Read/write files within a Linux kernel module

Question

I know all the discussions about why one should not read/write files from kernel, instead how to use /proc or netlink to do that. I want to read/write anyway. I have also read Driving Me Nuts - Things You Never Should Do in the Kernel.

However, the problem is that 2.6.30 does not export sys_read(). Rather it's wrapped in SYSCALL_DEFINE3. So if I use it in my module, I get the following warnings:

WARNING: "sys_read" [xxx.ko] undefined!
WARNING: "sys_open" [xxx.ko] undefined!

Obviously insmod cannot load the module because linking does not happen correctly.

Questions:

• How to read/write within kernel after 2.6.22 (where sys_read()/sys_open() are not exported)?
• In general, how to use system calls wrapped in macro SYSCALL_DEFINEn() from within the kernel?

Answer 1

You should be aware that you should avoid file I/O from within Linux kernel when possible. The main idea is to go "one level deeper" and call VFS level functions instead of the syscall handler directly:

Includes:

#include <linux/fs.h>
#include <asm/segment.h>
#include <asm/uaccess.h>
#include <linux/buffer_head.h>

Opening a file (similar to open):

struct file *file_open(const char *path, int flags, int rights) 
{
    struct file *filp = NULL;
    mm_segment_t oldfs;
    int err = 0;

    oldfs = get_fs();
    set_fs(get_ds());
    filp = filp_open(path, flags, rights);
    set_fs(oldfs);
    if (IS_ERR(filp)) {
        err = PTR_ERR(filp);
        return NULL;
    }
    return filp;
}

Close a file (similar to close):

void file_close(struct file *file) 
{
    filp_close(file, NULL);
}

Reading data from a file (similar to pread):

int file_read(struct file *file, unsigned long long offset, unsigned char *data, unsigned int size) 
{
    mm_segment_t oldfs;
    int ret;

    oldfs = get_fs();
    set_fs(get_ds());

    ret = vfs_read(file, data, size, &offset);

    set_fs(oldfs);
    return ret;
}   

Writing data to a file (similar to pwrite):

int file_write(struct file *file, unsigned long long offset, unsigned char *data, unsigned int size) 
{
    mm_segment_t oldfs;
    int ret;

    oldfs = get_fs();
    set_fs(get_ds());

    ret = vfs_write(file, data, size, &offset);

    set_fs(oldfs);
    return ret;
}

Syncing changes a file (similar to fsync):

int file_sync(struct file *file) 
{
    vfs_fsync(file, 0);
    return 0;
}

[Edit] Originally, I proposed using file_fsync, which is gone in newer kernel versions. Thanks to the poor guy suggesting the change, but whose change was rejected. The edit was rejected before I could review it.

Answer 2

Since version 4.14 of Linux kernel, vfs_read and vfs_write functions are no longer exported for use in modules. Instead, functions exclusively for kernel's file access are provided:

# Read the file from the kernel space.
ssize_t kernel_read(struct file *file, void *buf, size_t count, loff_t *pos);

# Write the file from the kernel space.
ssize_t kernel_write(struct file *file, const void *buf, size_t count,
            loff_t *pos);

Also, filp_open no longer accepts user-space string, so it can be used for kernel access directly (without dance with set_fs).