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Re: RFH: Annotating ELF binaries


On Fri, Jan 20, 2017 at 11:06 AM, H.J. Lu <hjl.tools@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Fri, Jan 20, 2017 at 11:02 AM, Carlos O'Donell <carlos@redhat.com> wrote:
>> On 01/20/2017 11:55 AM, H.J. Lu wrote:
>>> We can classify properties into 2 categories: used by run-time loader,
>>> not used by run-time loader.  We put properties for run-time loader into
>>> .note.gnu.property section and the rest into GNU attribute section.
>>
>> Agreed.
>>
>> Can we use the same noun/adjective for our names?
>>
>> Is there any reason to use property over attribute?
>
> Nothing other than avoiding confusion between note attribute
> vs non-note attribute.
>
>> As a Friday bikeshed I suggest:
>>
>> .note.gnu.attributes - GNU Attributes optimized for the dynamic loader.
>> -- New. Follows H.J's proposal. Bit-level, packed, and optimized for the
>>    dynamic loader processing.
>>
>> .gnu.attributes - GNU Attributes optimized for offline and static linker
>>                   processing.
>> -- Existing section. Discussions with Nick ongoing if we can continue
>>    to use existing infrastructure e.g. Tag_Range to extend this data.
>>
>
> Works for me.
>
>
> --
> H.J.

Here is the updated proposal with .note.gnu.attributes.


-- 
H.J.
---
Program Attribute Note

There are cases where linker and run-time loader need more information
about ELF objects beyond what the current gABI provides:

1. Minimum ISAs.  Executables and shared objects, which are optimized
specifically to run on a particular processor, will not run on processors
which don't support the same set of ISAs.  Since x86 only has EM_IAMCU,
EM_386 and EM_X86_64 ELF machine codes, run-time loader needs additional
information to tell if an executable or a shared object is compatible
with available ISAs.
2. Stack size.  Compilers may generate binaries which require larger stack
size than normal.  If run-time loader can query the stack size required
by executable or shared object, it can increase stack size as needed.
3. Copy relocation and protected visibility are fundamentally incompatible.
On one hand, copy relocation is the part of the psABI and is used to
access global data defined in a shared object from the executable.  It
moves the definition of global data, which is defined in a share object,
to the executable at run-time.  On the other hand, protected visibility
indicates that a symbol is defined locally in the shared object at
run-time.  Both can't be true at the same time.  The current solution
is to make protected symbol more or less like normal symbol, which
prevents optimizing local access to protected symbol within the shared
object.

GNU attributes

GNU binutils supports build attribute and run-time platform compatibility
data in relocatable object files.  Issues with GNU attributes:

1. Many architectures, including x86, don't support GNU attributes.
2. On x86, linking a relocatable object full of AVX instructions doesn't
always make the resulting executables or shared libraries to require AVX
to run since AVX functions may be called only via GNU_IFUNC at run-time.
Linker can't set minimum ISAs just from ISAs used by input relocatable
objects.
3. There is no program segment for GNU attributes in executables and
shared objects.
4. Most of attributes aren't applicable to run-time loader.
5. The format of GNU attributes isn't optimal for run-time loader.  A
separate string table is used to store string attributes.

gABI support for program attribute note

To the "Special Sections" section, add:

     Name              Type                 Attributes
.note.gnu.attributes  SHT_NOTE              SHF_ALLOC

A .note.gnu.attributes section contains at least one attribute note
descriptor, starting with an attribute note descriptor header and
followed by an array of attributes.  The attribute note descriptor
header has the following structure:

typedef struct {
  Elf_Word namsz;
  Elf_Word descsz;
  Elf_Word type;
  unsigned char name[4];
} Elf_GNU_Notehdr;

1. namesz is 4.
2. descsz contains the size of the attribute array.
3. type specifies the attribute type:

#define NT_GNU_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE_0   5

4. name is a null-terminated character string. It should be "GNU".

