790 lines
		
	
	
		
			30 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			ReStructuredText
		
	
	
	
	
	
			
		
		
	
	
			790 lines
		
	
	
		
			30 KiB
		
	
	
	
		
			ReStructuredText
		
	
	
	
	
	
| =======================
 | |
| Kernel Probes (Kprobes)
 | |
| =======================
 | |
| 
 | |
| :Author: Jim Keniston <jkenisto@us.ibm.com>
 | |
| :Author: Prasanna S Panchamukhi <prasanna.panchamukhi@gmail.com>
 | |
| :Author: Masami Hiramatsu <mhiramat@redhat.com>
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. CONTENTS
 | |
| 
 | |
|   1. Concepts: Kprobes, and Return Probes
 | |
|   2. Architectures Supported
 | |
|   3. Configuring Kprobes
 | |
|   4. API Reference
 | |
|   5. Kprobes Features and Limitations
 | |
|   6. Probe Overhead
 | |
|   7. TODO
 | |
|   8. Kprobes Example
 | |
|   9. Kretprobes Example
 | |
|   10. Deprecated Features
 | |
|   Appendix A: The kprobes debugfs interface
 | |
|   Appendix B: The kprobes sysctl interface
 | |
|   Appendix C: References
 | |
| 
 | |
| Concepts: Kprobes and Return Probes
 | |
| =========================================
 | |
| 
 | |
| Kprobes enables you to dynamically break into any kernel routine and
 | |
| collect debugging and performance information non-disruptively. You
 | |
| can trap at almost any kernel code address [1]_, specifying a handler
 | |
| routine to be invoked when the breakpoint is hit.
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. [1] some parts of the kernel code can not be trapped, see
 | |
|        :ref:`kprobes_blacklist`)
 | |
| 
 | |
| There are currently two types of probes: kprobes, and kretprobes
 | |
| (also called return probes).  A kprobe can be inserted on virtually
 | |
| any instruction in the kernel.  A return probe fires when a specified
 | |
| function returns.
 | |
| 
 | |
| In the typical case, Kprobes-based instrumentation is packaged as
 | |
| a kernel module.  The module's init function installs ("registers")
 | |
| one or more probes, and the exit function unregisters them.  A
 | |
| registration function such as register_kprobe() specifies where
 | |
| the probe is to be inserted and what handler is to be called when
 | |
| the probe is hit.
 | |
| 
 | |
| There are also ``register_/unregister_*probes()`` functions for batch
 | |
| registration/unregistration of a group of ``*probes``. These functions
 | |
| can speed up unregistration process when you have to unregister
 | |
| a lot of probes at once.
 | |
| 
 | |
| The next four subsections explain how the different types of
 | |
| probes work and how jump optimization works.  They explain certain
 | |
| things that you'll need to know in order to make the best use of
 | |
| Kprobes -- e.g., the difference between a pre_handler and
 | |
| a post_handler, and how to use the maxactive and nmissed fields of
 | |
| a kretprobe.  But if you're in a hurry to start using Kprobes, you
 | |
| can skip ahead to :ref:`kprobes_archs_supported`.
 | |
| 
 | |
| How Does a Kprobe Work?
 | |
| -----------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| When a kprobe is registered, Kprobes makes a copy of the probed
 | |
| instruction and replaces the first byte(s) of the probed instruction
 | |
| with a breakpoint instruction (e.g., int3 on i386 and x86_64).
 | |
| 
 | |
| When a CPU hits the breakpoint instruction, a trap occurs, the CPU's
 | |
| registers are saved, and control passes to Kprobes via the
 | |
| notifier_call_chain mechanism.  Kprobes executes the "pre_handler"
 | |
| associated with the kprobe, passing the handler the addresses of the
 | |
| kprobe struct and the saved registers.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Next, Kprobes single-steps its copy of the probed instruction.
 | |
| (It would be simpler to single-step the actual instruction in place,
 | |
| but then Kprobes would have to temporarily remove the breakpoint
 | |
| instruction.  This would open a small time window when another CPU
 | |
| could sail right past the probepoint.)
 | |
| 
 | |
| After the instruction is single-stepped, Kprobes executes the
 | |
| "post_handler," if any, that is associated with the kprobe.
 | |
| Execution then continues with the instruction following the probepoint.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Changing Execution Path
 | |
| -----------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| Since kprobes can probe into a running kernel code, it can change the
 | |
| register set, including instruction pointer. This operation requires
 | |
| maximum care, such as keeping the stack frame, recovering the execution
 | |
| path etc. Since it operates on a running kernel and needs deep knowledge
 | |
| of computer architecture and concurrent computing, you can easily shoot
