rust-lang / rust-lang/rust

JumpThreading miscompiles union field reads after sibling writes, breaking safe Rust memory safety (missing aliasing flood in value_analysis)

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C-bug I-miscompile needs-triage P-high regression-from-stable-to-stable T-compiler WG-mir-opt
Dominant language
Rust
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Description

Summary

rustc_mir_dataflow::value_analysis::Map::for_each_aliasing_place invalidates enum Variant/Discriminant siblings on a write, but does not invalidate Field siblings when the parent is a union. Because union fields alias the same storage, a write to U.b must flood the tracked state of U.a. It doesn't, so JumpThreading (default in -C opt-level=1+) and DataflowConstProp (-Zmir-opt-level=3) consume stale values and miscompile.

Security / soundness implication: This is a violation of Rust's core memory-safety contract. Miri confirms the source program is well-defined, yet the optimized binary executes invalid memory accesses (I was able to POC: controlled heap OOB reads, cross-allocation corruption, and function-pointer hijacking in synthetic tests). The developer need not write unsafe in the application crate a Miri-clean library encapsulating a union tag is sufficient.

Regression:
  • Clean: 1.80.0, 1.80.1
  • Affected: 1.81.0 → 1.98.0 stable, 1.100.0-nightly
Minimal reproducer:
union U { a: u8, b: u8 }

#[inline(never)]
fn f(x: u8) -> u8 {
    let mut u = U { a: x };
    let r = unsafe { match u.a { 0 => 100, _ => 200 } };
    u.b = 5; // overwrites the same byte as u.a
    // BUG: JumpThreading threads this to the `0` arm using the stale pre-write value
    let r2 = unsafe { match u.a { 0 => 1, _ => 2 } };
    r + r2
}

fn main() {
    assert_eq!(f(0), 102); // fails in release: gets 101
    assert_eq!(f(7), 202); // ok
}
Results:
  • Build -C opt-level=0 -> f(0) 102
  • Build -C opt-level=2 -> f(0) 101
  • Build -C opt-level=2 -Zmir-enable-passes=-JumpThreading -> f(0) 102
  • Build cargo miri run -> f(0) 102
Root cause:

for_each_aliasing_place (compiler/rustc_mir_dataflow/src/value_analysis.rs, stable 1.98.0 ) has for_each_variant_sibling for enums but no equivalent for union Field siblings:

if let TrackElem::Variant(..) | TrackElem::Discriminant = elem {
    self.for_each_variant_sibling(index, sub, f);
}
// Missing: if TrackElem::Field(..) && parent_is_union { flood siblings }
Additional note:

A transferred shape also miscompiles: facts cross siblings via copy assignments (match u.a → u.b = 5 → u.c = u.a → match u.c), because process_copy in the backward pass renames the active condition from c onto a, and the write to b does not flood a.
Miri confirms the source program is well-defined; the defect is purely in the optimizer.

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start in compiler/rustc_mir_dataflow/src/value_analysis.rs, focusing on Map::for_each_aliasing_place and its existing enum sibling handling. Reproduce the minimal example at opt-level=0 and opt-level=2, then compare with JumpThreading disabled and under Miri. Done means union field writes no longer leave stale sibling values for JumpThreading or DataflowConstProp, including the transferred-shape case.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
compilers
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
52/100

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