Re: [PATCH] manual: Clarify File Access Modes section and add O_PATH

["Michael Kerrisk \(man-pages\) via Libc-alpha" <libc-alpha@sourceware.org>]

Hi Florian,

On 5/18/20 9:49 AM, Florian Weimer wrote:
> Kees Cook reported that the current text is misleading:
> 
>   <https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/202005150847.2B1ED8F81@keescook/>
> 
> ---
>  manual/llio.texi | 68 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----------------------
>  1 file changed, 42 insertions(+), 26 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/manual/llio.texi b/manual/llio.texi
> index 6db4a70836..dd206b1b91 100644
> --- a/manual/llio.texi
> +++ b/manual/llio.texi
> @@ -3564,9 +3564,8 @@ The symbols in this section are defined in the header file
>  @subsection File Access Modes
>  
>  The file access modes allow a file descriptor to be used for reading,
> -writing, or both.  (On @gnuhurdsystems{}, they can also allow none of these,
> -and allow execution of the file as a program.)  The access modes are chosen
> -when the file is opened, and never change.
> +writing, both, or neither.  The access modes are chosen when the file
> +is opened, and never change.
>  
>  @deftypevr Macro int O_RDONLY
>  @standards{POSIX.1, fcntl.h}
> @@ -3583,6 +3582,42 @@ Open the file for write access.
>  Open the file for both reading and writing.
>  @end deftypevr
>  
> +@deftypevr Macro int O_PATH
> +@standards{Linux, fcntl.h}
> +Obtain a file descriptor for the file, but do not open this file for
> +reading or writing.  Permission checks for the file itself are skipped
> +when the file is opened (but permission to access the directory that
> +contains it is still needed), and permissions are checked when the
> +descriptor is used later.
> +
> +For example, such descriptors can be used with the @code{fexecve}
> +function (@pxref{Executing a File}).
> +
> +This access mode is specific to Linux.  On @gnuhurdsystems{}, it is
> +possible to use @code{O_EXEC} explicitly, or specify no access modes
> +at all (see below).
> +@end deftypevr
> +
> +To determine the file access mode with @code{fcntl}, you must extract
> +the access mode bits from the retrieved file status flags.  The
> +portable way to extract the file access mode bits is with
> +@code{O_ACCMODE}.
> +
> +@deftypevr Macro int O_ACCMODE
> +@standards{POSIX.1, fcntl.h}
> +
> +This macro stands for a mask that can be bitwise-ANDed with the file

s/stands for a mask/is a mask/ ?

> +status flag value to produce a value representing the file access

s/produce a value representing the/extract the bits representing the/ ?

> +mode.  Usually, The mode will be @code{O_RDONLY}, @code{O_WRONLY}, or
> +@code{O_RDWR}.
> +@end deftypevr
> +
> +If the mode is zero, it means that a non-standard access mode has been
> +used.

Either I misunderstand the previous sentence, or I think it is
wrong. O_RDONLY has the value 0; that's a standard access mode.

> See @code{O_PATH} above and @code{O_EXEC} below.  These
> +non-standard access modes are identified by individual bits can
> +therefore be checked directly (without masking with @code{O_ACCMODE}
> +first).
> +
>  On @gnuhurdsystems{} (and not on other systems), @code{O_RDONLY} and

Not a problem with your patch, but in the above, better would be:

s/and/but/

>  @code{O_WRONLY} are independent bits that can be bitwise-ORed together,
>  and it is valid for either bit to be set or clear.  This means that
> @@ -3591,40 +3626,21 @@ mode of zero is permissible; it allows no operations that do input or
>  output to the file, but does allow other operations such as
>  @code{fchmod}.  On @gnuhurdsystems{}, since ``read-only'' or ``write-only''
>  is a misnomer, @file{fcntl.h} defines additional names for the file
> -access modes.  These names are preferred when writing GNU-specific code.
> -But most programs will want to be portable to other POSIX.1 systems and
> -should use the POSIX.1 names above instead.
> +access modes.

I do think removing this advice about POSIX is a bad move.
Why do you want to advise people to use GNU-specific names?
(I suspect I must be missing something...)

>  @deftypevr Macro int O_READ
>  @standards{GNU, fcntl.h (optional)}
> -Open the file for reading.  Same as @code{O_RDONLY}; only defined on GNU.
> +Open the file for reading.  Same as @code{O_RDONLY}; only defined on GNU/Hurd.
>  @end deftypevr
>  
>  @deftypevr Macro int O_WRITE
>  @standards{GNU, fcntl.h (optional)}
> -Open the file for writing.  Same as @code{O_WRONLY}; only defined on GNU.
> +Open the file for writing.  Same as @code{O_WRONLY}; only defined on GNU/Hurd.
>  @end deftypevr
>  
>  @deftypevr Macro int O_EXEC
>  @standards{GNU, fcntl.h (optional)}
> -Open the file for executing.  Only defined on GNU.
> -@end deftypevr
> -
> -To determine the file access mode with @code{fcntl}, you must extract
> -the access mode bits from the retrieved file status flags.  On
> -@gnuhurdsystems{},
> -you can just test the @code{O_READ} and @code{O_WRITE} bits in
> -the flags word.  But in other POSIX.1 systems, reading and writing
> -access modes are not stored as distinct bit flags.  The portable way to
> -extract the file access mode bits is with @code{O_ACCMODE}.
> -
> -@deftypevr Macro int O_ACCMODE
> -@standards{POSIX.1, fcntl.h}
> -This macro stands for a mask that can be bitwise-ANDed with the file
> -status flag value to produce a value representing the file access mode.
> -The mode will be @code{O_RDONLY}, @code{O_WRONLY}, or @code{O_RDWR}.
> -(On @gnuhurdsystems{} it could also be zero, and it never includes the
> -@code{O_EXEC} bit.)
> +Open the file for executing.  Only defined on GNU/Hurd.
>  @end deftypevr
>  
>  @node Open-time Flags

Thanks,

Michael


-- 
Michael Kerrisk
Linux man-pages maintainer; http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/
Linux/UNIX System Programming Training: http://man7.org/training/