 | |
| your foot.
 | |
| 
 | |
| If you change the instruction pointer (and set up other related
 | |
| registers) in pre_handler, you must return !0 so that kprobes stops
 | |
| single stepping and just returns to the given address.
 | |
| This also means post_handler should not be called anymore.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Note that this operation may be harder on some architectures which use
 | |
| TOC (Table of Contents) for function call, since you have to setup a new
 | |
| TOC for your function in your module, and recover the old one after
 | |
| returning from it.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Return Probes
 | |
| -------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| How Does a Return Probe Work?
 | |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | |
| 
 | |
| When you call register_kretprobe(), Kprobes establishes a kprobe at
 | |
| the entry to the function.  When the probed function is called and this
 | |
| probe is hit, Kprobes saves a copy of the return address, and replaces
 | |
| the return address with the address of a "trampoline."  The trampoline
 | |
| is an arbitrary piece of code -- typically just a nop instruction.
 | |
| At boot time, Kprobes registers a kprobe at the trampoline.
 | |
| 
 | |
| When the probed function executes its return instruction, control
 | |
| passes to the trampoline and that probe is hit.  Kprobes' trampoline
 | |
| handler calls the user-specified return handler associated with the
 | |
| kretprobe, then sets the saved instruction pointer to the saved return
 | |
| address, and that's where execution resumes upon return from the trap.
 | |
| 
 | |
| While the probed function is executing, its return address is
 | |
| stored in an object of type kretprobe_instance.  Before calling
 | |
| register_kretprobe(), the user sets the maxactive field of the
 | |
| kretprobe struct to specify how many instances of the specified
 | |
| function can be probed simultaneously.  register_kretprobe()
 | |
| pre-allocates the indicated number of kretprobe_instance objects.
 | |
| 
 | |
| For example, if the function is non-recursive and is called with a
 | |
| spinlock held, maxactive = 1 should be enough.  If the function is
 | |
| non-recursive and can never relinquish the CPU (e.g., via a semaphore
 | |
| or preemption), NR_CPUS should be enough.  If maxactive <= 0, it is
 | |
| set to a default value.  If CONFIG_PREEMPT is enabled, the default
 | |
| is max(10, 2*NR_CPUS).  Otherwise, the default is NR_CPUS.
 | |
| 
 | |
| It's not a disaster if you set maxactive too low; you'll just miss
 | |
| some probes.  In the kretprobe struct, the nmissed field is set to
 | |
| zero when the return probe is registered, and is incremented every
 | |
| time the probed function is entered but there is no kretprobe_instance
 | |
| object available for establishing the return probe.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Kretprobe entry-handler
 | |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | |
| 
 | |
| Kretprobes also provides an optional user-specified handler which runs
 | |
| on function entry. This handler is specified by setting the entry_handler
 | |
| field of the kretprobe struct. Whenever the kprobe placed by kretprobe at the
 | |
| function entry is hit, the user-defined entry_handler, if any, is invoked.
 | |
| If the entry_handler returns 0 (success) then a corresponding return handler
 | |
| is guaranteed to be called upon function return. If the entry_handler
 | |
| returns a non-zero error then Kprobes leaves the return address as is, and
 | |
| the kretprobe has no further effect for that particular function instance.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Multiple entry and return handler invocations are matched using the unique
 | |
| kretprobe_instance object associated with them. Additionally, a user
 | |
| may also specify per return-instance private data to be part of each
 | |
| kretprobe_instance object. This is especially useful when sharing private
 | |
| data between corresponding user entry and return handlers. The size of each
 | |
| private data object can be specified at kretprobe registration time by
 | |
| setting the data_size field of the kretprobe struct. This data can be
 | |
| accessed through the data field of each kretprobe_instance object.
 | |
| 
 | |
| In case probed function is entered but there is no kretprobe_instance
 | |
| object available, then in addition to incrementing the nmissed count,
 | |
| the user entry_handler invocation is also skipped.
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. _kprobes_jump_optimization:
 | |
| 
 | |
