This is just example how to write a simple kernel system call.
Consider the following C function system_strcpy() that simply copies one string into another: similar to what strcpy() does.
#include<stdio.h>
long system_strcpy(char* dest, const char* src)
{
int i=0;
while(src[i]!=0)
dest[i]=src[i++];
dest[i]=0;
return i;
}
Before writing, get a kernel source tar and untar it to get a linux-x.x.x directory.
File 1: linux-x.x.x/test/system_strcpy.c
Create a directory within the linux-x.x.x, named test and save this code as file system_strcpy.c in it.
#include<linux/linkage.h>
#include<linux/kernel.h>
asmlinkage long system_strcpy(char*dest, const char* src)
{
int i=0;
while(src[i]!=0)
dest[i]=src[i++];
dest[i]=0;
return i;
}
File 2: linux-x.x.x/test/Makefile
Create a Makefile within the same test directory you created above and put this line in it:
obj-y := system_strcpy.o
File 3: linux-x.x.x/arch/x86/kernel/syscall_table_32.S
Now, you have to add your system call to the system call table.
Append to the file the following line:
.long system_strcpy
NOTE: For Kernel 3.3 and higher versions.
*Refer:linux-3.3.xx/arch/x86/syscalls/syscall_64.tbl*
And in there, now add at the end of the following series of lines:
310 64 process_vm_readv sys_process_vm_readv
311 64 process_vm_writev sys_process_vm_writev
312 64 kcmp sys_kcmp
313 64 system_strcpy system_strcpy
The format for the 3.3 version is in:
number abi name entry point
File 4: linux-x.x.x/arch/x86/include/asm/unistd_32.h
NOTE: This section is redundant for 3.3 and higher kernel versions
In this file, the names of all the system calls will be associated with a unique number. After the last system call-number pair, add a line
#define __NR_system_strcpy 338
(if 337 was the number associated with the last system call in the system call-number pair).
Then replace NR_syscalls value, stating total number of system calls with (the existing number incremented by 1) i.e. in this case the NR_syscalls should've been 338 and the new value is 339.
#define NR_syscalls 339
File 5: linux-x.x.x/include/linux/syscalls.h
Append to the file the prototype of our function.
asmlinkage long system_strcpy(char *dest,char *src);
just before the #endif line in the file.
File 6: Makefile at the root of source directory.
Open Makefile and find the line where core-y is defined and add the directory test to the end of that line.
core-y += kernel/ mm/ fs/ test/
Now compile the kernel. Issue:
make bzImage -j4
Install the kernel by executing the following command as root(or with root permissions):
make install
Reboot the system.
To use the recently created system call use:
syscall(338,dest,src); (or syscall(313,dest,src); for kernel 3.3+) instead of the regular strcpy library function.
#include "unistd.h"
#include "sys/syscall.h"
int main()
{
char *dest=NULL,*src="Hello";
dest=(char*)malloc(strlen(src)+1);
syscall(338,dest,src);//syscall(313,dest,src); for kernel 3.3+
printf("%s
%s
",src,dest);
return 0;
}
Instead of numbers like 313,etc in syscall, you can also directly use __NR_system_strcpy
This is a generic example. You will need to do a little experimentation to see what works for your specific kernel version.
