= consumed;
@@ -1916,8 +1925,12 @@ static size_t syscall_arg__scnprintf_filename(char *bf, size_t size,
 {
 	unsigned long ptr = arg->val;
 
-	if (arg->augmented.args)
-		return syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_string(arg, bf, size);
+	if (arg->augmented.args) {
+		size_t printed = syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_string(arg, bf, size);
+
+		if (printed)
+			return printed;
+	}
 
 	if (!arg->trace->vfs_getname)
 		return scnprintf(bf, size, "%#x", ptr);
-- 
2.55.0

[PATCH v2 perf-tools-next 3/6] perf trace: Validate payload bounds in augmented buffer beautifier

[Aaron Tomlin]

When pretty-printing non-string augmented buffers via
syscall_arg__scnprintf_buf(), augmented_arg->size is not validated
against the remaining buffer size (arg->augmented.size).

If a malformed or truncated perf.data record provides an invalid or
excessively large augmented_arg->size:
    1.  If arg->augmented.size is smaller than sizeof(*augmented_arg),
        dereferencing augmented_arg->size reads past the available
        buffer.

    2.  The loop reads up to augmented_arg->size bytes from
        augmented_arg->value without verifying that they exist within
        the buffer, leading to buffer over-reads.

    3.  Calculating consumed = sizeof(*augmented_arg) +
        augmented_arg->size can overflow signed integer bounds or cause
        arg->augmented.size to underflow, advancing arg->augmented.args
        out of bounds and corrupting the parsing state for subsequent
        arguments in multi-argument syscalls.

Validate that arg->augmented.size is large enough to hold
sizeof(*augmented_arg) and that augmented_arg->size is within the bounds
of the remaining buffer before iterating or calculating consumed bytes.
If validation fails, fall back to printing the raw pointer value.

Fixes: b257fac12f38 ("perf trace: Pretty print buffer data")
Reported-by: sashiko-bot <sashiko-bot@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Aaron Tomlin <atomlin@atomlin.com>
---
 tools/perf/builtin-trace.c | 10 +++++++---
 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c b/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
index 91461ab927b6..4277de761a54 100644
--- a/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
+++ b/tools/perf/builtin-trace.c
@@ -1945,13 +1945,17 @@ static size_t syscall_arg__scnprintf_filename(char *bf, size_t size,
 static size_t syscall_arg__scnprintf_buf(char *bf, size_t size, struct syscall_arg *arg)
 {
 	struct augmented_arg *augmented_arg = arg->augmented.args;
-	unsigned char *orig = (unsigned char *)augmented_arg->value;
+	unsigned char *orig;
 	size_t printed = 0;
 	int consumed;
 
-	if (augmented_arg == NULL)
-		return 0;
+	if (augmented_arg == NULL || arg->augmented.size < (int)sizeof(*augmented_arg))
+		return scnprintf(bf, size, "%#lx", arg->val);
+
+	if (augmented_arg->size <= 0 || augmented_arg->size > arg->augmented.size - (int)sizeof(*augmented_arg))
+		return scnprintf(bf, size, "%#lx", arg->val);
 
+	orig = (unsigned char *)augmented_arg->value;
 	for (int j = 0; j < augmented_arg->size; ++j) {
 		bool control_char = orig[j] <= MAX_CONTROL_CHAR || orig[j] >= MAX_ASCII;
 		/* print control characters (0~31 and 127), and non-ascii characters in \(digits) */
-- 
2.55.0

[PATCH v2 perf-tools-next 4/6] perf trace beauty: Validate payload size in augmented timespec beautifier

[Aaron Tomlin]

When pretty-printing augmented timespec arguments via
syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_timespec(), arg->augmented.args->value
is cast to struct timespec without verifying that the captured payload
is large enough to hold the structure.

If a malformed or truncated perf.data record provides an augmented
payload smaller than sizeof(struct timespec), accessing ts->tv_sec or
ts->tv_nsec reads memory past the end of the available buffer.

Validate that arg->augmented.size is at least sizeof(struct augmented_arg)
and that augmented_arg->size is at least sizeof(struct timespec) while
remaining within the available buffer. If validation fails, fall back to
printing the raw pointer value.