| How Does Jump Optimization Work?
 | |
| --------------------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| If your kernel is built with CONFIG_OPTPROBES=y (currently this flag
 | |
| is automatically set 'y' on x86/x86-64, non-preemptive kernel) and
 | |
| the "debug.kprobes_optimization" kernel parameter is set to 1 (see
 | |
| sysctl(8)), Kprobes tries to reduce probe-hit overhead by using a jump
 | |
| instruction instead of a breakpoint instruction at each probepoint.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Init a Kprobe
 | |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | |
| 
 | |
| When a probe is registered, before attempting this optimization,
 | |
| Kprobes inserts an ordinary, breakpoint-based kprobe at the specified
 | |
| address. So, even if it's not possible to optimize this particular
 | |
| probepoint, there'll be a probe there.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Safety Check
 | |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | |
| 
 | |
| Before optimizing a probe, Kprobes performs the following safety checks:
 | |
| 
 | |
| - Kprobes verifies that the region that will be replaced by the jump
 | |
|   instruction (the "optimized region") lies entirely within one function.
 | |
|   (A jump instruction is multiple bytes, and so may overlay multiple
 | |
|   instructions.)
 | |
| 
 | |
| - Kprobes analyzes the entire function and verifies that there is no
 | |
|   jump into the optimized region.  Specifically:
 | |
| 
 | |
|   - the function contains no indirect jump;
 | |
|   - the function contains no instruction that causes an exception (since
 | |
|     the fixup code triggered by the exception could jump back into the
 | |
|     optimized region -- Kprobes checks the exception tables to verify this);
 | |
|   - there is no near jump to the optimized region (other than to the first
 | |
|     byte).
 | |
| 
 | |
| - For each instruction in the optimized region, Kprobes verifies that
 | |
|   the instruction can be executed out of line.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Preparing Detour Buffer
 | |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | |
| 
 | |
| Next, Kprobes prepares a "detour" buffer, which contains the following
 | |
| instruction sequence:
 | |
| 
 | |
| - code to push the CPU's registers (emulating a breakpoint trap)
 | |
| - a call to the trampoline code which calls user's probe handlers.
 | |
| - code to restore registers
 | |
| - the instructions from the optimized region
 | |
| - a jump back to the original execution path.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Pre-optimization
 | |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | |
| 
 | |
| After preparing the detour buffer, Kprobes verifies that none of the
 | |
| following situations exist:
 | |
| 
 | |
| - The probe has a post_handler.
 | |
| - Other instructions in the optimized region are probed.
 | |
| - The probe is disabled.
 | |
| 
 | |
| In any of the above cases, Kprobes won't start optimizing the probe.
 | |
| Since these are temporary situations, Kprobes tries to start
 | |
| optimizing it again if the situation is changed.
 | |
| 
 | |
| If the kprobe can be optimized, Kprobes enqueues the kprobe to an
 | |
| optimizing list, and kicks the kprobe-optimizer workqueue to optimize
 | |
| it.  If the to-be-optimized probepoint is hit before being optimized,
 | |
| Kprobes returns control to the original instruction path by setting
 | |
| the CPU's instruction pointer to the copied code in the detour buffer
 | |
| -- thus at least avoiding the single-step.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Optimization
 | |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | |
| 
 | |
| The Kprobe-optimizer doesn't insert the jump instruction immediately;
 | |
| rather, it calls synchronize_rcu() for safety first, because it's
 | |
| possible for a CPU to be interrupted in the middle of executing the
 | |
| optimized region [3]_.  As you know, synchronize_rcu() can ensure
 | |
| that all interruptions that were active when synchronize_rcu()
 | |
| was called are done, but only if CONFIG_PREEMPT=n.  So, this version
 | |
| of kprobe optimization supports only kernels with CONFIG_PREEMPT=n [4]_.
 | |
| 
 | |
| After that, the Kprobe-optimizer calls stop_machine() to replace
 | |
| the optimized region with a jump instruction to the detour buffer,
 | |
| using text_poke_smp().
 | |
| 
 | |
| Unoptimization
 | |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 | |
| 
 | |
| When an optimized kprobe is unregistered, disabled, or blocked by
 | |
| another kprobe, it will be unoptimized.  If this happens before
 | |
| the optimization is complete, the kprobe is just dequeued from the
