[PATCH 1/1] efi_loader: validate PE-COFF relocation data

Ilias Apalodimas ilias.apalodimas at linaro.org
Mon May 18 09:40:20 CEST 2026


On Mon, 18 May 2026 at 09:30, Heinrich Schuchardt <xypron.glpk at gmx.de> wrote:
>
> When applying base relocations from a PE-COFF binary all data must
> be treated as untrusted. Add the following checks to
> efi_loader_relocate():
>
> * Reject relocation blocks that don't start on a 32-bit aligned
>   address.
> * Reject relocation blocks whose SizeOfBlock is smaller than the
>   block header, which would cause an unsigned underflow when computing
>   the entry count.
> * A block with SizeOfBlock == 0 is invalid and does not mark the end of
>   the relocation table.
> * Reject relocation blocks that extend beyond the end of the
>   relocation section.
> * Reject individual relocation entries whose target offset, together
>   with the access width, exceeds the mapped image size, preventing
>   out-of-bounds writes.
>
> Pass virt_size to efi_loader_relocate() from efi_load_pe() to enable
> the per-entry bounds check.
>
> Reported-by: Anas Cherni <anas at calif.io>
> Signed-off-by: Heinrich Schuchardt <xypron.glpk at gmx.de>
> ---

Reviewed-by: Ilias Apalodimas <ilias.apalodimas at linaro.org>

>  lib/efi_loader/efi_image_loader.c | 76 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----
>  1 file changed, 65 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/lib/efi_loader/efi_image_loader.c b/lib/efi_loader/efi_image_loader.c
> index d002eb0c744..0bc66a0f732 100644
> --- a/lib/efi_loader/efi_image_loader.c
> +++ b/lib/efi_loader/efi_image_loader.c
> @@ -111,8 +111,9 @@ void efi_print_image_infos(void *pc)
>   * Return:             status code
>   */
>  static efi_status_t efi_loader_relocate(const IMAGE_BASE_RELOCATION *rel,
> -                       unsigned long rel_size, void *efi_reloc,
> -                       unsigned long pref_address)
> +                                       unsigned long rel_size, void *efi_reloc,
> +                                       unsigned long pref_address,
> +                                       unsigned long virt_size)
>  {
>         unsigned long delta = (unsigned long)efi_reloc - pref_address;
>         const IMAGE_BASE_RELOCATION *end;
> @@ -122,34 +123,86 @@ static efi_status_t efi_loader_relocate(const IMAGE_BASE_RELOCATION *rel,
>                 return EFI_SUCCESS;
>
>         end = (const IMAGE_BASE_RELOCATION *)((const char *)rel + rel_size);
> -       while (rel + 1 < end && rel->SizeOfBlock) {
> +       while (rel + 1 < end) {
>                 const uint16_t *relocs = (const uint16_t *)(rel + 1);
> +
> +               /* Each block must start on a 32-bit boundary */
> +               if (!IS_ALIGNED((uintptr_t)rel, sizeof(uint32_t))) {
> +                       log_debug("Relocation block not 32-bit aligned\n");
> +                       return EFI_LOAD_ERROR;
> +               }
> +               /* Relocation block cannot be shorter than its header */
> +               if (rel->SizeOfBlock < sizeof(*rel)) {
> +                       log_debug("Relocation block too small: %u\n",
> +                               rel->SizeOfBlock);
> +                       return EFI_LOAD_ERROR;
> +               }
> +               /* All relocation entries must be inside the .reloc section */
> +               if ((const char *)rel + rel->SizeOfBlock > (const char *)end) {
> +                       log_debug("Relocation block exceeds relocation data\n");
> +                       return EFI_LOAD_ERROR;
> +               }
>                 i = (rel->SizeOfBlock - sizeof(*rel)) / sizeof(uint16_t);
>                 while (i--) {
> -                       uint32_t offset = (uint32_t)(*relocs & 0xfff) +
> -                                         rel->VirtualAddress;
> +                       uint32_t entry_offset = *relocs & 0xfff;
> +                       unsigned long offset;
>                         int type = *relocs >> EFI_PAGE_SHIFT;
> -                       uint64_t *x64 = efi_reloc + offset;
> -                       uint32_t *x32 = efi_reloc + offset;
> -                       uint16_t *x16 = efi_reloc + offset;
> +                       uint64_t *x64;
> +                       uint32_t *x32;
> +                       uint16_t *x16;
> +