Each array element represents one attribute with type, data size and data.
In 64-bit objects, each element is an array of 8-byte words, whose first
element is 4-byte type and data size, in the format of the target processor.
In 32-bit objects, each element is an array of 4-byte words, whose first 2
elements are 4-byte type and data size, in the format of the target
processor.  An array element has the following structure:

typedef struct {
  Elf_Word at_type;
  Elf_Word at_datasz;
  unsigned char at_data[AT_DATASZ];
  unsigned char at_padding[AT_PADDING];
} Elf_Prop;

where AT_DATASZ is the data size and AT_PADDING, if necessary, aligns
array element to 8 or 4-byte alignment (depending on whether the file
is a 64-bit or 32-bit object).  The array elements are sorted by the
attribute type.  The interpretation of attribute array depends on at_type.

Types of program attributes

The last 3 bits of program attribute indicate how it should be
processed.

#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE_SHIFT    3
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE_MASK     (-(1 << GNU_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE_SHIFT))
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_EVAL_MASK     ((1 << GNU_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE_SHIFT) - 1)

#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_EVAL_REQ      0

Linker should refuse to generate output if input attribute type is
unknown.

#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_EVAL_EQ       1

Linker should refuse to generate output if input attribute data aren't
identical.

#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_EVAL_OR       2

Output attribute data is logical OR of input attribute data.

#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_EVAL_AND      3

Output attribute data is logical AND of input attribute data.

Linker should refuse to generate output for other evaluation values in
input attribute type.

#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_LOPROC        0xb0000000
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_HIPROC        0xdfffffff
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_LOUSER        0xe0000000
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_HIUSER        0xffffffff

Proposed properties

For NT_GNU_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE_0:

#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_STACK_SIZE \
 ((1 << GNU_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE_SHIFT)|GNU_ATTRIBUTE_EVAL_REQ)

Integer value for minimum stack size whose is 8 bytes in 64-bit object
and 4 bytes in 32-bit object.

#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_NO_COPY_ON_PROTECTED \
 ((2 << GNU_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE_SHIFT)|GNU_ATTRIBUTE_EVAL_REQ)

Its at_datasz is 0.  This indicates that there should be no copy
relocations against protected data symbols.  If a relocatable object
contains this attribute, linker should treat protected data symbol as
defined locally at run-time and copy this attribute to the output share
object.  Run-time loader should disallow copy relocations against
protected data symbols defined in share objects with
GNU_ATTRIBUTE_NO_COPY_ON_PROTECTED attribute.

#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_USED \
  ((0 << GNU_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE_SHIFT)|GNU_ATTRIBUTE_LOPROC|GNU_ATTRIBUTE_EVAL_OR)

The x86 instruction sets indicated by the corresponding bits are used
in program.  But their support in the hardware is optional.

#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_NEEDED \
  ((1 << GNU_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE_SHIFT)|GNU_ATTRIBUTE_LOPROC|GNU_ATTRIBUTE_EVAL_OR)

The x86 instruction sets indicated by the corresponding bits are used
in program and they must be supported by the hardware.  A bit set in
GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_NEEDED must also be set in
GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_USED.

4-byte integer value for the x86 instruction set support.

#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_486           (1U << 0)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_586           (1U << 1)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_686           (1U << 2)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_SSE           (1U << 3)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_SSE2          (1U << 4)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_SSE3          (1U << 5)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_SSSE3         (1U << 6)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_SSE4_1        (1U << 7)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_SSE4_2        (1U << 8)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_AVX           (1U << 9)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_AVX2          (1U << 10)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_AVX512F       (1U << 11)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_AVX512CD      (1U << 12)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_AVX512ER      (1U << 13)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_AVX512PF      (1U << 14)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_AVX512VL      (1U << 15)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_AVX512DQ      (1U << 16)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_AVX512BW      (1U << 17)
#define GNU_ATTRIBUTE_X86_ISA_1_ENDBR         (1U << 18)


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