 | |
| optimized list.  If the optimization has been done, the jump is
 | |
| replaced with the original code (except for an int3 breakpoint in
 | |
| the first byte) by using text_poke_smp().
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. [3] Please imagine that the 2nd instruction is interrupted and then
 | |
|    the optimizer replaces the 2nd instruction with the jump *address*
 | |
|    while the interrupt handler is running. When the interrupt
 | |
|    returns to original address, there is no valid instruction,
 | |
|    and it causes an unexpected result.
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. [4] This optimization-safety checking may be replaced with the
 | |
|    stop-machine method that ksplice uses for supporting a CONFIG_PREEMPT=y
 | |
|    kernel.
 | |
| 
 | |
| NOTE for geeks:
 | |
| The jump optimization changes the kprobe's pre_handler behavior.
 | |
| Without optimization, the pre_handler can change the kernel's execution
 | |
| path by changing regs->ip and returning 1.  However, when the probe
 | |
| is optimized, that modification is ignored.  Thus, if you want to
 | |
| tweak the kernel's execution path, you need to suppress optimization,
 | |
| using one of the following techniques:
 | |
| 
 | |
| - Specify an empty function for the kprobe's post_handler.
 | |
| 
 | |
| or
 | |
| 
 | |
| - Execute 'sysctl -w debug.kprobes_optimization=n'
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. _kprobes_blacklist:
 | |
| 
 | |
| Blacklist
 | |
| ---------
 | |
| 
 | |
| Kprobes can probe most of the kernel except itself. This means
 | |
| that there are some functions where kprobes cannot probe. Probing
 | |
| (trapping) such functions can cause a recursive trap (e.g. double
 | |
| fault) or the nested probe handler may never be called.
 | |
| Kprobes manages such functions as a blacklist.
 | |
| If you want to add a function into the blacklist, you just need
 | |
| to (1) include linux/kprobes.h and (2) use NOKPROBE_SYMBOL() macro
 | |
| to specify a blacklisted function.
 | |
| Kprobes checks the given probe address against the blacklist and
 | |
| rejects registering it, if the given address is in the blacklist.
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. _kprobes_archs_supported:
 | |
| 
 | |
| Architectures Supported
 | |
| =======================
 | |
| 
 | |
| Kprobes and return probes are implemented on the following
 | |
| architectures:
 | |
| 
 | |
| - i386 (Supports jump optimization)
 | |
| - x86_64 (AMD-64, EM64T) (Supports jump optimization)
 | |
| - ppc64
 | |
| - ia64 (Does not support probes on instruction slot1.)
 | |
| - sparc64 (Return probes not yet implemented.)
 | |
| - arm
 | |
| - ppc
 | |
| - mips
 | |
| - s390
 | |
| - parisc
 | |
| 
 | |
| Configuring Kprobes
 | |
| ===================
 | |
| 
 | |
| When configuring the kernel using make menuconfig/xconfig/oldconfig,
 | |
| ensure that CONFIG_KPROBES is set to "y". Under "General setup", look
 | |
| for "Kprobes".
 | |
| 
 | |
| So that you can load and unload Kprobes-based instrumentation modules,
 | |
| make sure "Loadable module support" (CONFIG_MODULES) and "Module
 | |
| unloading" (CONFIG_MODULE_UNLOAD) are set to "y".
 | |
| 
 | |
| Also make sure that CONFIG_KALLSYMS and perhaps even CONFIG_KALLSYMS_ALL
 | |
| are set to "y", since kallsyms_lookup_name() is used by the in-kernel
 | |
| kprobe address resolution code.
 | |
| 
 | |
| If you need to insert a probe in the middle of a function, you may find
 | |
| it useful to "Compile the kernel with debug info" (CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO),
 | |
| so you can use "objdump -d -l vmlinux" to see the source-to-object
 | |
| code mapping.
 | |
| 
 | |
| API Reference
 | |
| =============
 | |
| 
 | |
| The Kprobes API includes a "register" function and an "unregister"
 | |
| function for each type of probe. The API also includes "register_*probes"
 | |
| and "unregister_*probes" functions for (un)registering arrays of probes.
 | |
| Here are terse, mini-man-page specifications for these functions and
 | |
| the associated probe handlers that you'll write. See the files in the
 | |
| samples/kprobes/ sub-directory for examples.
 | |
| 
 | |
| register_kprobe
 | |
| ---------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| ::
 | |
| 
 | |
| 	#include <linux/kprobes.h>
 | |
| 	int register_kprobe(struct kprobe *kp);
 | |
| 
 | |
| Sets a breakpoint at the address kp->addr.  When the breakpoint is hit, Kprobes
 | |
| calls kp->pre_handler.  After the probed instruction is single-stepped, Kprobe
 | |
| calls kp->post_handler.  Any or all handlers can be NULL. If kp->flags is set
 | |
