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Review the draft
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@ -22,10 +22,10 @@ it's correct. There's ongoing work to [formalize](https://plv.mpi-sws.org/rustbe
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the rules and *prove* that Rust is safe, but for our purposes it's a reasonable assumption.
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Until it isn't. It's totally possible for "safe" Rust programs
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(under contrived circumstances) to encounter memory corruption.
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It's even possible for these programs to
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["segfault"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmentation_fault)
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when using an unmodified compiler:
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(under contrived circumstances) to encounter memory corruption and trigger a
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["segfault"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmentation_fault).
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To prove it, this demonstration was run using an unmodified compiler:
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<script id="asciicast-ENIpRYpdDazCkppanf3LSCetX" src="https://asciinema.org/a/ENIpRYpdDazCkppanf3LSCetX.js" async></script>
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@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ when using an unmodified compiler:
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[Wat indeed.](https://www.destroyallsoftware.com/talks/wat)
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There are two tricks used to pull this off. First, I'm making
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There are two tricks needed to pull this off. First, I'm making
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use of a special environment variable in Linux called
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[`LD_PRELOAD`](https://blog.fpmurphy.com/2012/09/all-about-ld_preload.html).
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Matt Godbolt goes into [way more detail](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOfucXtyEsU)
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@ -73,24 +73,23 @@ Because this implementation of `malloc` is intentionally broken,
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every program run using this library will crash. And I mean *every*
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program; if you use dynamic memory, you're going down.
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So how is it possible to run the Rust compiler in this environment?
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`LD_PRELOAD` applies to all programs, so the compiler should also
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encounter memory corruption and crash, right? The answer is that `sudo`
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deletes environment variables like `LD_PRELOAD` and
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`LD_LIBRARY_PATH` when running commands. While it is technically possible
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to crash `sudo` in the same way using our evil `malloc` implementation,
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the default policy is to delete these variables because of security concerns.
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So how is it possible to even run the compiler in this environment?
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Shouldn't `LD_PRELOAD` cause `rustc` to encounter memory corruption
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and crash too? The answer is that `sudo` deletes environment variables
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like `LD_PRELOAD` and `LD_LIBRARY_PATH` when running commands.
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It's technically possible to crash `sudo` in the same way using
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our evil `malloc` implementation, but the default security policy
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deletes those variables.
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Finally, why does Rust 1.31 work, and 1.32 fail? The answer is in the
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release notes:
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Finally, why does the program run when compiled with Rust 1.31, and not 1.32?
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The answer is in the release notes:
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[`jemalloc` is removed by default](https://blog.rust-lang.org/2019/01/17/Rust-1.32.0.html#jemalloc-is-removed-by-default).
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In Rust 1.28 through 1.31, programs were statically compiled against
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[jemalloc](http://jemalloc.net/) by default; our evil `malloc` implementation
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never gets invoked because the program goes straight to the operating
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system to request memory. However, it's still possible to trigger segfaults
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in Rust programs from 1.28 - 1.31 by using the
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In Rust 1.28 through 1.31, programs are statically compiled against
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[jemalloc](http://jemalloc.net/) by default; our dynamically loaded
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evil `malloc` implementation never gets an opportunity to run. However, it's still
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possible to trigger segfaults in Rust programs from 1.28 - 1.31 by using the
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[`System`](https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/alloc/struct.System.html)
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global allocator. Rust programs prior to 1.28 aren't subject to this
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global allocator. Rust programs prior to 1.28 aren't affected by this
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`LD_PRELOAD` trick.
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# So what?
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@ -98,13 +97,13 @@ global allocator. Rust programs prior to 1.28 aren't subject to this
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I do want to clarify: the code demonstrated here isn't a
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security issue, and doesn't call into question Rust's definition of "safe."
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The code demonstrated here crashes because the memory allocator is lying to it.
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Even in mission critical systems, there are a lot of concerns beyond allocators; the
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And even in mission critical systems, safety concerns go way beyond allocators; the
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[F-35 Joint Strike Fighter coding standards](http://www.stroustrup.com/JSF-AV-rules.pdf)
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give memory allocation about 10 sentences total.
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But this example does highlight an assumption of Rust's memory model
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that I haven't seen discussed much: **safe Rust is safe if, and only if,
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the allocator it relies on is "correct"**. And because writing a non-trivial allocator is
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the allocator it relies on is "correct"**. And because writing an allocator is
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[fundamentally unsafe](https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/alloc/trait.GlobalAlloc.html#unsafety),
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safe Rust will always rely on unsafe Rust somewhere.
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