The default file permissions on a memfd include execute bits, which means that such a memfd can be filled with a executable and passed to the exec() family of functions. This is undesirable on systems where all code is verified and all filesystems are intended to be mounted noexec, since an attacker may be able to use a memfd to load unverified code and execute it.

Additionally, execution via memfd is a common way to avoid scrutiny for malicious code, since it allows execution of a program without a file ever appearing on disk. This attack vector is not totally mitigated with this new flag, since the default memfd file permissions must remain executable to avoid breaking existing legitimate uses, but it should be possible to use other security mechanisms to prevent memfd_create calls without MFD_NOEXEC on systems where it is known that executable memfds are not necessary.

This patch series adds a new MFD_NOEXEC flag for memfd_create(), which allows creation of non-executable memfds, and as part of the implementation of this new flag, it also adds a new F_SEAL_EXEC seal, which will prevent modification of any of the execute bits of a sealed memfd.

I am not sure if this is the best way to implement the desired behavior (for example, the F_SEAL_EXEC seal is really more of an implementation detail and feels a bit clunky to expose), so suggestions are welcome for alternate approaches.

Daniel Verkamp (4): mm/memfd: add F_SEAL_EXEC mm/memfd: add MFD_NOEXEC flag to memfd_create selftests/memfd: add tests for F_SEAL_EXEC selftests/memfd: add tests for MFD_NOEXEC

include/uapi/linux/fcntl.h | 1 + include/uapi/linux/memfd.h | 1 + mm/memfd.c | 12 ++- mm/shmem.c | 6 ++ tools/testing/selftests/memfd/memfd_test.c | 114 +++++++++++++++++++++ 5 files changed, 133 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)