| KPROBE_FLAG_DISABLED, that kp will be registered but disabled, so, its handlers
 | |
| aren't hit until calling enable_kprobe(kp).
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. note::
 | |
| 
 | |
|    1. With the introduction of the "symbol_name" field to struct kprobe,
 | |
|       the probepoint address resolution will now be taken care of by the kernel.
 | |
|       The following will now work::
 | |
| 
 | |
| 	kp.symbol_name = "symbol_name";
 | |
| 
 | |
|       (64-bit powerpc intricacies such as function descriptors are handled
 | |
|       transparently)
 | |
| 
 | |
|    2. Use the "offset" field of struct kprobe if the offset into the symbol
 | |
|       to install a probepoint is known. This field is used to calculate the
 | |
|       probepoint.
 | |
| 
 | |
|    3. Specify either the kprobe "symbol_name" OR the "addr". If both are
 | |
|       specified, kprobe registration will fail with -EINVAL.
 | |
| 
 | |
|    4. With CISC architectures (such as i386 and x86_64), the kprobes code
 | |
|       does not validate if the kprobe.addr is at an instruction boundary.
 | |
|       Use "offset" with caution.
 | |
| 
 | |
| register_kprobe() returns 0 on success, or a negative errno otherwise.
 | |
| 
 | |
| User's pre-handler (kp->pre_handler)::
 | |
| 
 | |
| 	#include <linux/kprobes.h>
 | |
| 	#include <linux/ptrace.h>
 | |
| 	int pre_handler(struct kprobe *p, struct pt_regs *regs);
 | |
| 
 | |
| Called with p pointing to the kprobe associated with the breakpoint,
 | |
| and regs pointing to the struct containing the registers saved when
 | |
| the breakpoint was hit.  Return 0 here unless you're a Kprobes geek.
 | |
| 
 | |
| User's post-handler (kp->post_handler)::
 | |
| 
 | |
| 	#include <linux/kprobes.h>
 | |
| 	#include <linux/ptrace.h>
 | |
| 	void post_handler(struct kprobe *p, struct pt_regs *regs,
 | |
| 			  unsigned long flags);
 | |
| 
 | |
| p and regs are as described for the pre_handler.  flags always seems
 | |
| to be zero.
 | |
| 
 | |
| register_kretprobe
 | |
| ------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| ::
 | |
| 
 | |
| 	#include <linux/kprobes.h>
 | |
| 	int register_kretprobe(struct kretprobe *rp);
 | |
| 
 | |
| Establishes a return probe for the function whose address is
 | |
| rp->kp.addr.  When that function returns, Kprobes calls rp->handler.
 | |
| You must set rp->maxactive appropriately before you call
 | |
| register_kretprobe(); see "How Does a Return Probe Work?" for details.
 | |
| 
 | |
| register_kretprobe() returns 0 on success, or a negative errno
 | |
| otherwise.
 | |
| 
 | |
| User's return-probe handler (rp->handler)::
 | |
| 
 | |
| 	#include <linux/kprobes.h>
 | |
| 	#include <linux/ptrace.h>
 | |
| 	int kretprobe_handler(struct kretprobe_instance *ri,
 | |
| 			      struct pt_regs *regs);
 | |
| 
 | |
| regs is as described for kprobe.pre_handler.  ri points to the
 | |
| kretprobe_instance object, of which the following fields may be
 | |
| of interest:
 | |
| 
 | |
| - ret_addr: the return address
 | |
| - rp: points to the corresponding kretprobe object
 | |
| - task: points to the corresponding task struct
 | |
| - data: points to per return-instance private data; see "Kretprobe
 | |
| 	entry-handler" for details.
 | |
| 
 | |
| The regs_return_value(regs) macro provides a simple abstraction to
 | |
| extract the return value from the appropriate register as defined by
 | |
| the architecture's ABI.
 | |
| 
 | |
| The handler's return value is currently ignored.
 | |
| 
 | |
| unregister_*probe
 | |
| ------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| ::
 | |
| 
 | |
| 	#include <linux/kprobes.h>
 | |
| 	void unregister_kprobe(struct kprobe *kp);
 | |
| 	void unregister_kretprobe(struct kretprobe *rp);
 | |
| 
 | |
| Removes the specified probe.  The unregister function can be called
 | |
| at any time after the probe has been registered.
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. note::
 | |
| 
 | |
|    If the functions find an incorrect probe (ex. an unregistered probe),
 | |
|    they clear the addr field of the probe.
 | |
| 
 | |
| register_*probes
 | |
| ----------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| ::
 | |
| 
 | |
| 	#include <linux/kprobes.h>
 | |
| 	int register_kprobes(struct kprobe **kps, int num);
 | |
| 	int register_kretprobes(struct kretprobe **rps, int num);
 | |
| 
 | |
| Registers each of the num probes in the specified array.  If any
 | |
| error occurs during registration, all probes in the array, up to
 | |
| the bad probe, are safely unregistered before the register_*probes
 | |
| function returns.
 | |
| 
 | |
| - kps/rps: an array of pointers to ``*probe`` data structures
 | |
| - num: the number of the array entries.
