BPF(4) OpenBSD Programmer's Manual BPF(4)NAMEbpf - Berkeley Packet Filter
SYNOPSIS
pseudo-device bpfilter
DESCRIPTION
The Berkeley Packet Filter provides a raw interface to data link layers
in a protocol-independent fashion. All packets on the network, even
those destined for other hosts, are accessible through this mechanism.
The packet filter appears as a character special device, /dev/bpf0,
/dev/bpf1, etc. After opening the device, the file descriptor must be
bound to a specific network interface with the BIOCSETIF ioctl(2). A
given interface can be shared between multiple listeners, and the filter
underlying each descriptor will see an identical packet stream.
A separate device file is required for each minor device. If a file is
in use, the open will fail and errno will be set to EBUSY. The number of
open files can be increased by creating additional device nodes with the
MAKEDEV(8) script.
Associated with each open instance of a bpf file is a user-settable
packet filter. Whenever a packet is received by an interface, all file
descriptors listening on that interface apply their filter. Each
descriptor that accepts the packet receives its own copy.
Reads from these files return the next group of packets that have matched
the filter. To improve performance, the buffer passed to read must be
the same size as the buffers used internally by bpf. This size is
returned by the BIOCGBLEN ioctl(2) and can be set with BIOCSBLEN. Note
that an individual packet larger than this size is necessarily truncated.
A packet can be sent out on the network by writing to a bpf file
descriptor. Each descriptor can also have a user-settable filter for
controlling the writes. Only packets matching the filter are sent out of
the interface. The writes are unbuffered, meaning only one packet can be
processed per write.
Once a descriptor is configured, further changes to the configuration can
be prevented using the BIOCLOCK ioctl(2).
IOCTL INTERFACE
The ioctl(2) command codes below are defined in <net/bpf.h>. All
commands require these includes:
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/time.h>
#include <sys/ioctl.h>
#include <net/bpf.h>
Additionally, BIOCGETIF and BIOCSETIF require <sys/socket.h> and
<net/if.h>.
The (third) argument to the ioctl(2) call should be a pointer to the type
indicated.
BIOCGBLEN u_int *
Returns the required buffer length for reads on bpf files.
BIOCSBLEN u_int *
Sets the buffer length for reads on bpf files. The buffer must
be set before the file is attached to an interface with
BIOCSETIF. If the requested buffer size cannot be accommodated,
the closest allowable size will be set and returned in the
argument. A read call will result in EINVAL if it is passed a
buffer that is not this size.
BIOCGDLT u_int *
Returns the type of the data link layer underlying the attached
interface. EINVAL is returned if no interface has been
specified. The device types, prefixed with ``DLT_'', are defined
in <net/bpf.h>.
BIOCGDLTLIST struct bpf_dltlist *
Returns an array of the available types of the data link layer
underlying the attached interface:
struct bpf_dltlist {
u_int bfl_len;
u_int *bfl_list;
};
The available types are returned in the array pointed to by the
bfl_list field while their length in u_int is supplied to the
bfl_len field. ENOMEM is returned if there is not enough buffer
space and EFAULT is returned if a bad address is encountered.
The bfl_len field is modified on return to indicate the actual
length in u_int of the array returned. If bfl_list is NULL, the
bfl_len field is set to indicate the required length of the array
in u_int.
BIOCSDLT u_int *
Changes the type of the data link layer underlying the attached
interface. EINVAL is returned if no interface has been specified
or the specified type is not available for the interface.
BIOCPROMISC
Forces the interface into promiscuous mode. All packets, not
just those destined for the local host, are processed. Since
more than one file can be listening on a given interface, a
listener that opened its interface non-promiscuously may receive
packets promiscuously. This problem can be remedied with an
appropriate filter.
The interface remains in promiscuous mode until all files
listening promiscuously are closed.
BIOCFLUSH
Flushes the buffer of incoming packets and resets the statistics
that are returned by BIOCGSTATS.
