Merge pull request #292 from M0nd0R/fix-mount-staging-escape

Reject path traversal in mount destinations during jail staging

mnt_legacy.cc

@@ -83,6 +83,13 @@ static mount_t prepareMountPoint(const nsjail::MountPt& proto) {
 	}
 	mpt.dst += proto.dst();
 
+	if (!util::isSafeContainmentPath(mpt.dst)) {
+		LOG_E("Mount destination escapes containment via '.'/'..'/NUL: %s", QC(mpt.dst));
+		/* Keep the unsafe dst so later mount steps fail closed rather than
+		 * treating a cleared path as the jail root. */
+		return mpt;
+	}
+
 	mpt.flags = proto.rw() ? 0 : (uintptr_t)MS_RDONLY;
 	if (proto.is_bind()) {
 		mpt.flags |= MS_BIND | MS_REC | MS_PRIVATE;
@@ -197,7 +204,16 @@ static bool mountWithDynamicContent(
 static bool mountSinglePoint(mount_t* mpt, const char* newroot, const char* tmpdir) {
 	LOG_D("Mounting (legacy): %s", mnt::describeMountPt(*mpt->mpt).c_str());
 
+	if (!util::isSafeContainmentPath(mpt->dst)) {
+		LOG_E("Mount destination escapes containment via '.'/'..'/NUL: %s", QC(mpt->dst));
+		return false;
+	}
+
 	const std::string dstpath = std::string(newroot) + "/" + mpt->dst;
+	if (!util::isSafeContainmentPath(dstpath)) {
+		LOG_E("Resolved mount path escapes containment: %s", QC(dstpath));
+		return false;
+	}
 	std::string srcpath = mpt->src.empty() ? "none" : mpt->src;
 
 	if (!util::createDirRecursively(dstpath.c_str())) {

mnt_newapi.cc

@@ -184,11 +184,11 @@ static bool remountWithLegacyMount(const mount_t& mpt) {
 	return true;
 }
 
-static bool openMountForRemount(mount_t* mpt, int root_fd, const char* rel_dst) {
+static bool openMountForRemount(mount_t* mpt, int parent_fd, const char* basename) {
 	mpt->fd = util::syscall(
-	    __NR_open_tree, (uintptr_t)root_fd, (uintptr_t)rel_dst, (uintptr_t)OPEN_TREE_CLOEXEC);
+	    __NR_open_tree, (uintptr_t)parent_fd, (uintptr_t)basename, (uintptr_t)OPEN_TREE_CLOEXEC);
 	if (mpt->fd < 0) {
-		PLOG_W("open_tree(root_fd, '%s')", rel_dst);
+		PLOG_W("open_tree(parent_fd, '%s')", basename);
 		return false;
 	}
 	mpt->mounted = true;
@@ -200,25 +200,122 @@ static bool createDirAt(int dir_fd, const char* path, mode_t mode) {
 	if (!path[0]) {
 		return true;
 	}
+	if (!util::isSafeContainmentPath(path)) {
+		LOG_E("Mount destination escapes containment via '.'/'..'/NUL: '%s'", path);
+		return false;
+	}
 
-	std::string cumulative;
+	/*
+	 * Walk one path component at a time with O_NOFOLLOW so a previously
+	 * planted symlink mount (-s) cannot redirect mkdirat/openat outside the
+	 * staging root. Multi-component mkdirat() follows intermediate symlinks.
+	 */
+	int prev_fd = dir_fd;
+	bool close_prev = false;
 	for (const auto& component : util::strSplit(path, '/')) {
 		if (component.empty()) {
 			continue;
 		}
-
+		if (component == "." || component == "..") {
-		if (!cumulative.empty()) {
+			LOG_E("Mount destination escapes containment via '%s' in '%s'",
-			cumulative += '/';
+			    component.c_str(), path);
+			if (close_prev) {
+				close(prev_fd);
+			}
+			return false;
 		}
-		cumulative += component;
 