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. note::
 | |
| 
 | |
|    You have to allocate(or define) an array of pointers and set all
 | |
|    of the array entries before using these functions.
 | |
| 
 | |
| unregister_*probes
 | |
| ------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| ::
 | |
| 
 | |
| 	#include <linux/kprobes.h>
 | |
| 	void unregister_kprobes(struct kprobe **kps, int num);
 | |
| 	void unregister_kretprobes(struct kretprobe **rps, int num);
 | |
| 
 | |
| Removes each of the num probes in the specified array at once.
 | |
| 
 | |
| .. note::
 | |
| 
 | |
|    If the functions find some incorrect probes (ex. unregistered
 | |
|    probes) in the specified array, they clear the addr field of those
 | |
|    incorrect probes. However, other probes in the array are
 | |
|    unregistered correctly.
 | |
| 
 | |
| disable_*probe
 | |
| --------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| ::
 | |
| 
 | |
| 	#include <linux/kprobes.h>
 | |
| 	int disable_kprobe(struct kprobe *kp);
 | |
| 	int disable_kretprobe(struct kretprobe *rp);
 | |
| 
 | |
| Temporarily disables the specified ``*probe``. You can enable it again by using
 | |
| enable_*probe(). You must specify the probe which has been registered.
 | |
| 
 | |
| enable_*probe
 | |
| -------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| ::
 | |
| 
 | |
| 	#include <linux/kprobes.h>
 | |
| 	int enable_kprobe(struct kprobe *kp);
 | |
| 	int enable_kretprobe(struct kretprobe *rp);
 | |
| 
 | |
| Enables ``*probe`` which has been disabled by disable_*probe(). You must specify
 | |
| the probe which has been registered.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Kprobes Features and Limitations
 | |
| ================================
 | |
| 
 | |
| Kprobes allows multiple probes at the same address. Also,
 | |
| a probepoint for which there is a post_handler cannot be optimized.
 | |
| So if you install a kprobe with a post_handler, at an optimized
 | |
| probepoint, the probepoint will be unoptimized automatically.
 | |
| 
 | |
| In general, you can install a probe anywhere in the kernel.
 | |
| In particular, you can probe interrupt handlers.  Known exceptions
 | |
| are discussed in this section.
 | |
| 
 | |
| The register_*probe functions will return -EINVAL if you attempt
 | |
| to install a probe in the code that implements Kprobes (mostly
 | |
| kernel/kprobes.c and ``arch/*/kernel/kprobes.c``, but also functions such
 | |
| as do_page_fault and notifier_call_chain).
 | |
| 
 | |
| If you install a probe in an inline-able function, Kprobes makes
 | |
| no attempt to chase down all inline instances of the function and
 | |
| install probes there.  gcc may inline a function without being asked,
 | |
| so keep this in mind if you're not seeing the probe hits you expect.
 | |
| 
 | |
| A probe handler can modify the environment of the probed function
 | |
| -- e.g., by modifying kernel data structures, or by modifying the
 | |
| contents of the pt_regs struct (which are restored to the registers
 | |
| upon return from the breakpoint).  So Kprobes can be used, for example,
 | |
| to install a bug fix or to inject faults for testing.  Kprobes, of
 | |
| course, has no way to distinguish the deliberately injected faults
 | |
| from the accidental ones.  Don't drink and probe.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Kprobes makes no attempt to prevent probe handlers from stepping on
 | |
| each other -- e.g., probing printk() and then calling printk() from a
 | |
| probe handler.  If a probe handler hits a probe, that second probe's
 | |
| handlers won't be run in that instance, and the kprobe.nmissed member
 | |
| of the second probe will be incremented.
 | |
| 
 | |
| As of Linux v2.6.15-rc1, multiple handlers (or multiple instances of
 | |
| the same handler) may run concurrently on different CPUs.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Kprobes does not use mutexes or allocate memory except during
 | |
| registration and unregistration.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Probe handlers are run with preemption disabled or interrupt disabled,
 | |
| which depends on the architecture and optimization state.  (e.g.,
 | |
| kretprobe handlers and optimized kprobe handlers run without interrupt
 | |
| disabled on x86/x86-64).  In any case, your handler should not yield
 | |
| the CPU (e.g., by attempting to acquire a semaphore, or waiting I/O).
 | |
| 
 | |
| Since a return probe is implemented by replacing the return
 | |
| address with the trampoline's address, stack backtraces and calls
 | |
| to __builtin_return_address() will typically yield the trampoline's
 | |
| address instead of the real return address for kretprobed functions.