> +                       /*
> +                        * This first check covers VirtualAddress + Offset
> +                        * resulting in an overflow.
> +                        */
> +                       if (rel->VirtualAddress > virt_size ||
> +                           entry_offset > virt_size - rel->VirtualAddress) {
> +                               log_debug("relocation address out of bounds\n");
> +                               return EFI_LOAD_ERROR;
> +                       }
> +
> +                       offset = rel->VirtualAddress + entry_offset;
> +                       x64 = efi_reloc + offset;
> +                       x32 = efi_reloc + offset;
> +                       x16 = efi_reloc + offset;
>
>                         switch (type) {
>                         case IMAGE_REL_BASED_ABSOLUTE:
>                                 break;
>                         case IMAGE_REL_BASED_HIGH:
> +                               if (sizeof(uint16_t) > virt_size - offset) {
> +                                       log_debug("relocation address out of bounds\n");
> +                                       return EFI_LOAD_ERROR;
> +                               }
>                                 *x16 += ((uint32_t)delta) >> 16;
>                                 break;
>                         case IMAGE_REL_BASED_LOW:
> +                               if (sizeof(uint16_t) > virt_size - offset) {
> +                                       log_debug("relocation address out of bounds\n");
> +                                       return EFI_LOAD_ERROR;
> +                               }
>                                 *x16 += (uint16_t)delta;
>                                 break;
>                         case IMAGE_REL_BASED_HIGHLOW:
> +                               if (sizeof(uint32_t) > virt_size - offset) {
> +                                       log_debug("relocation address out of bounds\n");
> +                                       return EFI_LOAD_ERROR;
> +                               }
>                                 *x32 += (uint32_t)delta;
>                                 break;
>                         case IMAGE_REL_BASED_DIR64:
> +                               if (sizeof(uint64_t) > virt_size - offset) {
> +                                       log_debug("relocation address out of bounds\n");
> +                                       return EFI_LOAD_ERROR;
> +                               }
>                                 *x64 += (uint64_t)delta;
>                                 break;
>  #ifdef __riscv
>                         case IMAGE_REL_BASED_RISCV_HI20:
> +                               if (sizeof(uint32_t) > virt_size - offset) {
> +                                       log_debug("relocation address out of bounds\n");
> +                                       return EFI_LOAD_ERROR;
> +                               }
>                                 *x32 = ((*x32 & 0xfffff000) + (uint32_t)delta) |
>                                         (*x32 & 0x00000fff);
>                                 break;
> @@ -163,7 +216,7 @@ static efi_status_t efi_loader_relocate(const IMAGE_BASE_RELOCATION *rel,
>                                 break;
>  #endif
>                         default:
> -                               log_err("Unknown Relocation off %x type %x\n",
> +                               log_err("Unknown Relocation off %lx type %x\n",
>                                         offset, type);
>                                 return EFI_LOAD_ERROR;
>                         }
> @@ -970,8 +1023,9 @@ efi_status_t efi_load_pe(struct efi_loaded_image_obj *handle,
>
>         /* Run through relocations */
>         if (efi_loader_relocate(rel, rel_size, efi_reloc,
> -                               (unsigned long)image_base) != EFI_SUCCESS) {
> -               efi_free_pages((uintptr_t) efi_reloc,
> +                               (unsigned long)image_base,
> +                               virt_size) != EFI_SUCCESS) {
> +               efi_free_pages((uintptr_t)efi_reloc,
>                                (virt_size + EFI_PAGE_MASK) >> EFI_PAGE_SHIFT);
>                 ret = EFI_LOAD_ERROR;
>                 goto err;
> --
> 2.53.0
>


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