-		if (mkdirat(dir_fd, cumulative.c_str(), mode) == -1 && errno != EEXIST) {
+		if (mkdirat(prev_fd, component.c_str(), mode) == -1 && errno != EEXIST) {
-			if (errno != EROFS || !util::existsAsDirAt(dir_fd, cumulative.c_str())) {
+			if (errno != EROFS || !util::existsAsDirAt(prev_fd, component.c_str())) {
-				PLOG_W("mkdirat(%d, '%s')", dir_fd, cumulative.c_str());
+				PLOG_W("mkdirat(%d, '%s')", prev_fd, component.c_str());
+				if (close_prev) {
+					close(prev_fd);
+				}
 				return false;
 			}
 		}
+
+		int next_fd = TEMP_FAILURE_RETRY(
+		    openat(prev_fd, component.c_str(), O_DIRECTORY | O_CLOEXEC | O_NOFOLLOW));
+		if (next_fd == -1) {
+			PLOG_W("openat(%d, '%s', O_DIRECTORY|O_CLOEXEC|O_NOFOLLOW)", prev_fd,
+			    component.c_str());
+			if (close_prev) {
+				close(prev_fd);
 			}
+			return false;
+		}
+		if (close_prev) {
+			close(prev_fd);
+		}
+		prev_fd = next_fd;
+		close_prev = true;
+	}
+	if (close_prev) {
+		close(prev_fd);
+	}
+	return true;
+}
+
+/* Open the parent directory of rel_dst under root_fd without following
+ * symlinks; return the final basename for leaf operations. */
+static bool openParentAtNoFollow(
+    int root_fd, const char* rel_dst, int* parent_fd_out, std::string* basename_out) {
+	rel_dst = util::stripLeadingSlashes(rel_dst);
+	if (!rel_dst[0] || strcmp(rel_dst, ".") == 0) {
+		*parent_fd_out = TEMP_FAILURE_RETRY(fcntl(root_fd, F_DUPFD_CLOEXEC, 0));
+		if (*parent_fd_out < 0) {
+			PLOG_W("fcntl(root_fd, F_DUPFD_CLOEXEC)");
+			return false;
+		}
+		*basename_out = ".";
+		return true;
+	}
+
+	const char* last_slash = strrchr(rel_dst, '/');
+	if (!last_slash) {
+		*parent_fd_out = TEMP_FAILURE_RETRY(fcntl(root_fd, F_DUPFD_CLOEXEC, 0));
+		if (*parent_fd_out < 0) {
+			PLOG_W("fcntl(root_fd, F_DUPFD_CLOEXEC)");
+			return false;
+		}
+		*basename_out = rel_dst;
+		return true;
+	}
+
+	std::string parent(rel_dst, last_slash - rel_dst);
+	*basename_out = last_slash + 1;
+	if (basename_out->empty() || *basename_out == "." || *basename_out == "..") {
+		LOG_E("Unsafe mount destination basename in '%s'", rel_dst);
+		return false;
+	}
+	if (!createDirAt(root_fd, parent.c_str(), 0755)) {
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	/* Re-walk parent with O_NOFOLLOW to obtain the directory fd. */
+	int prev_fd = root_fd;
+	bool close_prev = false;
+	for (const auto& component : util::strSplit(parent, '/')) {
+		if (component.empty()) {
+			continue;
+		}
+		int next_fd = TEMP_FAILURE_RETRY(
+		    openat(prev_fd, component.c_str(), O_DIRECTORY | O_CLOEXEC | O_NOFOLLOW));
+		if (next_fd == -1) {
+			PLOG_W("openat(parent walk '%s')", component.c_str());
+			if (close_prev) {
+				close(prev_fd);
+			}
+			return false;
+		}
+		if (close_prev) {
+			close(prev_fd);
+		}
+		prev_fd = next_fd;
+		close_prev = true;
+	}
+	*parent_fd_out = prev_fd;
 	return true;
 }
 
@@ -313,19 +410,19 @@ static int createFilesystemMount(const mount_t& mpt) {
 	return mnt_fd;
 }
 