 | |
| (As far as we can tell, __builtin_return_address() is used only
 | |
| for instrumentation and error reporting.)
 | |
| 
 | |
| If the number of times a function is called does not match the number
 | |
| of times it returns, registering a return probe on that function may
 | |
| produce undesirable results. In such a case, a line:
 | |
| kretprobe BUG!: Processing kretprobe d000000000041aa8 @ c00000000004f48c
 | |
| gets printed. With this information, one will be able to correlate the
 | |
| exact instance of the kretprobe that caused the problem. We have the
 | |
| do_exit() case covered. do_execve() and do_fork() are not an issue.
 | |
| We're unaware of other specific cases where this could be a problem.
 | |
| 
 | |
| If, upon entry to or exit from a function, the CPU is running on
 | |
| a stack other than that of the current task, registering a return
 | |
| probe on that function may produce undesirable results.  For this
 | |
| reason, Kprobes doesn't support return probes (or kprobes)
 | |
| on the x86_64 version of __switch_to(); the registration functions
 | |
| return -EINVAL.
 | |
| 
 | |
| On x86/x86-64, since the Jump Optimization of Kprobes modifies
 | |
| instructions widely, there are some limitations to optimization. To
 | |
| explain it, we introduce some terminology. Imagine a 3-instruction
 | |
| sequence consisting of a two 2-byte instructions and one 3-byte
 | |
| instruction.
 | |
| 
 | |
| ::
 | |
| 
 | |
| 		IA
 | |
| 		|
 | |
| 	[-2][-1][0][1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
 | |
| 		[ins1][ins2][  ins3 ]
 | |
| 		[<-     DCR       ->]
 | |
| 		[<- JTPR ->]
 | |
| 
 | |
| 	ins1: 1st Instruction
 | |
| 	ins2: 2nd Instruction
 | |
| 	ins3: 3rd Instruction
 | |
| 	IA:  Insertion Address
 | |
| 	JTPR: Jump Target Prohibition Region
 | |
| 	DCR: Detoured Code Region
 | |
| 
 | |
| The instructions in DCR are copied to the out-of-line buffer
 | |
| of the kprobe, because the bytes in DCR are replaced by
 | |
| a 5-byte jump instruction. So there are several limitations.
 | |
| 
 | |
| a) The instructions in DCR must be relocatable.
 | |
| b) The instructions in DCR must not include a call instruction.
 | |
| c) JTPR must not be targeted by any jump or call instruction.
 | |
| d) DCR must not straddle the border between functions.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Anyway, these limitations are checked by the in-kernel instruction
 | |
| decoder, so you don't need to worry about that.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Probe Overhead
 | |
| ==============
 | |
| 
 | |
| On a typical CPU in use in 2005, a kprobe hit takes 0.5 to 1.0
 | |
| microseconds to process.  Specifically, a benchmark that hits the same
 | |
| probepoint repeatedly, firing a simple handler each time, reports 1-2
 | |
| million hits per second, depending on the architecture.  A return-probe
 | |
| hit typically takes 50-75% longer than a kprobe hit.
 | |
| When you have a return probe set on a function, adding a kprobe at
 | |
| the entry to that function adds essentially no overhead.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Here are sample overhead figures (in usec) for different architectures::
 | |
| 
 | |
|   k = kprobe; r = return probe; kr = kprobe + return probe
 | |
|   on same function
 | |
| 
 | |
|   i386: Intel Pentium M, 1495 MHz, 2957.31 bogomips
 | |
|   k = 0.57 usec; r = 0.92; kr = 0.99
 | |
| 
 | |
|   x86_64: AMD Opteron 246, 1994 MHz, 3971.48 bogomips
 | |
|   k = 0.49 usec; r = 0.80; kr = 0.82
 | |
| 
 | |
|   ppc64: POWER5 (gr), 1656 MHz (SMT disabled, 1 virtual CPU per physical CPU)
 | |
|   k = 0.77 usec; r = 1.26; kr = 1.45
 | |
| 
 | |
| Optimized Probe Overhead
 | |
| ------------------------
 | |
| 
 | |
| Typically, an optimized kprobe hit takes 0.07 to 0.1 microseconds to
 | |
| process. Here are sample overhead figures (in usec) for x86 architectures::
 | |
| 
 | |
|   k = unoptimized kprobe, b = boosted (single-step skipped), o = optimized kprobe,
 | |
|   r = unoptimized kretprobe, rb = boosted kretprobe, ro = optimized kretprobe.
 | |
| 
 | |
|   i386: Intel(R) Xeon(R) E5410, 2.33GHz, 4656.90 bogomips
 | |
|   k = 0.80 usec; b = 0.33; o = 0.05; r = 1.10; rb = 0.61; ro = 0.33
 | |
| 
 | |
|   x86-64: Intel(R) Xeon(R) E5410, 2.33GHz, 4656.90 bogomips
 | |
|   k = 0.99 usec; b = 0.43; o = 0.06; r = 1.24; rb = 0.68; ro = 0.30
 | |
| 
 | |
| TODO
 | |
| ====
 | |
| 
 | |
| a. SystemTap (http://sourceware.org/systemtap): Provides a simplified
 | |
|    programming interface for probe-based instrumentation.  Try it out.
 | |
| b. Kernel return probes for sparc64.
 | |
| c. Support for other architectures.
 | |
| d. User-space probes.
