Re: x32 processes, with CONFIG_X86_X32 not set

From: Andy Lutomirski
Date: Thu Apr 07 2016 - 20:21:22 EST


On Fri, Mar 25, 2016 at 8:58 AM, Dave Jones <davej@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 25, 2016 at 08:51:39AM -0700, Andy Lutomirski wrote:
> > On Fri, Mar 25, 2016 at 8:48 AM, Dave Jones <davej@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > > I had a trinity process get stuck last overnight.
> > > The reason for it getting stuck is my bug (I think), but
> > > there's an odd unrelated thing I noticed while debugging this..
> > >
> > > $ strace -p 20966
> > > strace: Process 20966 attached
> > > strace: [ Process PID=20966 runs in x32 mode. ]
> > >
> > > So I don't use that new-fangled x32 stuff.
> > > I don't even have CONFIG_X86_X32 compiled in.
> > >
> > > Is this strace getting confused, or did we somehow screw
> > > up the syscall entry code ?
> > >
> > > Dave
> > >
> >
> > I think you're just seeing an oddity of how x32 works. Unlike
> > "compat", x32-ness of the current syscall isn't a special magic state
> > variable; it's just but 31 in the syscall nr. So trying to do an x32
> > syscall on a non-x32 syscall should still show bit 31 set to ptracers,
> > and the strace probably decodes this as being in x32 mode.
>
> But this is an x86-64 binary, and it's the main process, not one of the fuzzing
> child processes. It shouldn't be even trying to do anything weird.
> It creates a bunch of fd's, then enters a loop forking/reaping children.
> (In this case it actually hung while creating the fd's)
>
> Trinity doesn't actually have any knowledge of x32 at all, mostly because
> it's been irrelevant to me (and most other people).
>

Hmm. Do you have the next couple lines of strace output by any
chance? I'm wondering if this is a classic bug/misfeature/confusion
in the way that orig_ax works.

FWIW, the way that strace detects 32-bit mode is bogus, and I don't
actually know how strace detects x32 mode.

> Dave
>
>



--
Andy Lutomirski
AMA Capital Management, LLC