Fixes: 6ac73820993c ("perf trace: Add augmenter for clock_gettime's rqtp timespec arg")
Reported-by: sashiko-bot <sashiko-bot@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Aaron Tomlin <atomlin@atomlin.com>
---
 tools/perf/trace/beauty/timespec.c | 19 ++++++++++++++++---
 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/perf/trace/beauty/timespec.c b/tools/perf/trace/beauty/timespec.c
index b14ab72a2738..fad503bd953a 100644
--- a/tools/perf/trace/beauty/timespec.c
+++ b/tools/perf/trace/beauty/timespec.c
@@ -7,15 +7,28 @@
 
 static size_t syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_timespec(struct syscall_arg *arg, char *bf, size_t size)
 {
-	struct timespec *ts = (struct timespec *)arg->augmented.args->value;
+	struct augmented_arg *augmented_arg = arg->augmented.args;
+	struct timespec *ts;
 
+	if (arg->augmented.size < (int)sizeof(*augmented_arg))
+		return 0;
+
+	if (augmented_arg->size < (int)sizeof(*ts) ||
+	    augmented_arg->size > arg->augmented.size - (int)sizeof(*augmented_arg))
+		return 0;
+
+	ts = (struct timespec *)augmented_arg->value;
 	return scnprintf(bf, size, "{ .tv_sec: %" PRIu64 ", .tv_nsec: %" PRIu64 " }", ts->tv_sec, ts->tv_nsec);
 }
 
 size_t syscall_arg__scnprintf_timespec(char *bf, size_t size, struct syscall_arg *arg)
 {
-	if (arg->augmented.args)
-		return syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_timespec(arg, bf, size);
+	if (arg->augmented.args) {
+		size_t printed = syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_timespec(arg, bf, size);
+
+		if (printed)
+			return printed;
+	}
 
 	return scnprintf(bf, size, "%#lx", arg->val);
 }
-- 
2.55.0

[PATCH v2 perf-tools-next 5/6] perf trace beauty: Validate payload size in augmented sockaddr beautifier

[Aaron Tomlin]

When pretty-printing augmented sockaddr arguments via
syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_sockaddr(), &arg->augmented.args->value
is cast to struct sockaddr without checking whether the captured payload
is large enough to hold the socket address.

If a malformed or truncated perf.data record provides an augmented
payload smaller than sizeof(sa->sa_family), accessing sa->sa_family or
dereferencing family-specific fields (e.g., struct sockaddr_in,
sockaddr_in6, or sockaddr_un) reads memory past the available buffer.

Validate that arg->augmented.size is at least sizeof(struct augmented_arg)
and that augmented_arg->size is at least sizeof(sa->sa_family) while
remaining within the available buffer. Furthermore, ensure that the
payload contains sufficient bytes for the given sa->sa_family before
invoking the family-specific formatter. If validation fails, fall back
to printing the raw pointer value.

Fixes: d5a7e6613b00 ("perf trace augmented_syscalls: Augment connect's 'sockaddr' arg")
Reported-by: sashiko-bot <sashiko-bot@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Aaron Tomlin <atomlin@atomlin.com>
---
 tools/perf/trace/beauty/sockaddr.c | 35 +++++++++++++++++++++++++-----
 1 file changed, 30 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/perf/trace/beauty/sockaddr.c b/tools/perf/trace/beauty/sockaddr.c
index a17a27ac2a6f..00c702ff4465 100644
--- a/tools/perf/trace/beauty/sockaddr.c
+++ b/tools/perf/trace/beauty/sockaddr.c
@@ -47,23 +47,48 @@ static size_t (*af_scnprintfs[])(struct sockaddr *sa, char *bf, size_t size) = {
 
 static size_t syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_sockaddr(struct syscall_arg *arg, char *bf, size_t size)
 {
-	struct sockaddr *sa = (struct sockaddr *)&arg->augmented.args->value;
+	struct augmented_arg *augmented_arg = arg->augmented.args;
+	struct sockaddr *sa;
 	char family[32];
 	size_t printed;
 
+	if (arg->augmented.size < (int)sizeof(*augmented_arg))
+		return 0;
+
+	if (augmented_arg->size < (int)sizeof(sa->sa_family) ||
+	    augmented_arg->size > arg->augmented.size - (int)sizeof(*augmented_arg))
+		return 0;
+
+	sa = (struct sockaddr *)&augmented_arg->value;
 	strarray__scnprintf(&strarray__socket_families, family, sizeof(family), "%d", arg->show_string_prefix, sa->sa_family);
 	printed = scnprintf(bf, size, "{ .family: %s", family);
 