BIOCLOCK
This ioctl is designed to prevent the security issues associated
with an open bpf descriptor in unprivileged programs. Even with
dropped privileges, an open bpf descriptor can be abused by a
rogue program to listen on any interface on the system, send
packets on these interfaces if the descriptor was opened read-
write and send signals to arbitrary processes using the signaling
mechanism of bpf. By allowing only ``known safe'' ioctls, the
BIOCLOCK ioctl prevents this abuse. The allowable ioctls are
BIOCFLUSH, BIOCGBLEN, BIOCGDIRFILT, BIOCGDLT, BIOCGDLTLIST,
BIOCGETIF, BIOCGHDRCMPLT, BIOCGRSIG, BIOCGRTIMEOUT, BIOCGSTATS,
BIOCIMMEDIATE, BIOCLOCK, BIOCSRTIMEOUT, BIOCVERSION, TIOCGPGRP,
and FIONREAD. Use of any other ioctl is denied with error EPERM.
Once a descriptor is locked, it is not possible to unlock it. A
process with root privileges is not affected by the lock.
A privileged program can open a bpf device, drop privileges, set
the interface, filters and modes on the descriptor, and lock it.
Once the descriptor is locked, the system is safe from further
abuse through the descriptor. Locking a descriptor does not
prevent writes. If the application does not need to send packets
through bpf, it can open the device read-only to prevent writing.
If sending packets is necessary, a write-filter can be set before
locking the descriptor to prevent arbitrary packets from being
sent out.
BIOCGETIF struct ifreq *
Returns the name of the hardware interface that the file is
listening on. The name is returned in the ifr_name field of the
struct ifreq. All other fields are undefined.
BIOCSETIF struct ifreq *
Sets the hardware interface associated with the file. This
command must be performed before any packets can be read. The
device is indicated by name using the ifr_name field of the
struct ifreq. Additionally, performs the actions of BIOCFLUSH.
BIOCSRTIMEOUT struct timeval *
BIOCGRTIMEOUT struct timeval *
Sets or gets the read timeout parameter. The timeval specifies
the length of time to wait before timing out on a read request.
This parameter is initialized to zero by open(2), indicating no
timeout.
BIOCGSTATS struct bpf_stat *
Returns the following structure of packet statistics:
struct bpf_stat {
u_int bs_recv;
u_int bs_drop;
};
The fields are:
bs_recv Number of packets received by the descriptor since
opened or reset (including any buffered since the last
read call).
bs_drop Number of packets which were accepted by the filter but
dropped by the kernel because of buffer overflows (i.e.,
the application's reads aren't keeping up with the
packet traffic).
BIOCIMMEDIATE u_int *
Enables or disables ``immediate mode'', based on the truth value
of the argument. When immediate mode is enabled, reads return
immediately upon packet reception. Otherwise, a read will block
until either the kernel buffer becomes full or a timeout occurs.
This is useful for programs like rarpd(8), which must respond to
messages in real time. The default for a new file is off.
BIOCSETF struct bpf_program *
Sets the filter program used by the kernel to discard
uninteresting packets. An array of instructions and its length
are passed in using the following structure:
struct bpf_program {
u_int bf_len;
struct bpf_insn *bf_insns;
};
The filter program is pointed to by the bf_insns field, while its
length in units of struct bpf_insn is given by the bf_len field.
Also, the actions of BIOCFLUSH are performed.
See section FILTER MACHINE for an explanation of the filter
language.
BIOCSETWF struct bpf_program *
Sets the filter program used by the kernel to filter the packets
written to the descriptor before the packets are sent out on the
network. See BIOCSETF for a description of the filter program.
This ioctl also acts as BIOCFLUSH.
Note that the filter operates on the packet data written to the
descriptor. If the ``header complete'' flag is not set, the
kernel sets the link-layer source address of the packet after
filtering.
