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* [PATCH 0/2] userns: keep the exec securebits
@ 2026-10-26 20:53 Christian Brauner
  2026-10-26 20:53 ` [PATCH 1/2] userns: don't drop " Christian Brauner
  2026-10-26 20:53 ` [PATCH 2/2] selftests/exec: check that user namespaces keep " Christian Brauner
  0 siblings, 2 replies; 3+ messages in thread
From: Christian Brauner @ 2026-10-26 20:53 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: linux-fsdevel
  Cc: Mickaël Salaün, Serge Hallyn, linux-kernel, linux-mm,
	Jann Horn, Christian Brauner (Amutable),
	stable

The exec securebits are meant to be set and locked by a service manager
so that nothing below it can turn them off again. But creating a user
namespace resets all securebits, locks included. So anyone who may
create a user namespace can shed them with a single
unshare(CLONE_NEWUSER), and joining one with setns() does the same.
That's pretty much everyone.

systemd gains a SecureBits= setting for the service manager itself. It
sets and locks the exec bits for everything it starts, so interpreters
that support AT_EXECVE_CHECK enforce the system's execution policy for
their scripts. With the reset "unshare -U python3 /tmp/x.py" gets
around all of that.

The other securebits are about how capabilities are computed and
resetting them in a new user namespace is fine. The exec bits grant
nothing. They're restrictions a task placed on itself, like
no_new_privs, which a user namespace doesn't drop either. So keep them
and their locks and keep resetting the rest.

I also keep the exec bits that aren't locked. fork() and execve()
preserve them and the task can clear them itself anyway, so dropping
them on unshare() would just be inconsistent.

The new selftests fail on mainline and pass with the fix. I think this
wants to go to stable, otherwise the locks don't mean much on any kernel
that has these bits.

Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner (Amutable) <brauner@kernel.org>
---
Christian Brauner (2):
      userns: don't drop the exec securebits
      selftests/exec: check that user namespaces keep the exec securebits

 Documentation/userspace-api/check_exec.rst |  4 ++
 kernel/user_namespace.c                    |  5 +-
 tools/testing/selftests/exec/check-exec.c  | 83 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 91 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
---
base-commit: 21a7f44fd0765fcc5194130b28767786eba1d1e7
change-id: 20261026-work-securebits-userns-6070b18a9cda


^ permalink raw reply	[flat|nested] 3+ messages in thread

* [PATCH 1/2] userns: don't drop the exec securebits
  2026-10-26 20:53 [PATCH 0/2] userns: keep the exec securebits Christian Brauner
@ 2026-10-26 20:53 ` Christian Brauner
  2026-10-26 20:53 ` [PATCH 2/2] selftests/exec: check that user namespaces keep " Christian Brauner
  1 sibling, 0 replies; 3+ messages in thread
From: Christian Brauner @ 2026-10-26 20:53 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: linux-fsdevel
  Cc: Mickaël Salaün, Serge Hallyn, linux-kernel, linux-mm,
	Jann Horn, Christian Brauner (Amutable),
	stable

SECBIT_EXEC_RESTRICT_FILE and SECBIT_EXEC_DENY_INTERACTIVE tell script
interpreters to only run what AT_EXECVE_CHECK allows and to refuse
interactive input. A service manager sets them together with their lock
bits so that nothing below it can turn them off again.

But set_cred_user_ns() resets all securebits to SECUREBITS_DEFAULT. So
any task that can create a user namespace sheds the locked exec bits
with a single unshare(CLONE_NEWUSER) and joining one with setns() does
the same. The lock is pointless if anyone who may create a user
namespace can drop it, and that is pretty much everyone.

Resetting the other bits is fine. They are about how capabilities are
computed and a new user namespace starts out with a full set of
capabilities anyway. The exec bits grant nothing though. They are
restrictions a task placed on itself, just like no_new_privs which a
user namespace doesn't touch either. So keep them and their locks.

Reproducer:

  // SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
  /* Lock the exec securebits, then create a user namespace and look at them again. */
  #define _GNU_SOURCE
  #include <sched.h>
  #include <stdio.h>
  #include <sys/prctl.h>

