gmon: improve mcount overflow handling [BZ# 27576]

When mcount overflows, no gmon.out file is generated, but no message is printed
to the user, leaving the user with no idea why, and thinking maybe there is
some bug - which is how BZ 27576 ended up being logged. Print a message to
stderr in this case so the user knows what is going on.

As a comment in sys/gmon.h acknowledges, the hardcoded MAXARCS value is too
small for some large applications, including the test case in that BZ. Rather
than increase it, add tunables to enable MINARCS and MAXARCS to be overridden
at runtime (glibc.gmon.minarcs and glibc.gmon.maxarcs). So if a user gets the
mcount overflow error, they can try increasing maxarcs (they might need to
increase minarcs too if the heuristic is wrong in their case.)

Note setting minarcs/maxarcs too large can cause monstartup to fail with an
out of memory error. If you set them large enough, it can cause an integer
overflow in calculating the buffer size. I haven't done anything to defend
against that - it would not generally be a security vulnerability, since these
tunables will be ignored in suid/sgid programs (due to the SXID_ERASE default),
and if you can set GLIBC_TUNABLES in the environment of a process, you can take
it over anyway (LD_PRELOAD, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, etc). I thought about modifying
the code of monstartup to defend against integer overflows, but doing so is
complicated, and I realise the existing code is susceptible to them even prior
to this change (e.g. try passing a pathologically large highpc argument to
monstartup), so I decided just to leave that possibility in-place.

Add a test case which demonstrates mcount overflow and the tunables.

Document the new tunables in the manual.

Signed-off-by: Simon Kissane <skissane@gmail.com>
Reviewed-by: DJ Delorie <dj@redhat.com>
(cherry picked from commit 31be941e43)

NEWS

@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ The following bugs are resolved with this release:
   [25812] Libio vtable protection is sometimes only partially enforced
   [26643] register x8 and quad sized NEON registers are not properly
     saved when using ld_audit on aarch64
+  [27576] gmon: improve mcount overflow handling
   [28036] Incorrect types for pthread_mutexattr_set/getrobust_np
   [28061] dynamic-link: A failing dlmopen called by an auditor crashed
   [28062] dynamic-link: Suppress audit calls when a (new) namespace is

elf/dl-tunables.list

@@ -156,4 +156,17 @@ glibc {
       security_level: SXID_IGNORE
     }
   }
+
+  gmon {
+    minarcs {
+      type: INT_32
+      minval: 50
+      default: 50
+    }
+    maxarcs {
+      type: INT_32
+      minval: 50
+      default: 1048576
+    }
+  }
 }

gmon/Makefile

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ include ../Makeconfig
 headers	:= sys/gmon.h sys/gmon_out.h sys/profil.h
 routines := gmon mcount profil sprofil prof-freq
 
-tests	= tst-sprofil tst-gmon
+tests	= tst-sprofil tst-gmon tst-mcount-overflow
 ifeq ($(build-profile),yes)
 tests	+= tst-profile-static
 tests-static	+= tst-profile-static
@@ -56,6 +56,18 @@ ifeq ($(run-built-tests),yes)
 tests-special += $(objpfx)tst-gmon-gprof.out
 endif
 
+CFLAGS-tst-mcount-overflow.c := -fno-omit-frame-pointer -pg
+tst-mcount-overflow-no-pie = yes
+CRT-tst-mcount-overflow := $(csu-objpfx)g$(start-installed-name)
+# Intentionally use invalid config where maxarcs<minarcs to check warning is printed
+tst-mcount-overflow-ENV := GMON_OUT_PREFIX=$(objpfx)tst-mcount-overflow.data \
+                           GLIBC_TUNABLES=glibc.gmon.minarcs=51:glibc.gmon.maxarcs=50
+# Send stderr into output file because we make sure expected messages are printed
+tst-mcount-overflow-ARGS := 2>&1 1>/dev/null | cat
+ifeq ($(run-built-tests),yes)
+tests-special += $(objpfx)tst-mcount-overflow-check.out
+endif
+
 CFLAGS-tst-gmon-static.c := $(PIE-ccflag) -fno-omit-frame-pointer -pg
 CRT-tst-gmon-static := $(csu-objpfx)gcrt1.o
 tst-gmon-static-no-pie = yes
@@ -103,6 +115,14 @@ $(objpfx)tst-gmon.out: clean-tst-gmon-data
 clean-tst-gmon-data:
 	rm -f $(objpfx)tst-gmon.data.*
 
+$(objpfx)tst-mcount-overflow.o: clean-tst-mcount-overflow-data
+clean-tst-mcount-overflow-data:
+	rm -f $(objpfx)tst-mcount-overflow.data.*
+
+$(objpfx)tst-mcount-overflow-check.out: tst-mcount-overflow-check.sh $(objpfx)tst-mcount-overflow.out
+	$(SHELL) $< $(objpfx)tst-mcount-overflow > $@; \
+	$(evaluate-test)
+
 $(objpfx)tst-gmon-gprof.out: tst-gmon-gprof.sh $(objpfx)tst-gmon.out
 	$(SHELL) $< $(GPROF) $(objpfx)tst-gmon $(objpfx)tst-gmon.data.* > $@; \
 	$(evaluate-test)

gmon/gmon.c

@@ -46,6 +46,11 @@
 #include <libc-internal.h>
 #include <not-cancel.h>
 
+#if HAVE_TUNABLES
+# define TUNABLE_NAMESPACE gmon
+# include <elf/dl-tunables.h>
+#endif
+
 #ifdef PIC
 # include <link.h>
 