-static bool mountSymlinkAt(mount_t* mpt, int root_fd, const char* rel_dst) {
+static bool mountSymlinkAt(mount_t* mpt, int parent_fd, const char* basename) {
-	LOG_D("Creating symlink: %s -> %s (fd-relative)", mpt->src.c_str(), rel_dst);
+	LOG_D("Creating symlink: %s -> %s (fd-relative)", mpt->src.c_str(), basename);
-	if (symlinkat(mpt->src.c_str(), root_fd, rel_dst) == -1) {
+	if (symlinkat(mpt->src.c_str(), parent_fd, basename) == -1) {
 		if (mpt->mpt->mandatory()) {
-			PLOG_E("symlinkat('%s' -> '%s')", mpt->src.c_str(), rel_dst);
+			PLOG_E("symlinkat('%s' -> '%s')", mpt->src.c_str(), basename);
 			return false;
 		}
-		PLOG_W("symlinkat('%s' -> '%s') failed (non-mandatory)", mpt->src.c_str(), rel_dst);
+		PLOG_W("symlinkat('%s' -> '%s') failed (non-mandatory)", mpt->src.c_str(), basename);
 	}
 	return true;
 }
 
-static bool mountDynamicContentAt(mount_t* mpt, int root_fd, const char* rel_dst) {
+static bool mountDynamicContentAt(mount_t* mpt, int root_fd, int parent_fd, const char* basename) {
 	static uint64_t counter = 0;
 	std::string src_rel = ".dyn." + std::to_string(++counter);
 
@@ -341,7 +438,7 @@ static bool mountDynamicContentAt(mount_t* mpt, int root_fd, const char* rel_dst
 	close(src_fd);
 	if (!ok) {
 		LOG_W("Failed to write %zu bytes for dynamic content '%s'", content.length(),
-		    rel_dst);
+		    basename);
 		unlinkat(root_fd, src_rel.c_str(), 0);
 		return false;
 	}
@@ -355,12 +452,12 @@ static bool mountDynamicContentAt(mount_t* mpt, int root_fd, const char* rel_dst
 	}
 
 	if (!applyMountFlags(mnt_fd, mpt->flags & ~MS_RDONLY)) {
-		LOG_W("Failed to apply mount flags to '%s'", rel_dst);
+		LOG_W("Failed to apply mount flags to '%s'", basename);
 	}
 
-	if (util::syscall(__NR_move_mount, (uintptr_t)mnt_fd, (uintptr_t)"", (uintptr_t)root_fd,
+	if (util::syscall(__NR_move_mount, (uintptr_t)mnt_fd, (uintptr_t)"", (uintptr_t)parent_fd,
-		(uintptr_t)rel_dst, (uintptr_t)MOVE_MOUNT_F_EMPTY_PATH) < 0) {
+		(uintptr_t)basename, (uintptr_t)MOVE_MOUNT_F_EMPTY_PATH) < 0) {
-		PLOG_W("move_mount('%s' -> '%s')", src_rel.c_str(), rel_dst);
+		PLOG_W("move_mount('%s' -> '%s')", src_rel.c_str(), basename);
 		close(mnt_fd);
 		unlinkat(root_fd, src_rel.c_str(), 0);
 		return false;
@@ -371,16 +468,10 @@ static bool mountDynamicContentAt(mount_t* mpt, int root_fd, const char* rel_dst
 		PLOG_W("unlinkat(root_fd, '%s')", src_rel.c_str());
 	}
 
-	mpt->fd = syscall(__NR_open_tree, root_fd, rel_dst, (unsigned int)OPEN_TREE_CLOEXEC);
+	return openMountForRemount(mpt, parent_fd, basename);
-	if (mpt->fd < 0) {
-		PLOG_W("open_tree(root_fd, '%s')", rel_dst);
-		return false;
-	}
-	mpt->mounted = true;
-	return true;
 }
 
-static bool doBindMountAt(mount_t* mpt, int root_fd, const char* rel_dst) {
+static bool doBindMountAt(mount_t* mpt, int parent_fd, const char* basename) {
 	unsigned int flags = OPEN_TREE_CLONE | OPEN_TREE_CLOEXEC;
 	if (mpt->flags & MS_REC) {
 		flags |= AT_RECURSIVE;
@@ -403,63 +494,69 @@ static bool doBindMountAt(mount_t* mpt, int root_fd, const char* rel_dst) {
 	 */
 	if (!applyMountFlags(
 		mnt_fd, mpt->flags & ~MS_RDONLY, true, (mpt->flags & MS_REC) != 0)) {
-		LOG_W("Failed to apply mount flags to '%s'", rel_dst);
+		LOG_W("Failed to apply mount flags to '%s'", basename);
 	}
 
