Re: Sending IOCTLs from 32-bit userland to 64-bit Kernel module

From: Yoav Artzi
Date: Tue Jan 29 2008 - 08:21:55 EST


Thanks. I am aware of these issues and we already have a pretty capable layer to deal with these issues (unfortunately, it was very necessary). My problem is not with the data carried by the IOCTL, but with IOCTL command code itself, which comes out wrong on the kernel side. And my problem is not only in the size data, but also in other fields.

IOCTL command code:

1 byte: W/R/RW -------- Passes through fine

1 byte: size of data carried -------- DOESN'T PASS THROUGH

1 byte: identifier character of the module -------- Passes through fine

1 byte: IOCTL number -------- DOESN'T PASS THROUGH


The funny thing is that I always get the same IOCTL command code on the kernel side, no matter what I send using the ioctl() system call.


Any idea?


Thanks


-------- Original Message --------

Subject: Re: Sending IOCTLs from 32-bit userland to 64-bit Kernel module
From: Michael Tokarev <mjt@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: Yoav Artzi <yoavar@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2008 3:05:01 PM

Yoav Artzi wrote:
Hi,


I have a 32-bit user land application which sends an IOCTL to a 64-bit
Kernel module. I have a few different cmd codes that I can send through
the IOCTL. For some reason I seem to always get the same IOCTL cmd from
user land, no matter what the ioctl() call is given. This cmd code that
I get has some bytes (W/R and the module code) that are OK, but the rest
is just garbage or zeros. This was originally a 32-bit system, and we
are no converting the Kernel module to 64-bit, so maybe there's
something special for 32-64 communication that miss.

Please see numerous examples in kernel source, in many files named
compat_ioctl.c. If your ioctls uses structures with fields that
have different sizes in 32- and 64-bit worlds (most notable int,
various enums etc), there should be corresponding translation
layer as in those examples. If it's your kernel code, that is.
(And try to avoid such types there, use u32 or u64 and the like
that explicitly specify size).

Another possible problem is different alignment of fields in
64- vs 32-bits worlds.

I am working on Linux Kernel v2.6.18.

If the kernel side isn't your code, the chances are quite high
that this problem has long been fixed in more recent kernels.

/mjt

Scanned by Check Point Total Security Gateway.



--
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/