  #define SECBIT_EXEC_RESTRICT_FILE		(1 << 8)
  #define SECBIT_EXEC_RESTRICT_FILE_LOCKED	(1 << 9)
  #define SECBIT_EXEC_DENY_INTERACTIVE		(1 << 10)
  #define SECBIT_EXEC_DENY_INTERACTIVE_LOCKED	(1 << 11)

  int main(void)
  {
  	int bits = SECBIT_EXEC_RESTRICT_FILE | SECBIT_EXEC_RESTRICT_FILE_LOCKED |
  		   SECBIT_EXEC_DENY_INTERACTIVE | SECBIT_EXEC_DENY_INTERACTIVE_LOCKED;

  	if (prctl(PR_SET_SECUREBITS, bits, 0, 0, 0)) {
  		perror("PR_SET_SECUREBITS");
  		return 1;
  	}
  	printf("before: 0x%x\n", prctl(PR_GET_SECUREBITS, 0, 0, 0, 0));
  	printf("clear locked bits: %s\n", prctl(PR_SET_SECUREBITS, 0, 0, 0, 0) ? "refused" : "ALLOWED");

  	if (unshare(CLONE_NEWUSER)) {
  		perror("unshare(CLONE_NEWUSER)");
  		return 1;
  	}
  	printf("after unshare(CLONE_NEWUSER): 0x%x\n", prctl(PR_GET_SECUREBITS, 0, 0, 0, 0));
  	return 0;
  }

On v7.1 this prints "before: 0xf00", "clear locked bits: refused" and
"after unshare(CLONE_NEWUSER): 0x0". With this patch the last line
reads 0xf00 as well.

Fixes: a0623b2a1d59 ("security: Add EXEC_RESTRICT_FILE and EXEC_DENY_INTERACTIVE securebits")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org # v6.14+
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner (Amutable) <brauner@kernel.org>
---
 Documentation/userspace-api/check_exec.rst | 4 ++++
 kernel/user_namespace.c                    | 5 ++++-
 2 files changed, 8 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/userspace-api/check_exec.rst b/Documentation/userspace-api/check_exec.rst
index 05dfe3b56f71..0904810e1d8d 100644
--- a/Documentation/userspace-api/check_exec.rst
+++ b/Documentation/userspace-api/check_exec.rst
@@ -99,6 +99,10 @@ This secure bit may be set by user session managers, service managers,
 container runtimes, sandboxer tools...  Except for test environments, the
 related ``SECBIT_EXEC_DENY_INTERACTIVE_LOCKED`` bit should also be set.
 
+Both secure bits and their locks are inherited across :manpage:`fork(2)` and
+:manpage:`execve(2)`, and they are kept when a task creates or joins a user
+namespace.
+
 Here is the expected behavior for a script interpreter according to combination
 of any exec securebits:
 
diff --git a/kernel/user_namespace.c b/kernel/user_namespace.c
index 50c374ed4687..cd748e1cbace 100644
--- a/kernel/user_namespace.c
+++ b/kernel/user_namespace.c
@@ -46,8 +46,11 @@ static void set_cred_user_ns(struct cred *cred, struct user_namespace *user_ns)
 {
 	/* Start with the same capabilities as init but useless for doing
 	 * anything as the capabilities are bound to the new user namespace.
+	 * The exec securebits grant nothing, they are restrictions the task
+	 * placed on itself. Keep them and their locks.
 	 */
-	cred->securebits = SECUREBITS_DEFAULT;
+	cred->securebits = SECUREBITS_DEFAULT |
+		(cred->securebits & (SECURE_ALL_UNPRIVILEGED | SECURE_ALL_UNPRIVILEGED << 1));
 	cred->cap_inheritable = CAP_EMPTY_SET;
 	cred->cap_permitted = CAP_FULL_SET;
 	cred->cap_effective = CAP_FULL_SET;

-- 
2.53.0


^ permalink raw reply	[flat|nested] 3+ messages in thread

* [PATCH 2/2] selftests/exec: check that user namespaces keep the exec securebits
  2026-10-26 20:53 [PATCH 0/2] userns: keep the exec securebits Christian Brauner
  2026-10-26 20:53 ` [PATCH 1/2] userns: don't drop " Christian Brauner
@ 2026-10-26 20:53 ` Christian Brauner
  1 sibling, 0 replies; 3+ messages in thread
From: Christian Brauner @ 2026-10-26 20:53 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: linux-fsdevel
  Cc: Mickaël Salaün, Serge Hallyn, linux-kernel, linux-mm,
	Jann Horn, Christian Brauner (Amutable)

Check that the exec securebits survive creating a user namespace with
unshare(CLONE_NEWUSER) and joining one with setns():

- both bits with their locks, which can't be changed in there
- both bits without their locks, which can still be cleared in there
- only the locks, which keep the bits from being set in there

The other securebits are reset as before.

Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner (Amutable) <brauner@kernel.org>
---
 tools/testing/selftests/exec/check-exec.c | 83 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 83 insertions(+)

diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/exec/check-exec.c b/tools/testing/selftests/exec/check-exec.c
index f2397e75aa7c..5753c657808e 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/exec/check-exec.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/exec/check-exec.c
@@ -10,11 +10,13 @@
  * Author: Mickaël Salaün <mic@digikod.net>
  */
 
+#define _GNU_SOURCE
 #include <asm-generic/unistd.h>
 #include <errno.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <linux/prctl.h>
 #include <linux/securebits.h>
+#include <sched.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <sys/capability.h>
@@ -24,6 +26,7 @@
 #include <sys/stat.h>
 #include <sys/syscall.h>
 #include <sys/sysmacros.h>
+#include <sys/wait.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
 
 /* Defines AT_EXECVE_CHECK without type conflicts. */
@@ -460,4 +463,84 @@ TEST_F(secbits, restrict_locked_unset)
 	CHILD(EXPECT_EQ(EPERM, test_secbits_set(0)));
 }
 
+static const unsigned int exec_bits = SECBIT_EXEC_RESTRICT_FILE |
+				       SECBIT_EXEC_DENY_INTERACTIVE;
+static const unsigned int exec_locks = SECBIT_EXEC_RESTRICT_FILE_LOCKED |
+					SECBIT_EXEC_DENY_INTERACTIVE_LOCKED;
+
+/*
+ * Checks that the exec securebits in @exec survive creating and joining a user
+ * namespace, and that in there they can be changed exactly when they are not
+ * locked.
+ */
+static void test_userns(struct __test_metadata *const _metadata,
+			const unsigned int exec)
+{
+	const int error = (exec & exec_locks) ? EPERM : 0;
+	int ready[2], done[2], userns_fd, status;
+	char path[64], c = 0;
+	pid_t pid;
+
+	/* A user namespace owned by us to join later. */
+	ASSERT_EQ(0, pipe(ready));
+	ASSERT_EQ(0, pipe(done));
+	pid = fork();
+	ASSERT_LE(0, pid);
+	if (pid == 0) {
+		close(ready[0]);
+		close(done[1]);
+		if (unshare(CLONE_NEWUSER))
+			_exit(1);
+		if (write(ready[1], &c, 1) != 1)
+			_exit(1);
+		if (read(done[0], &c, 1) < 0)
+			_exit(1);
+		_exit(0);
+	}
+	close(ready[1]);
+	close(done[0]);
+	if (read(ready[0], &c, 1) != 1) {
+		waitpid(pid, &status, 0);
+		SKIP(return, "Cannot create a user namespace");
+	}
+
+	snprintf(path, sizeof(path), "/proc/%d/ns/user", pid);
+	userns_fd = open(path, O_RDONLY | O_CLOEXEC);
+	ASSERT_LE(0, userns_fd);
+
+	EXPECT_EQ(0, test_secbits_set(prctl(PR_GET_SECUREBITS) | exec));
+
+	/* Creating a user namespace keeps them... */
+	CHILD(EXPECT_EQ(0, unshare(CLONE_NEWUSER));
+	      EXPECT_EQ(exec, prctl(PR_GET_SECUREBITS));
+	      EXPECT_EQ(error, test_secbits_set(exec ^ exec_bits));
+	      EXPECT_EQ(error, test_secbits_set(0)));
+
+	/* ...and so does joining one. */
+	CHILD(EXPECT_EQ(0, setns(userns_fd, CLONE_NEWUSER));
+	      EXPECT_EQ(exec, prctl(PR_GET_SECUREBITS));
+	      EXPECT_EQ(error, test_secbits_set(exec ^ exec_bits));
+	      EXPECT_EQ(error, test_secbits_set(0)));
+
+	close(userns_fd);
+	close(done[1]);
+	EXPECT_EQ(pid, waitpid(pid, &status, 0));
+	close(ready[0]);
+}
+
+TEST_F(secbits, userns_locked)
+{
+	test_userns(_metadata, exec_bits | exec_locks);
+}
+
+TEST_F(secbits, userns_unlocked)
+{
+	test_userns(_metadata, exec_bits);
+}
+
+TEST_F(secbits, userns_lock_only)
+{
+	test_userns(_metadata, exec_locks);
+}
+
 TEST_HARNESS_MAIN

-- 
2.53.0


^ permalink raw reply	[flat|nested] 3+ messages in thread

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2026-10-26 20:53 [PATCH 0/2] userns: keep the exec securebits Christian Brauner
2026-10-26 20:53 ` [PATCH 1/2] userns: don't drop " Christian Brauner
2026-10-26 20:53 ` [PATCH 2/2] selftests/exec: check that user namespaces keep " Christian Brauner

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