Files
u-boot/doc/build/fuzz.rst
Simon Glass 8ad2b0d630 doc: Add fuzzing build documentation
Add some docs for using fuzzing with U-Boot, including building, running
tests, and adding new tests.

Co-developed-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Signed-off-by: Simon Glass <sjg@chromium.org>
2025-09-04 14:23:55 -06:00

220 lines
6.3 KiB
ReStructuredText

.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+
Building U-Boot with Fuzzing Support
=====================================
U-Boot supports fuzzing through libFuzzer when built for the sandbox
architecture. Fuzzing helps identify security vulnerabilities and crashes by
testing with randomly generated inputs.
Prerequisites
-------------
The following tools are required:
* Clang compiler with fuzzing support
* libstdc++ development libraries
On Ubuntu/Debian systems, install the required packages::
sudo apt install clang libstdc++-dev
Building with Fuzzing
---------------------
The recommended approach is to use buildman, which handles the configuration
automatically:
1. Build with buildman (recommended)::
buildman --bo sandbox -a FUZZ=y -O clang -L -o /tmp/fuzz -w
The buildman options:
* ``--booard sandbox`` - Build for sandbox board only
* ``-a FUZZ=y`` - Enable fuzzing support via CONFIG_FUZZ=y
* ``-O clang`` - Use Clang compiler (required for fuzzing)
* ``-L`` - Disable LTO to avoid sanitizer coverage linker issues
* ``-o /tmp/fuzz`` - Output directory
* ``-w`` - Use the output directory as the work directory
Alternative: Manual build
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To build manually with make:
1. Configure the build with fuzzing enabled::
make HOSTCC=clang CC=clang O=/tmp/fuzz LTO_ENABLE= sandbox_defconfig
scripts/config --file /tmp/fuzz/.config --enable FUZZ
2. Build the fuzzing-enabled binary::
make HOSTCC=clang CC=clang O=/tmp/fuzz LTO_ENABLE= -j$(nproc)
Build Output
------------
The fuzzing build produces:
* ``u-boot`` - Main fuzzing binary with AddressSanitizer and fuzzer
instrumentation
* Significantly larger binary size due to instrumentation (typically 40-50MB)
* Debug symbols included for better crash analysis
Fuzzing Architecture
--------------------
The U-Boot fuzzing implementation consists of:
* **Fuzzing Engine**: Sandbox-specific driver that interfaces with libFuzzer
* **Threading Model**: Separate threads for fuzzing harness and U-Boot
execution
* **Input Handling**: ``LLVMFuzzerTestOneInput()`` entry point processes
fuzz inputs
* **Command Fuzzing**: Tests U-Boot commands with generated inputs via
``fuzz`` command
Key source files:
* ``arch/sandbox/cpu/fuzz.c`` - Main fuzzing implementation
* ``drivers/fuzz/`` - Fuzzing engine drivers
* ``test/fuzz/`` - Fuzzing test cases
* ``include/fuzzing_engine.h`` - Fuzzing engine interface
Running Fuzz Tests
------------------
To run fuzzing tests, set the test name via environment variable and run the
fuzzing binary from the build directory:
1. Change to the build directory::
cd /tmp/fuzz
2. Set the fuzz test to run::
export UBOOT_SB_FUZZ_TEST=fuzz_vring
3. Run the fuzzer::
./u-boot
The fuzzer will start libFuzzer with coverage-guided input generation. You
should see output similar to::
INFO: Running with entropic power schedule (0xFF, 100).
INFO: Seed: 1626867009
INFO: Loaded 1 modules (104150 inline 8-bit counters): ...
#2 INITED cov: 28 ft: 29 corp: 1/1b exec/s: 0 rss: 318Mb
#4 NEW cov: 29 ft: 30 corp: 2/3b lim: 4 exec/s: 0 rss: 319Mb
Available fuzz tests include:
* ``fuzz_vring`` - Tests VirtIO ring buffer handling
To stop fuzzing, use Ctrl+C. The fuzzer will automatically save any crash-
inducing inputs for later analysis.
Understanding Fuzzer Output
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The fuzzer output shows:
* ``cov: N`` - Number of code coverage points reached
* ``ft: N`` - Number of features discovered
* ``corp: N/Mb`` - Corpus size (number of test cases / total bytes)
* ``exec/s: N`` - Executions per second (performance metric)
* ``rss: NMb`` - Memory usage
Error messages from the target code (like VirtIO "out of range" errors) are
expected and indicate the fuzzer is finding edge cases.
Adding New Fuzz Tests
---------------------
To create a new fuzz test, follow these steps:
1. **Create the test file** in ``test/fuzz/`` directory::
/* SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0+ */
#include <test/fuzz.h>
static int fuzz_my_component(const uint8_t *data, size_t size)
{
/* Your fuzzing logic here */
if (size < 4)
return 0; /* Not enough data */
/* Test your component with fuzzed data */
my_component_function(data, size);
return 0;
}
FUZZ_TEST(fuzz_my_component, 0);
2. **Add to Makefile** in ``test/fuzz/Makefile``::
obj-$(CONFIG_MY_COMPONENT) += my_component.o
Or for tests that should always be included::
obj-y += my_component.o
3. **Test the new fuzzer**::
export UBOOT_SB_FUZZ_TEST=fuzz_my_component
./u-boot
**Best practices for fuzz tests:**
* **Input validation**: Check minimum data size requirements
* **Error handling**: Handle invalid inputs gracefully, don't panic
* **Resource cleanup**: Free any allocated resources
* **Focused testing**: Target specific functions or code paths
* **Deterministic**: Same input should produce same behavior
**Example patterns:**
* Parse structured data (protocols, file formats)
* Test buffer handling with varying sizes
* Exercise error paths with malformed inputs
* Stress test with boundary conditions
Troubleshooting
---------------
**Linker errors about missing libstdc++**:
Install libstdc++ development libraries as shown in Prerequisites.
**Sanitizer coverage linker errors**:
Ensure LTO is disabled with ``LTO_ENABLE=`` in the make command.
**Build fails with GCC**:
Fuzzing requires Clang. Ensure both CC and HOSTCC are set to clang.
**Fuzzer exits with "fdtdec_setup() failed"**:
Run the fuzzer from the build directory where u-boot.dtb is located.
The sandbox requires access to its device tree file.
Security Considerations
-----------------------
Fuzzing builds include:
* **AddressSanitizer**: Detects buffer overflows, use-after-free, and other
memory errors
* **Fuzzer Coverage**: Instruments code for coverage-guided fuzzing
* **Debug Information**: Retained for crash analysis and debugging
These features significantly increase binary size and runtime overhead, making
fuzzing builds unsuitable for production use.
Further Reading
---------------
* :doc:`/arch/sandbox/sandbox` - General sandbox architecture documentation
* libFuzzer documentation: https://llvm.org/docs/LibFuzzer.html
* AddressSanitizer documentation:
https://clang.llvm.org/docs/AddressSanitizer.html