8. Kprobes Example
9. Jprobes Example
10. Kretprobes Example
+Appendix A: The kprobes debugfs interface
1. Concepts: Kprobes, Jprobes, Return Probes
make sure "Loadable module support" (CONFIG_MODULES) and "Module
unloading" (CONFIG_MODULE_UNLOAD) are set to "y".
-You may also want to ensure that CONFIG_KALLSYMS and perhaps even
-CONFIG_KALLSYMS_ALL are set to "y", since kallsyms_lookup_name()
-is a handy, version-independent way to find a function's address.
+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),
or during single-stepping of the probed instruction, Kprobes calls
kp->fault_handler. Any or all handlers can be NULL.
+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):
fastcall, or anything else that affects how args are passed, the
handler's declaration must match.
+NOTE: A macro JPROBE_ENTRY is provided to handle architecture-specific
+aliasing of jp->entry. In the interest of portability, it is advised
+to use:
+
+ jp->entry = JPROBE_ENTRY(handler);
+
register_jprobe() returns 0 on success, or a negative errno otherwise.
4.3 register_kretprobe
- ret_addr: the return address
- rp: points to the corresponding kretprobe object
- task: points to the corresponding task struct
+
+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.
4.4 unregister_*probe
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. 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.
+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
#include <linux/kernel.h>
#include <linux/module.h>
#include <linux/kprobes.h>
-#include <linux/kallsyms.h>
#include <linux/sched.h>
/*For each probe you need to allocate a kprobe structure*/
return 0;
}
-int init_module(void)
+static int __init kprobe_init(void)
{
int ret;
kp.pre_handler = handler_pre;
kp.post_handler = handler_post;
kp.fault_handler = handler_fault;
- kp.addr = (kprobe_opcode_t*) kallsyms_lookup_name("do_fork");
- /* register the kprobe now */
- if (!kp.addr) {
- printk("Couldn't find %s to plant kprobe\n", "do_fork");
- return -1;
- }
- if ((ret = register_kprobe(&kp) < 0)) {
+ kp.symbol_name = "do_fork";
+
+ ret = register_kprobe(&kp);
+ if (ret < 0) {
printk("register_kprobe failed, returned %d\n", ret);
- return -1;
+ return ret;
}
printk("kprobe registered\n");
return 0;
}
-void cleanup_module(void)
+static void __exit kprobe_exit(void)
{
unregister_kprobe(&kp);
printk("kprobe unregistered\n");
}
+module_init(kprobe_init)
+module_exit(kprobe_exit)
MODULE_LICENSE("GPL");
----- cut here -----
#include <linux/fs.h>
#include <linux/uio.h>
#include <linux/kprobes.h>
-#include <linux/kallsyms.h>
/*
* Jumper probe for do_fork.
}
static struct jprobe my_jprobe = {
- .entry = (kprobe_opcode_t *) jdo_fork
+ .entry = JPROBE_ENTRY(jdo_fork)
};
-int init_module(void)
+static int __init jprobe_init(void)
{
int ret;
- my_jprobe.kp.addr = (kprobe_opcode_t *) kallsyms_lookup_name("do_fork");
- if (!my_jprobe.kp.addr) {
- printk("Couldn't find %s to plant jprobe\n", "do_fork");
- return -1;
- }
+ my_jprobe.kp.symbol_name = "do_fork";
if ((ret = register_jprobe(&my_jprobe)) <0) {
printk("register_jprobe failed, returned %d\n", ret);
return 0;
}
-void cleanup_module(void)
+static void __exit jprobe_exit(void)
{
unregister_jprobe(&my_jprobe);
printk("jprobe unregistered\n");
}
+module_init(jprobe_init)
+module_exit(jprobe_exit)
MODULE_LICENSE("GPL");
----- cut here -----
#include <linux/kernel.h>
#include <linux/module.h>
#include <linux/kprobes.h>
-#include <linux/kallsyms.h>
static const char *probed_func = "sys_open";
/* Return-probe handler: If the probed function fails, log the return value. */
static int ret_handler(struct kretprobe_instance *ri, struct pt_regs *regs)
{
- // Substitute the appropriate register name for your architecture --
- // e.g., regs->rax for x86_64, regs->gpr[3] for ppc64.
- int retval = (int) regs->eax;
+ int retval = regs_return_value(regs);
if (retval < 0) {
printk("%s returns %d\n", probed_func, retval);
}
.maxactive = 20
};
-int init_module(void)
+static int __init kretprobe_init(void)
{
int ret;
- my_kretprobe.kp.addr =
- (kprobe_opcode_t *) kallsyms_lookup_name(probed_func);
- if (!my_kretprobe.kp.addr) {
- printk("Couldn't find %s to plant return probe\n", probed_func);
- return -1;
- }
+ my_kretprobe.kp.symbol_name = (char *)probed_func;
+
if ((ret = register_kretprobe(&my_kretprobe)) < 0) {
printk("register_kretprobe failed, returned %d\n", ret);
return -1;
return 0;
}
-void cleanup_module(void)
+static void __exit kretprobe_exit(void)
{
unregister_kretprobe(&my_kretprobe);
printk("kretprobe unregistered\n");
my_kretprobe.nmissed, probed_func);
}
+module_init(kretprobe_init)
+module_exit(kretprobe_exit)
MODULE_LICENSE("GPL");
----- cut here -----
For additional information on Kprobes, refer to the following URLs:
http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-kprobes.html?ca=dgr-lnxw42Kprobe
http://www.redhat.com/magazine/005mar05/features/kprobes/
+http://www-users.cs.umn.edu/~boutcher/kprobes/
+http://www.linuxsymposium.org/2006/linuxsymposium_procv2.pdf (pages 101-115)
+
+
+Appendix A: The kprobes debugfs interface
+
+With recent kernels (> 2.6.20) the list of registered kprobes is visible
+under the /debug/kprobes/ directory (assuming debugfs is mounted at /debug).
+
+/debug/kprobes/list: Lists all registered probes on the system
+
+c015d71a k vfs_read+0x0
+c011a316 j do_fork+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, r - kretprobe
+and j - jprobe), 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.
+
+/debug/kprobes/enabled: Turn kprobes ON/OFF
+
+Provides a knob to globally 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.