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From: "Max R. Carrara" <m.carrara@proxmox.com>
To: pbs-devel@lists.proxmox.com
Subject: [PATCH proxmox v2 02/10] proxmox-alloc: document undefined behavior regarding custom allocs
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2026 16:02:26 +0200	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260821140238.615302-3-m.carrara@proxmox.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260821140238.615302-1-m.carrara@proxmox.com>

Add a new example at examples/ub.rs with tests that demonstrate
incorrect usage & undefined behavior of custom allocations.

Add a hint in the `aware_boxed` module's docs that such an example
exists in the crate.

Signed-off-by: Max R. Carrara <m.carrara@proxmox.com>
---
 proxmox-alloc/Cargo.toml         |  4 ++
 proxmox-alloc/examples/ub.rs     | 99 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 proxmox-alloc/src/aware_boxed.rs |  3 +
 3 files changed, 106 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 proxmox-alloc/examples/ub.rs

diff --git a/proxmox-alloc/Cargo.toml b/proxmox-alloc/Cargo.toml
index 4eeeb787..b16496f6 100644
--- a/proxmox-alloc/Cargo.toml
+++ b/proxmox-alloc/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@ repository.workspace = true
 license.workspace = true
 exclude.workspace = true
 
+[[example]]
+crate-type = ["staticlib"]
+name = "ub"
+
 [dependencies]
 
 [dev-dependencies]
diff --git a/proxmox-alloc/examples/ub.rs b/proxmox-alloc/examples/ub.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..aa97b02b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/proxmox-alloc/examples/ub.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+//! This example contains various tests that demonstrate [undefined behavior].
+//! Needless to say, you should not use what's shown here in your own code.
+//!
+//! You can run this example's tests using the following command:
+//!
+//! ```text
+//! cargo test --package proxmox-alloc --example ub
+//! ```
+//!
+//! Alternatively, if you want to see what kinds of [undefined behavior] get
+//! caught by [Miri], use the following instead:
+//!
+//! ```text
+//! cargo +nightly miri nextest run --package proxmox-alloc --example ub
+//! ```
+//!
+//! Note that this requires [`cargo nextest`][nextest] to be installed on your
+//! nightly toolchain. This will guarantee that all tests are run, even if they
+//! fail (which they do when you use Miri).
+//!
+//! [Miri]: https://github.com/rust-lang/miri
+//! [nextest]: https://nexte.st/
+//! [undefined behavior]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/reference/behavior-considered-undefined.html
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod test {
+    use proxmox_alloc::LayoutAwareBox;
+
+    /// Rust does not and cannot track the alignment that was used for any given
+    /// allocation and will instead always resort to using the alignment of
+    /// whatever T it is currently dropping during deallocation.
+    ///
+    /// This gets caught by Miri.
+    #[test]
+    fn demo_ub_alignment_mismatch() {
+        let buf_len = 1024;
+        let align = 128;
+
+        let layout = std::alloc::Layout::from_size_align(buf_len, align).unwrap();
+
+        let thin_ptr = unsafe { std::alloc::alloc_zeroed(layout) };
+        let fat_ptr = std::ptr::slice_from_raw_parts_mut(thin_ptr, buf_len);
+        assert!(!fat_ptr.is_null());
+
+        let boxed = unsafe { Box::from_raw(fat_ptr) };
+
+        drop(boxed);
+    }
+
+    /// Rust requires that the size of a pointee is equal to the size of its
+    /// allocation.
+    ///
+    /// This gets caught by Miri.
+    #[test]
+    fn demo_ub_size_mismatch() {
+        type PayloadElement = [u8; 7];
+
+        #[repr(C, packed)]
+        struct PacketHeader {
+            src: [u8; 4],
+            dst: [u8; 4],
+        }
+
+        #[repr(C, packed)]
+        struct Packet {
+            header: PacketHeader,
+            payload: [PayloadElement],
+        }
+
+        let alloc_size = 1024;
+        let align = 128;
+
+        let header_size = size_of::<PacketHeader>();
+        let elem_size = size_of::<PayloadElement>();
+
+        let payload_len = (alloc_size - header_size) / elem_size;
+
+        let layout = std::alloc::Layout::from_size_align(alloc_size, align).expect("infallible");
+
+        // SAFETY: layout's size is not 0.
+        let thin_ptr = unsafe { std::alloc::alloc_zeroed(layout) };
+        assert!(!thin_ptr.is_null(), "thin_ptr is null -- allocation failed");
+
+        let fat_ptr = std::ptr::slice_from_raw_parts_mut(thin_ptr, payload_len) as *mut Packet;
+
+        // In this case you can actually check whether the pointee's size
+        // differs from the allocation's size:
+        let pointee_size = unsafe { size_of_val(&mut *fat_ptr) };
+        assert_ne!(pointee_size, alloc_size);
+
+        // SAFETY: fat ptr is not aliased or null, is valid for reads and
+        // writes, and its pointee was zero-initialized. Its length is within
+        // the bounds of its allocation.
+        // WARNING: This isn't actually safe, as the example implies.
+        let aware_boxed = unsafe { LayoutAwareBox::from_raw_parts(fat_ptr, layout) };
+
+        drop(aware_boxed);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/proxmox-alloc/src/aware_boxed.rs b/proxmox-alloc/src/aware_boxed.rs
index 4ec3811e..ce6005ac 100644
--- a/proxmox-alloc/src/aware_boxed.rs
+++ b/proxmox-alloc/src/aware_boxed.rs
@@ -49,6 +49,9 @@
 //! Therefore, one must always track the [`Layout`] that was used for "exotic"
 //! kinds of allocations, which [`LayoutAwareBox`] will do for you.
 //!
+//! *Hint: This crate's source code contains extra examples that you can compile
+//! and run with [Miri] if you want to see the UB in action.*
+//!
 //! # Examples
 //!
 //! Move a value from the stack on the heap, using a specific alignment for the
-- 
2.47.3





