riscv-software-src / riscv-software-src/opensbi

Too small fw_heap_size makes OpenSBI corrupt memory

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Dominant language
C
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Description

Heap minimum appears to be 16k. This is quite a chunk. This is not documented anywhere nor checked anywhere.

Otherwise sbi_heap.c fails:

hpctrl.hksize = hpctrl.size / HEAP_HOUSEKEEPING_FACTOR;
hpctrl.hksize &= ~((unsigned long)HEAP_BASE_ALIGN - 1);

8k: (0x2000 / 16) & ~(1024 - 1) = 0 (Fail!)
16k: (0x4000 / 16) & ~(1024 - 1) = 0x400 (Ok)

For example, with fw_heap_size = 8k, hpctrl.hksize gets to be zero making the OpenSBI corrupt memory wildly. Everything goes bust and boom in that case.

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First steps

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  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
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Research direction

Start in sbi_heap.c at the hpctrl.hksize calculation and trace how fw_heap_size is configured and consumed. Verify the minimum size or validation needed to prevent a zero housekeeping size, then document the requirement and check the affected heap behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
c
Domain
operating-systems
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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