@@ -124,6 +129,22 @@ __monstartup (u_long lowpc, u_long highpc)
   int o;
   char *cp;
   struct gmonparam *p = &_gmonparam;
+  long int minarcs, maxarcs;
+
+#if HAVE_TUNABLES
+  /* Read minarcs/maxarcs tunables. */
+  minarcs = TUNABLE_GET (minarcs, int32_t, NULL);
+  maxarcs = TUNABLE_GET (maxarcs, int32_t, NULL);
+  if (maxarcs < minarcs)
+    {
+      ERR("monstartup: maxarcs < minarcs, setting maxarcs = minarcs\n");
+      maxarcs = minarcs;
+    }
+#else
+  /* No tunables, we use hardcoded defaults */
+  minarcs = MINARCS;
+  maxarcs = MAXARCS;
+#endif
 
   /*
    * round lowpc and highpc to multiples of the density we're using
@@ -146,10 +167,10 @@ __monstartup (u_long lowpc, u_long highpc)
   }
   p->fromssize = ROUNDUP(p->textsize / HASHFRACTION, sizeof(*p->froms));
   p->tolimit = p->textsize * ARCDENSITY / 100;
-  if (p->tolimit < MINARCS)
-    p->tolimit = MINARCS;
-  else if (p->tolimit > MAXARCS)
-    p->tolimit = MAXARCS;
+  if (p->tolimit < minarcs)
+    p->tolimit = minarcs;
+  else if (p->tolimit > maxarcs)
+    p->tolimit = maxarcs;
   p->tossize = p->tolimit * sizeof(struct tostruct);
 
   cp = calloc (p->kcountsize + p->fromssize + p->tossize, 1);

gmon/mcount.c

@@ -41,6 +41,10 @@ static char sccsid[] = "@(#)mcount.c	8.1 (Berkeley) 6/4/93";
 
 #include <atomic.h>
 
+#include <not-cancel.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#define ERR(s) __write_nocancel (STDERR_FILENO, s, sizeof (s) - 1)
+
 /*
  * mcount is called on entry to each function compiled with the profiling
  * switch set.  _mcount(), which is declared in a machine-dependent way
@@ -170,6 +174,7 @@ done:
 	return;
 overflow:
 	p->state = GMON_PROF_ERROR;
+	ERR("mcount: call graph buffer size limit exceeded, gmon.out will not be generated\n");
 	return;
 }
 

gmon/sys/gmon.h

@@ -111,6 +111,8 @@ extern struct __bb *__bb_head;
  * Always allocate at least this many tostructs.  This
  * hides the inadequacy of the ARCDENSITY heuristic, at least
  * for small programs.
+ *
+ * Value can be overridden at runtime by glibc.gmon.minarcs tunable.
  */
 #define MINARCS		50
 
@@ -124,8 +126,8 @@ extern struct __bb *__bb_head;
  * Used to be max representable value of ARCINDEX minus 2, but now
  * that ARCINDEX is a long, that's too large; we don't really want
  * to allow a 48 gigabyte table.
- * The old value of 1<<16 wasn't high enough in practice for large C++
- * programs; will 1<<20 be adequate for long?  FIXME
+ *
+ * Value can be overridden at runtime by glibc.gmon.maxarcs tunable.
  */
 #define MAXARCS		(1 << 20)
 

gmon/tst-mcount-overflow-check.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Test expected messages generated when mcount overflows
+# Copyright (C) 2017-2023 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+# Copyright The GNU Toolchain Authors.
+# This file is part of the GNU C Library.
+
+# The GNU C Library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+# modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+# License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+# version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+
+# The GNU C Library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+# Lesser General Public License for more details.
+
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+# License along with the GNU C Library; if not, see
+# <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+LC_ALL=C
+export LC_ALL
+set -e
+exec 2>&1
+
+program="$1"
+
+check_msg() {
+    if ! grep -q "$1" "$program.out"; then
+       echo "FAIL: expected message not in output: $1"
+       exit 1
+    fi
+}
+
+check_msg 'monstartup: maxarcs < minarcs, setting maxarcs = minarcs'
+check_msg 'mcount: call graph buffer size limit exceeded, gmon.out will not be generated'
+
+for data_file in $1.data.*; do
+  if [ -f "$data_file" ]; then
+    echo "FAIL: expected no data files, but found $data_file"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+done
+
+echo PASS