BIOCVERSION struct bpf_version *
Returns the major and minor version numbers of the filter
language currently recognized by the kernel. Before installing a
filter, applications must check that the current version is
compatible with the running kernel. Version numbers are
compatible if the major numbers match and the application minor
is less than or equal to the kernel minor. The kernel version
number is returned in the following structure:
struct bpf_version {
u_short bv_major;
u_short bv_minor;
};
The current version numbers are given by BPF_MAJOR_VERSION and
BPF_MINOR_VERSION from <net/bpf.h>. An incompatible filter may
result in undefined behavior (most likely, an error returned by
ioctl(2) or haphazard packet matching).
BIOCSRSIG u_int *
BIOCGRSIG u_int *
Sets or gets the receive signal. This signal will be sent to the
process or process group specified by FIOSETOWN. It defaults to
SIGIO.
BIOCSHDRCMPLT u_int *
BIOCGHDRCMPLT u_int *
Sets or gets the status of the ``header complete'' flag. Set to
zero if the link level source address should be filled in
automatically by the interface output routine. Set to one if the
link level source address will be written, as provided, to the
wire. This flag is initialized to zero by default.
BIOCSFILDROP u_int *
BIOCGFILDROP u_int *
Sets or gets the status of the ``filter drop'' flag. If non-
zero, packets matching any filters will be reported to the
associated interface so that they can be dropped.
BIOCSDIRFILT u_int *
BIOCGDIRFILT u_int *
Sets or gets the status of the ``direction filter'' flag. If
non-zero, packets matching the specified direction (either
BPF_DIRECTION_IN or BPF_DIRECTION_OUT) will be ignored.
Standard ioctls
bpf now supports several standard ioctls which allow the user to do
asynchronous and/or non-blocking I/O to an open bpf file descriptor.
FIONREAD int *
Returns the number of bytes that are immediately available for
reading.
FIONBIO int *
Sets or clears non-blocking I/O. If the argument is non-zero,
enable non-blocking I/O. If the argument is zero, disable non-
blocking I/O. If non-blocking I/O is enabled, the return value
of a read while no data is available will be 0. The non-blocking
read behavior is different from performing non-blocking reads on
other file descriptors, which will return -1 and set errno to
EAGAIN if no data is available. Note: setting this overrides the
timeout set by BIOCSRTIMEOUT.
FIOASYNC int *
Enables or disables asynchronous I/O. When enabled (argument is
non-zero), the process or process group specified by FIOSETOWN
will start receiving SIGIO signals when packets arrive. Note
that you must perform an FIOSETOWN command in order for this to
take effect, as the system will not do it by default. The signal
may be changed via BIOCSRSIG.
FIOSETOWN int *
FIOGETOWN int *
Sets or gets the process or process group (if negative) that
should receive SIGIO when packets are available. The signal may
be changed using BIOCSRSIG (see above).
BPF header
The following structure is prepended to each packet returned by read(2):
struct bpf_hdr {
struct bpf_timeval bh_tstamp;
u_int32_t bh_caplen;
u_int32_t bh_datalen;
u_int16_t bh_hdrlen;
};
The fields, stored in host order, are as follows:
bh_tstamp
Time at which the packet was processed by the packet filter.
bh_caplen
Length of the captured portion of the packet. This is the
minimum of the truncation amount specified by the filter and the
length of the packet.
bh_datalen
Length of the packet off the wire. This value is independent of
the truncation amount specified by the filter.
bh_hdrlen
Length of the BPF header, which may not be equal to sizeof(struct
bpf_hdr).
The bh_hdrlen field exists to account for padding between the header and
the link level protocol. The purpose here is to guarantee proper
alignment of the packet data structures, which is required on alignment-
sensitive architectures and improves performance on many other
architectures. The packet filter ensures that the bpf_hdr and the
network layer header will be word aligned. Suitable precautions must be
taken when accessing the link layer protocol fields on alignment
restricted machines. (This isn't a problem on an Ethernet, since the
type field is a short falling on an even offset, and the addresses are
probably accessed in a bytewise fashion).
Additionally, individual packets are padded so that each starts on a word
boundary. This requires that an application has some knowledge of how to
get from packet to packet. The macro BPF_WORDALIGN is defined in
<net/bpf.h> to facilitate this process. It rounds up its argument to the
nearest word aligned value (where a word is BPF_ALIGNMENT bytes wide).