-	if (sa->sa_family < ARRAY_SIZE(af_scnprintfs) && af_scnprintfs[sa->sa_family])
-		printed += af_scnprintfs[sa->sa_family](sa, bf + printed, size - printed);
+	if (sa->sa_family < ARRAY_SIZE(af_scnprintfs) && af_scnprintfs[sa->sa_family]) {
+		bool valid = false;
+
+		if (sa->sa_family == AF_INET && augmented_arg->size >= (int)sizeof(struct sockaddr_in))
+			valid = true;
+		else if (sa->sa_family == AF_INET6 && augmented_arg->size >= (int)sizeof(struct sockaddr_in6))
+			valid = true;
+		else if (sa->sa_family == AF_LOCAL &&
+			 augmented_arg->size > (int)offsetof(struct sockaddr_un, sun_path))
+			valid = true;
+
+		if (valid)
+			printed += af_scnprintfs[sa->sa_family](sa, bf + printed, size - printed);
+	}
 
 	return printed + scnprintf(bf + printed, size - printed, " }");
 }
 
 size_t syscall_arg__scnprintf_sockaddr(char *bf, size_t size, struct syscall_arg *arg)
 {
-	if (arg->augmented.args)
-		return syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_sockaddr(arg, bf, size);
+	if (arg->augmented.args) {
+		size_t printed = syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_sockaddr(arg, bf, size);
+
+		if (printed)
+			return printed;
+	}
 
 	return scnprintf(bf, size, "%#lx", arg->val);
 }
-- 
2.55.0

[PATCH v2 perf-tools-next 6/6] perf trace beauty: Validate payload size in augmented perf_event_open beautifier

[Aaron Tomlin]

When pretty-printing augmented perf_event_attr arguments via
syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_perf_event_attr(),
arg->augmented.args->value is cast to struct perf_event_attr and read
without verifying that the captured payload is large enough to contain
at least PERF_ATTR_SIZE_VER0 bytes.

If a malformed or truncated perf.data record provides an augmented
payload smaller than PERF_ATTR_SIZE_VER0, accessing attr->size or
executing memcpy(&local_attr, attr, PERF_ATTR_SIZE_VER0) reads memory
past the end of the available buffer.

Validate that arg->augmented.size is at least sizeof(struct augmented_arg)
and that augmented_arg->size is at least PERF_ATTR_SIZE_VER0 while
remaining within the available buffer. If validation fails, fall back to
printing the raw pointer value.

Fixes: a9cd6c676685 ("perf trace: Add BPF augmenter to perf_event_open()'s 'struct perf_event_attr' arg")
Reported-by: sashiko-bot <sashiko-bot@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Aaron Tomlin <atomlin@atomlin.com>
---
 tools/perf/trace/beauty/perf_event_open.c | 19 ++++++++++++++++---
 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/perf/trace/beauty/perf_event_open.c b/tools/perf/trace/beauty/perf_event_open.c
index 6315b46bcdf0..846738225abd 100644
--- a/tools/perf/trace/beauty/perf_event_open.c
+++ b/tools/perf/trace/beauty/perf_event_open.c
@@ -81,9 +81,18 @@ static size_t perf_event_attr___scnprintf(struct perf_event_attr *attr, char *bf
 
 static size_t syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_perf_event_attr(struct syscall_arg *arg, char *bf, size_t size)
 {
-	struct perf_event_attr *attr = (void *)arg->augmented.args->value;
+	struct augmented_arg *augmented_arg = arg->augmented.args;
+	struct perf_event_attr *attr;
 	struct perf_event_attr local_attr;
 
+	if (arg->augmented.size < (int)sizeof(*augmented_arg))
+		return 0;
+
+	if (augmented_arg->size < (int)PERF_ATTR_SIZE_VER0 ||
+	    augmented_arg->size > arg->augmented.size - (int)sizeof(*augmented_arg))
+		return 0;
+
+	attr = (void *)augmented_arg->value;
 	/*
 	 * augmented_raw_syscalls.bpf.c (shipped with perf) copies
 	 * PERF_ATTR_SIZE_VER0 bytes when the tracee passes size=0,
@@ -107,8 +116,12 @@ static size_t syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_perf_event_attr(struct syscall_ar
 
 size_t syscall_arg__scnprintf_perf_event_attr(char *bf, size_t size, struct syscall_arg *arg)
 {
-	if (arg->augmented.args)
-		return syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_perf_event_attr(arg, bf, size);
+	if (arg->augmented.args) {
+		size_t printed = syscall_arg__scnprintf_augmented_perf_event_attr(arg, bf, size);
+
+		if (printed)
+			return printed;
+	}
 
 	return scnprintf(bf, size, "%#lx", arg->val);
 }
-- 
2.55.0