bpf: Reject tail calls directly from callback frames

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A tail call from a non-zero frame is modeled as a return from that frame.
The verifier makes R0 unknown and calls prepare_func_exit() for the taken
branch.

When the current frame is a synchronous callback, prepare_func_exit()
enforces the callback return-value contract and marks R0 precise. Since the
tail-call path synthesized R0 rather than deriving it from an instruction,
precision backtracking reaches the callback-calling instruction with R0
still requested and triggers the "callback unexpected regs" verifier bug.
A CAP_BPF task can therefore cause a WARN and an -EFAULT BPF_PROG_LOAD.

Tail calls reachable from callbacks are already rejected later by
check_max_stack_depth(). Reject a tail call made directly by a callback
before constructing the inconsistent return state, using the existing
diagnostic. Tail calls from ordinary subprograms keep their current
behavior.

Fixes: e3245f8990 ("bpf: properly verify tail call behavior")
Reported-by: Nicholas Carlini <npc@anthropic.com>
Suggested-by: Nicholas Carlini <npc@anthropic.com>
Signed-off-by: Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi <memxor@gmail.com>
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20260903144433.1716731-4-memxor@gmail.com
Signed-off-by: Alexei Starovoitov <ast@kernel.org>

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Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi 2026-09-03 16:44:21 +02:00 • committed by Alexei Starovoitov

parent d7719a1736

commit 266aa4ad0b

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kernel/bpf/verifier.c

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