For example, if p points to the start of a packet, this expression will
advance it to the next packet:
p = (char *)p + BPF_WORDALIGN(p->bh_hdrlen + p->bh_caplen);
For the alignment mechanisms to work properly, the buffer passed to
read(2) must itself be word aligned. malloc(3) will always return an
aligned buffer.
Filter machine
A filter program is an array of instructions with all branches forwardly
directed, terminated by a ``return'' instruction. Each instruction
performs some action on the pseudo-machine state, which consists of an
accumulator, index register, scratch memory store, and implicit program
counter.
The following structure defines the instruction format:
struct bpf_insn {
u_int16_t code;
u_char jt;
u_char jf;
u_int32_t k;
};
The k field is used in different ways by different instructions, and the
jt and jf fields are used as offsets by the branch instructions. The
opcodes are encoded in a semi-hierarchical fashion. There are eight
classes of instructions: BPF_LD, BPF_LDX, BPF_ST, BPF_STX, BPF_ALU,
BPF_JMP, BPF_RET, and BPF_MISC. Various other mode and operator bits are
logically OR'd into the class to give the actual instructions. The
classes and modes are defined in <net/bpf.h>. Below are the semantics
for each defined bpf instruction. We use the convention that A is the
accumulator, X is the index register, P[] packet data, and M[] scratch
memory store. P[i:n] gives the data at byte offset ``i'' in the packet,
interpreted as a word (n=4), unsigned halfword (n=2), or unsigned byte
(n=1). M[i] gives the i'th word in the scratch memory store, which is
only addressed in word units. The memory store is indexed from 0 to
BPF_MEMWORDS-1. k, jt, and jf are the corresponding fields in the
instruction definition. ``len'' refers to the length of the packet.
BPF_LD These instructions copy a value into the accumulator. The type
of the source operand is specified by an ``addressing mode'' and
can be a constant (BPF_IMM), packet data at a fixed offset
(BPF_ABS), packet data at a variable offset (BPF_IND), the packet
length (BPF_LEN), or a word in the scratch memory store
(BPF_MEM). For BPF_IND and BPF_ABS, the data size must be
specified as a word (BPF_W), halfword (BPF_H), or byte (BPF_B).
The semantics of all recognized BPF_LD instructions follow.
BPF_LD+BPF_W+BPF_ABS A <- P[k:4]
BPF_LD+BPF_H+BPF_ABS A <- P[k:2]
BPF_LD+BPF_B+BPF_ABS A <- P[k:1]
BPF_LD+BPF_W+BPF_IND A <- P[X+k:4]
BPF_LD+BPF_H+BPF_IND A <- P[X+k:2]
BPF_LD+BPF_B+BPF_IND A <- P[X+k:1]
BPF_LD+BPF_W+BPF_LEN A <- len
BPF_LD+BPF_IMM A <- k
BPF_LD+BPF_MEM A <- M[k]
BPF_LDX
These instructions load a value into the index register. Note
that the addressing modes are more restricted than those of the
accumulator loads, but they include BPF_MSH, a hack for
efficiently loading the IP header length.
BPF_LDX+BPF_W+BPF_IMM X <- k
BPF_LDX+BPF_W+BPF_MEM X <- M[k]
BPF_LDX+BPF_W+BPF_LEN X <- len
BPF_LDX+BPF_B+BPF_MSH X <- 4*(P[k:1]&0xf)
BPF_ST This instruction stores the accumulator into the scratch memory.
We do not need an addressing mode since there is only one
possibility for the destination.
BPF_ST M[k] <- A
BPF_STX
This instruction stores the index register in the scratch memory
store.
BPF_STX M[k] <- X
BPF_ALU
The ALU instructions perform operations between the accumulator
and index register or constant, and store the result back in the
accumulator. For binary operations, a source mode is required
(BPF_K or BPF_X).
