[PATCH] apparmor: convert duplicated dfa transitions to match_char()

Maxime Bélair maxime.belair at canonical.com
Tue Sep 1 14:07:15 UTC 2026


For historical reasons several matchers duplicate the dfa character
transition instead of using match_char().

This is because aa_dfa_match_until() and aa_dfa_matchn_until() were
written on a branch that did not yet have match_char(), and copied code
from aa_dfa_match(). leftmatch_fb() used the same pattern.

When match_char() added support for diff-encoded states, the change was
never ported to these copies.

match_char() resolves a diff encoded state by using def[state] and
retrying the same character, until it reaches a state with a valid
transition. The copies instead do a simple `state = def[state];` after
the character is consumed, so on a diff encoded state one byte is dropped
and the walk continues from the diff parent in the wrong state.

This makes an unnamed px/Px/cx/Cx transition resolve to no profile, and
exec fails with

  apparmor="DENIED" operation="exec" info="profile transition not found"

Convert the three copies to match_char(). For a dfa with no diff
encoded state this is a no-op.

This bug is latent until the kernel advertises policy/diff-encode.

Closes: https://gitlab.com/apparmor/apparmor/-/work_items/663
Fixes: 21f606610502 ("apparmor: improve overlapping domain attachment resolution")
Fixes: cf65fabc2a2c ("apparmor: add first substr match to dfa")
Signed-off-by: Maxime Bélair <maxime.belair at canonical.com>
---
 security/apparmor/match.c | 52 ++++++++++++++-------------------------
 1 file changed, 19 insertions(+), 33 deletions(-)

diff --git a/security/apparmor/match.c b/security/apparmor/match.c
index 7713484f6a36..5e5030c12393 100644
--- a/security/apparmor/match.c
+++ b/security/apparmor/match.c
@@ -614,7 +614,7 @@ aa_state_t aa_dfa_match_until(const struct aa_dfa *dfa, aa_state_t start,
 	u32 *next = NEXT_TABLE(dfa);
 	u32 *check = CHECK_TABLE(dfa);
 	u32 *accept = ACCEPT_TABLE(dfa);
-	aa_state_t state = start, pos;
+	aa_state_t state = start;
 
 	if (state == DFA_NOMATCH)
 		return DFA_NOMATCH;
@@ -625,22 +625,18 @@ aa_state_t aa_dfa_match_until(const struct aa_dfa *dfa, aa_state_t start,
 		u8 *equiv = EQUIV_TABLE(dfa);
 		/* default is direct to next state */
 		while (*str) {
-			pos = base_idx(base[state]) + equiv[(u8) *str++];
-			if (check[pos] == state)
-				state = next[pos];
-			else
-				state = def[state];
+			u8 c = equiv[(u8) *str++];
+
+			match_char(state, def, base, next, check, c);
 			if (accept[state])
 				break;
 		}
 	} else {
 		/* default is direct to next state */
 		while (*str) {
-			pos = base_idx(base[state]) + (u8) *str++;
-			if (check[pos] == state)
-				state = next[pos];
-			else
-				state = def[state];
+			u8 c = (u8) *str++;
+
+			match_char(state, def, base, next, check, c);
 			if (accept[state])
 				break;
 		}
@@ -675,7 +671,7 @@ aa_state_t aa_dfa_matchn_until(const struct aa_dfa *dfa, aa_state_t start,
 	u32 *next = NEXT_TABLE(dfa);
 	u32 *check = CHECK_TABLE(dfa);
 	u32 *accept = ACCEPT_TABLE(dfa);
-	aa_state_t state = start, pos;
+	aa_state_t state = start;
 
 	*retpos = NULL;
 	if (state == DFA_NOMATCH)
@@ -687,22 +683,18 @@ aa_state_t aa_dfa_matchn_until(const struct aa_dfa *dfa, aa_state_t start,
 		u8 *equiv = EQUIV_TABLE(dfa);
 		/* default is direct to next state */
 		for (; n; n--) {
-			pos = base_idx(base[state]) + equiv[(u8) *str++];
-			if (check[pos] == state)
-				state = next[pos];
-			else
-				state = def[state];
+			u8 c = equiv[(u8) *str++];
+
+			match_char(state, def, base, next, check, c);
 			if (accept[state])
 				break;
 		}
 	} else {
 		/* default is direct to next state */
 		for (; n; n--) {
-			pos = base_idx(base[state]) + (u8) *str++;
-			if (check[pos] == state)
-				state = next[pos];
-			else
-				state = def[state];
+			u8 c = (u8) *str++;
+
+			match_char(state, def, base, next, check, c);
 			if (accept[state])
 				break;
 		}
@@ -751,7 +743,7 @@ static aa_state_t leftmatch_fb(const struct aa_dfa *dfa, aa_state_t start,
 	u32 *base = BASE_TABLE(dfa);
 	u32 *next = NEXT_TABLE(dfa);
 	u32 *check = CHECK_TABLE(dfa);
-	aa_state_t state = start, pos;
+	aa_state_t state = start;
 
 	AA_BUG(!dfa);
 	AA_BUG(!str);
@@ -769,13 +761,10 @@ static aa_state_t leftmatch_fb(const struct aa_dfa *dfa, aa_state_t start,
 		/* default is direct to next state */
 		while (*str) {
 			unsigned int adjust;
+			u8 c = equiv[(u8) *str++];
 
 			wb->history[wb->pos] = state;
-			pos = base_idx(base[state]) + equiv[(u8) *str++];
-			if (check[pos] == state)
-				state = next[pos];
-			else
-				state = def[state];
+			match_char(state, def, base, next, check, c);
 			if (is_loop(wb, state, &adjust)) {
 				state = aa_dfa_match(dfa, state, str);
 				*count -= adjust;
@@ -788,13 +777,10 @@ static aa_state_t leftmatch_fb(const struct aa_dfa *dfa, aa_state_t start,
 		/* default is direct to next state */
 		while (*str) {
 			unsigned int adjust;
+			u8 c = (u8) *str++;
 
 			wb->history[wb->pos] = state;
-			pos = base_idx(base[state]) + (u8) *str++;
-			if (check[pos] == state)
-				state = next[pos];
-			else
-				state = def[state];
+			match_char(state, def, base, next, check, c);
 			if (is_loop(wb, state, &adjust)) {
 				state = aa_dfa_match(dfa, state, str);
 				*count -= adjust;
-- 
2.51.0




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