gmon/tst-mcount-overflow.c

@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+/* Test program to trigger mcount overflow in profiling collection.
+   Copyright (C) 2017-2023 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+   This file is part of the GNU C Library.
+
+   The GNU C Library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+   modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+   License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+   version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+
+   The GNU C Library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+   Lesser General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+   License along with the GNU C Library; if not, see
+   <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.  */
+
+/* Program with sufficiently complex, yet pointless, call graph
+   that it will trigger an mcount overflow, when you set the
+   minarcs/maxarcs tunables to very low values. */
+
+#define PREVENT_TAIL_CALL asm volatile ("")
+
+/* Calls REP(n) macro 16 times, for n=0..15.
+ * You need to define REP(n) before using this.
+ */
+#define REPS \
+  REP(0) REP(1) REP(2) REP(3) REP(4) REP(5) REP(6) REP(7) \
+  REP(8) REP(9) REP(10) REP(11) REP(12) REP(13) REP(14) REP(15)
+
+/* Defines 16 leaf functions named f1_0 to f1_15 */
+#define REP(n) \
+  __attribute__ ((noinline, noclone, weak)) void f1_##n (void) {};
+REPS
+#undef REP
+
+/* Calls all 16 leaf functions f1_* in succession */
+__attribute__ ((noinline, noclone, weak)) void
+f2 (void)
+{
+# define REP(n) f1_##n();
+  REPS
+# undef REP
+  PREVENT_TAIL_CALL;
+}
+
+/* Defines 16 functions named f2_0 to f2_15, which all just call f2 */
+#define REP(n) \
+  __attribute__ ((noinline, noclone, weak)) void \
+  f2_##n (void) { f2(); PREVENT_TAIL_CALL; };
+REPS
+#undef REP
+
+__attribute__ ((noinline, noclone, weak)) void
+f3 (int count)
+{
+  for (int i = 0; i < count; ++i)
+    {
+      /* Calls f1_0(), f2_0(), f1_1(), f2_1(), f3_0(), etc */
+#     define REP(n) f1_##n(); f2_##n();
+      REPS
+#     undef REP
+    }
+}
+
+int
+main (void)
+{
+  f3 (1000);
+  return 0;
+}

manual/tunables.texi

@@ -77,6 +77,9 @@ glibc.malloc.check: 0 (min: 0, max: 3)
 				  capabilities seen by @theglibc{}
 * Memory Related Tunables::  Tunables that control the use of memory by
 			     @theglibc{}.
+* gmon Tunables::  Tunables that control the gmon profiler, used in
+                   conjunction with gprof
+
 @end menu
 
 @node Tunable names
@@ -571,3 +574,59 @@ support in the kernel if this tunable has any non-zero value.
 
 The default value is @samp{0}, which disables all memory tagging.
 @end deftp
+
+@node gmon Tunables
+@section gmon Tunables
+@cindex gmon tunables
+
+@deftp {Tunable namespace} glibc.gmon
+This tunable namespace affects the behaviour of the gmon profiler.
+gmon is a component of @theglibc{} which is normally used in
+conjunction with gprof.
+
+When GCC compiles a program with the @code{-pg} option, it instruments
+the program with calls to the @code{mcount} function, to record the
+program's call graph. At program startup, a memory buffer is allocated
+to store this call graph; the size of the buffer is calculated using a
+heuristic based on code size. If during execution, the buffer is found
+to be too small, profiling will be aborted and no @file{gmon.out} file
+will be produced. In that case, you will see the following message
+printed to standard error:
+
+@example
+mcount: call graph buffer size limit exceeded, gmon.out will not be generated
+@end example
+
+Most of the symbols discussed in this section are defined in the header
+@code{sys/gmon.h}. However, some symbols (for example @code{mcount})
+are not defined in any header file, since they are only intended to be
+called from code generated by the compiler.
+@end deftp
+
+@deftp Tunable glibc.mem.minarcs
+The heuristic for sizing the call graph buffer is known to be
+insufficient for small programs; hence, the calculated value is clamped
+to be at least a minimum size. The default minimum (in units of
+call graph entries, @code{struct tostruct}), is given by the macro
+@code{MINARCS}. If you have some program with an unusually complex
+call graph, for which the heuristic fails to allocate enough space,
+you can use this tunable to increase the minimum to a larger value.
+@end deftp
+
+@deftp Tunable glibc.mem.maxarcs
+To prevent excessive memory consumption when profiling very large
+programs, the call graph buffer is allowed to have a maximum of
+@code{MAXARCS} entries. For some very large programs, the default
+value of @code{MAXARCS} defined in @file{sys/gmon.h} is too small; in
+that case, you can use this tunable to increase it.
+
+Note the value of the @code{maxarcs} tunable must be greater or equal
+to that of the @code{minarcs} tunable; if this constraint is violated,
+a warning will printed to standard error at program startup, and
+the @code{minarcs} value will be used as the maximum as well.
+
+Setting either tunable too high may result in a call graph buffer
+whose size exceeds the available memory; in that case, an out of memory
+error will be printed at program startup, the profiler will be
+disabled, and no @file{gmon.out} file will be generated.
+@end deftp