BPF_ALU+BPF_ADD+BPF_K A <- A + k
BPF_ALU+BPF_SUB+BPF_K A <- A - k
BPF_ALU+BPF_MUL+BPF_K A <- A * k
BPF_ALU+BPF_DIV+BPF_K A <- A / k
BPF_ALU+BPF_AND+BPF_K A <- A & k
BPF_ALU+BPF_OR+BPF_K A <- A | k
BPF_ALU+BPF_LSH+BPF_K A <- A << k
BPF_ALU+BPF_RSH+BPF_K A <- A >> k
BPF_ALU+BPF_ADD+BPF_X A <- A + X
BPF_ALU+BPF_SUB+BPF_X A <- A - X
BPF_ALU+BPF_MUL+BPF_X A <- A * X
BPF_ALU+BPF_DIV+BPF_X A <- A / X
BPF_ALU+BPF_AND+BPF_X A <- A & X
BPF_ALU+BPF_OR+BPF_X A <- A | X
BPF_ALU+BPF_LSH+BPF_X A <- A << X
BPF_ALU+BPF_RSH+BPF_X A <- A >> X
BPF_ALU+BPF_NEG A <- -A
BPF_JMP
The jump instructions alter flow of control. Conditional jumps
compare the accumulator against a constant (BPF_K) or the index
register (BPF_X). If the result is true (or non-zero), the true
branch is taken, otherwise the false branch is taken. Jump
offsets are encoded in 8 bits so the longest jump is 256
instructions. However, the jump always (BPF_JA) opcode uses the
32-bit k field as the offset, allowing arbitrarily distant
destinations. All conditionals use unsigned comparison
conventions.
BPF_JMP+BPF_JA pc += k
BPF_JMP+BPF_JGT+BPF_K pc += (A > k) ? jt : jf
BPF_JMP+BPF_JGE+BPF_K pc += (A >= k) ? jt : jf
BPF_JMP+BPF_JEQ+BPF_K pc += (A == k) ? jt : jf
BPF_JMP+BPF_JSET+BPF_K pc += (A & k) ? jt : jf
BPF_JMP+BPF_JGT+BPF_X pc += (A > X) ? jt : jf
BPF_JMP+BPF_JGE+BPF_X pc += (A >= X) ? jt : jf
BPF_JMP+BPF_JEQ+BPF_X pc += (A == X) ? jt : jf
BPF_JMP+BPF_JSET+BPF_X pc += (A & X) ? jt : jf
BPF_RET
The return instructions terminate the filter program and specify
the amount of packet to accept (i.e., they return the truncation
amount) or, for the write filter, the maximum acceptable size for
the packet (i.e., the packet is dropped if it is larger than the
returned amount). A return value of zero indicates that the
packet should be ignored/dropped. The return value is either a
constant (BPF_K) or the accumulator (BPF_A).
BPF_RET + BPF_A Accept A bytes.
BPF_RET + BPF_K Accept k bytes.
BPF_MISC
The miscellaneous category was created for anything that doesn't
fit into the above classes, and for any new instructions that
might need to be added. Currently, these are the register
transfer instructions that copy the index register to the
accumulator or vice versa.
BPF_MISC+BPF_TAX X <- A
BPF_MISC+BPF_TXA A <- X
The bpf interface provides the following macros to facilitate array
initializers:
BPF_STMT (opcode, operand)
BPF_JUMP (opcode, operand, true_offset, false_offset)
FILES
/dev/bpf[0-9] bpf devices
EXAMPLES
The following filter is taken from the Reverse ARP daemon. It accepts
only Reverse ARP requests.
struct bpf_insn insns[] = {
BPF_STMT(BPF_LD+BPF_H+BPF_ABS, 12),
BPF_JUMP(BPF_JMP+BPF_JEQ+BPF_K, ETHERTYPE_REVARP, 0, 3),
BPF_STMT(BPF_LD+BPF_H+BPF_ABS, 20),
BPF_JUMP(BPF_JMP+BPF_JEQ+BPF_K, REVARP_REQUEST, 0, 1),
BPF_STMT(BPF_RET+BPF_K, sizeof(struct ether_arp) +
sizeof(struct ether_header)),
BPF_STMT(BPF_RET+BPF_K, 0),
};
This filter accepts only IP packets between host 128.3.112.15 and
128.3.112.35.