  parent reply	other threads:[~2026-08-21 14:02 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 11+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2026-08-21 14:02 [PATCH proxmox{,-backup} v2 00/10] Fix Undefined Behavior in Tape Block Header Deallocation Max R. Carrara
2026-08-21 14:02 ` [PATCH proxmox v2 01/10] proxmox-alloc: introduce proxmox-alloc with `LayoutAwareBox<T>` type Max R. Carrara
2026-08-21 14:02 ` Max R. Carrara [this message]
2026-08-21 14:02 ` [PATCH proxmox-backup v2 03/10] tape: move tape block structs into separate file module Max R. Carrara
2026-08-21 14:02 ` [PATCH proxmox-backup v2 04/10] tape: rename `BlockHeader` and `BlockHeaderFlags` Max R. Carrara
2026-08-21 14:02 ` [PATCH proxmox-backup v2 05/10] tape: blocked_{reader,writer}: rename `buffer` to `tape_block` Max R. Carrara
2026-08-21 14:02 ` [PATCH proxmox-backup v2 06/10] tape: tape block: represent tape block header with its own struct Max R. Carrara
2026-08-21 14:02 ` [PATCH proxmox-backup v2 07/10] tape: tape block: make `payload` field private Max R. Carrara
2026-08-21 14:02 ` [PATCH proxmox-backup v2 08/10] tape: blocked_{reader,writer}: remove haphazard `unsafe` blocks Max R. Carrara
2026-08-21 14:02 ` [PATCH proxmox-backup v2 09/10] tape: tape block: fix undefined behavior on tape block deallocation Max R. Carrara
2026-08-21 14:02 ` [PATCH proxmox-backup v2 10/10] tape: sgutils2: fix undefined behavior in dealloc of buffer Max R. Carrara

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