 | |
| e. Watchpoint probes (which fire on data references).
 | |
| 
 | |
| Kprobes Example
 | |
| ===============
 | |
| 
 | |
| See samples/kprobes/kprobe_example.c
 | |
| 
 | |
| Kretprobes Example
 | |
| ==================
 | |
| 
 | |
| See samples/kprobes/kretprobe_example.c
 | |
| 
 | |
| Deprecated Features
 | |
| ===================
 | |
| 
 | |
| Jprobes is now a deprecated feature. People who are depending on it should
 | |
| migrate to other tracing features or use older kernels. Please consider to
 | |
| migrate your tool to one of the following options:
 | |
| 
 | |
| - Use trace-event to trace target function with arguments.
 | |
| 
 | |
|   trace-event is a low-overhead (and almost no visible overhead if it
 | |
|   is off) statically defined event interface. You can define new events
 | |
|   and trace it via ftrace or any other tracing tools.
 | |
| 
 | |
|   See the following urls:
 | |
| 
 | |
|     - https://lwn.net/Articles/379903/
 | |
|     - https://lwn.net/Articles/381064/
 | |
|     - https://lwn.net/Articles/383362/
 | |
| 
 | |
| - Use ftrace dynamic events (kprobe event) with perf-probe.
 | |
| 
 | |
|   If you build your kernel with debug info (CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO=y), you can
 | |
|   find which register/stack is assigned to which local variable or arguments
 | |
|   by using perf-probe and set up new event to trace it.
 | |
| 
 | |
|   See following documents:
 | |
| 
 | |
|   - Documentation/trace/kprobetrace.rst
 | |
|   - Documentation/trace/events.rst
 | |
|   - tools/perf/Documentation/perf-probe.txt
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| The kprobes debugfs interface
 | |
| =============================
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| With recent kernels (> 2.6.20) the list of registered kprobes is visible
 | |
| under the /sys/kernel/debug/kprobes/ directory (assuming debugfs is mounted at //sys/kernel/debug).
 | |
| 
 | |
| /sys/kernel/debug/kprobes/list: Lists all registered probes on the system::
 | |
| 
 | |
| 	c015d71a  k  vfs_read+0x0
 | |
| 	c03dedc5  r  tcp_v4_rcv+0x0
 | |
| 
 | |
| The first column provides the kernel address where the probe is inserted.
 | |
| The second column identifies the type of probe (k - kprobe and r - kretprobe)
 | |
| while the third column specifies the symbol+offset of the probe.
 | |
| If the probed function belongs to a module, the module name is also
 | |
| specified. Following columns show probe status. If the probe is on
 | |
| a virtual address that is no longer valid (module init sections, module
 | |
| virtual addresses that correspond to modules that've been unloaded),
 | |
| such probes are marked with [GONE]. If the probe is temporarily disabled,
 | |
| such probes are marked with [DISABLED]. If the probe is optimized, it is
 | |
| marked with [OPTIMIZED]. If the probe is ftrace-based, it is marked with
 | |
| [FTRACE].
 | |
| 
 | |
| /sys/kernel/debug/kprobes/enabled: Turn kprobes ON/OFF forcibly.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Provides a knob to globally and forcibly turn registered kprobes ON or OFF.
 | |
| By default, all kprobes are enabled. By echoing "0" to this file, all
 | |
| registered probes will be disarmed, till such time a "1" is echoed to this
 | |
| file. Note that this knob just disarms and arms all kprobes and doesn't
 | |
| change each probe's disabling state. This means that disabled kprobes (marked
 | |
| [DISABLED]) will be not enabled if you turn ON all kprobes by this knob.
 | |
| 
 | |
| 
 | |
| The kprobes sysctl interface
 | |
| ============================
 | |
| 
 | |
| /proc/sys/debug/kprobes-optimization: Turn kprobes optimization ON/OFF.
 | |
| 
 | |
| When CONFIG_OPTPROBES=y, this sysctl interface appears and it provides
 | |
| a knob to globally and forcibly turn jump optimization (see section
 | |
| :ref:`kprobes_jump_optimization`) ON or OFF. By default, jump optimization
 | |
| is allowed (ON). If you echo "0" to this file or set
 | |
| "debug.kprobes_optimization" to 0 via sysctl, all optimized probes will be
 | |
| unoptimized, and any new probes registered after that will not be optimized.
 | |
| 
 | |
| Note that this knob *changes* the optimized state. This means that optimized
 | |
| probes (marked [OPTIMIZED]) will be unoptimized ([OPTIMIZED] tag will be
 | |
| removed). If the knob is turned on, they will be optimized again.
 | |
| 
 | |
| References
 | |
| ==========
 | |
| 
 | |
| For additional information on Kprobes, refer to the following URLs:
 | |
| 
 | |
| - https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-kprobes/index.html
 | |
| - https://www.kernel.org/doc/ols/2006/ols2006v2-pages-109-124.pdf
 | |
| 
 |