struct bpf_insn insns[] = {
BPF_STMT(BPF_LD+BPF_H+BPF_ABS, 12),
BPF_JUMP(BPF_JMP+BPF_JEQ+BPF_K, ETHERTYPE_IP, 0, 8),
BPF_STMT(BPF_LD+BPF_W+BPF_ABS, 26),
BPF_JUMP(BPF_JMP+BPF_JEQ+BPF_K, 0x8003700f, 0, 2),
BPF_STMT(BPF_LD+BPF_W+BPF_ABS, 30),
BPF_JUMP(BPF_JMP+BPF_JEQ+BPF_K, 0x80037023, 3, 4),
BPF_JUMP(BPF_JMP+BPF_JEQ+BPF_K, 0x80037023, 0, 3),
BPF_STMT(BPF_LD+BPF_W+BPF_ABS, 30),
BPF_JUMP(BPF_JMP+BPF_JEQ+BPF_K, 0x8003700f, 0, 1),
BPF_STMT(BPF_RET+BPF_K, (u_int)-1),
BPF_STMT(BPF_RET+BPF_K, 0),
};
Finally, this filter returns only TCP finger packets. We must parse the
IP header to reach the TCP header. The BPF_JSET instruction checks that
the IP fragment offset is 0 so we are sure that we have a TCP header.
struct bpf_insn insns[] = {
BPF_STMT(BPF_LD+BPF_H+BPF_ABS, 12),
BPF_JUMP(BPF_JMP+BPF_JEQ+BPF_K, ETHERTYPE_IP, 0, 10),
BPF_STMT(BPF_LD+BPF_B+BPF_ABS, 23),
BPF_JUMP(BPF_JMP+BPF_JEQ+BPF_K, IPPROTO_TCP, 0, 8),
BPF_STMT(BPF_LD+BPF_H+BPF_ABS, 20),
BPF_JUMP(BPF_JMP+BPF_JSET+BPF_K, 0x1fff, 6, 0),
BPF_STMT(BPF_LDX+BPF_B+BPF_MSH, 14),
BPF_STMT(BPF_LD+BPF_H+BPF_IND, 14),
BPF_JUMP(BPF_JMP+BPF_JEQ+BPF_K, 79, 2, 0),
BPF_STMT(BPF_LD+BPF_H+BPF_IND, 16),
BPF_JUMP(BPF_JMP+BPF_JEQ+BPF_K, 79, 0, 1),
BPF_STMT(BPF_RET+BPF_K, (u_int)-1),
BPF_STMT(BPF_RET+BPF_K, 0),
};
SEE ALSOioctl(2), read(2), select(2), signal(3), MAKEDEV(8), tcpdump(8)
McCanne, S. and Jacobson, V., An efficient, extensible, and portable
network monitor.
HISTORY
The Enet packet filter was created in 1980 by Mike Accetta and Rick
Rashid at Carnegie-Mellon University. Jeffrey Mogul, at Stanford, ported
the code to BSD and continued its development from 1983 on. Since then,
it has evolved into the Ultrix Packet Filter at DEC, a STREAMS NIT module
under SunOS 4.1, and BPF.
AUTHORS
Steve McCanne of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory implemented BPF in Summer
1990. Much of the design is due to Van Jacobson.
BUGS
The read buffer must be of a fixed size (returned by the BIOCGBLEN
ioctl).
A file that does not request promiscuous mode may receive promiscuously
received packets as a side effect of another file requesting this mode on
the same hardware interface. This could be fixed in the kernel with
additional processing overhead. However, we favor the model where all
files must assume that the interface is promiscuous, and if so desired,
must utilize a filter to reject foreign packets.
OpenBSD 4.9 April 9, 2010 OpenBSD 4.9