-	if (util::syscall(__NR_move_mount, (uintptr_t)mnt_fd, (uintptr_t)"", (uintptr_t)root_fd,
+	if (util::syscall(__NR_move_mount, (uintptr_t)mnt_fd, (uintptr_t)"", (uintptr_t)parent_fd,
-		(uintptr_t)rel_dst, (uintptr_t)MOVE_MOUNT_F_EMPTY_PATH) < 0) {
+		(uintptr_t)basename, (uintptr_t)MOVE_MOUNT_F_EMPTY_PATH) < 0) {
-		PLOG_W("move_mount('%s' -> '%s')", mpt->src.c_str(), rel_dst);
+		PLOG_W("move_mount('%s' -> '%s')", mpt->src.c_str(), basename);
 		close(mnt_fd);
 		return false;
 	}
 	close(mnt_fd);
 
-	return openMountForRemount(mpt, root_fd, rel_dst);
+	return openMountForRemount(mpt, parent_fd, basename);
 }
 
 static bool mountSinglePointAt(mount_t* mpt, int root_fd) {
 	LOG_D("Mounting (new API): %s", mnt::describeMountPt(*mpt->mpt).c_str());
 
 	const char* rel_dst = util::stripLeadingSlashes(mpt->dst.c_str());
+	/* Empty / only-slashes dst means the jail root (represented as "."). */
 	if (!rel_dst[0]) {
 		rel_dst = ".";
-	}
+	} else if (!util::isSafeContainmentPath(rel_dst)) {
-
+		LOG_E("Mount destination escapes containment via '.'/'..'/NUL: %s", QC(mpt->dst));
-	const char* last_slash = strrchr(rel_dst, '/');
-	if (last_slash && last_slash != rel_dst) {
-		std::string parent(rel_dst, last_slash - rel_dst);
-		if (!createDirAt(root_fd, parent.c_str(), 0755)) {
-			LOG_W("Failed to create parent directories for '%s'", rel_dst);
 		return false;
 	}
+
+	int parent_fd = -1;
+	std::string basename;
+	if (!openParentAtNoFollow(root_fd, rel_dst, &parent_fd, &basename)) {
+		LOG_W("Failed to resolve mount destination parents for '%s'", rel_dst);
+		return false;
 	}
+	defer {
+		close(parent_fd);
+	};
 
 	if (mpt->mpt->is_symlink()) {
-		return mountSymlinkAt(mpt, root_fd, rel_dst);
+		return mountSymlinkAt(mpt, parent_fd, basename.c_str());
 	}
 
 	if (mpt->is_dir) {
-		if (strcmp(rel_dst, ".") != 0 && mkdirat(root_fd, rel_dst, 0711) == -1 &&
+		if (basename != "." && mkdirat(parent_fd, basename.c_str(), 0711) == -1 &&
 		    errno != EEXIST) {
-			if (errno != EROFS || !util::existsAsDirAt(root_fd, rel_dst)) {
+			if (errno != EROFS || !util::existsAsDirAt(parent_fd, basename.c_str())) {
-				PLOG_W("mkdirat(root_fd, '%s')", rel_dst);
+				PLOG_W("mkdirat(parent_fd, '%s')", basename.c_str());
 			}
 		}
 	} else {
-		int fd = openat(root_fd, rel_dst, O_CREAT | O_RDONLY | O_CLOEXEC, 0644);
+		int fd = openat(parent_fd, basename.c_str(),
+		    O_CREAT | O_RDONLY | O_CLOEXEC | O_NOFOLLOW, 0644);
 		if (fd >= 0) {
 			close(fd);
-		} else if (errno != EROFS || !util::existsAsRegAt(root_fd, rel_dst)) {
+		} else if (errno != EROFS || !util::existsAsRegAt(parent_fd, basename.c_str())) {
-			PLOG_W("openat(root_fd, '%s', O_CREAT)", rel_dst);
+			PLOG_W("openat(parent_fd, '%s', O_CREAT|O_NOFOLLOW)", basename.c_str());
 		}
 	}
 
 	if (!mpt->mpt->src_content().empty()) {
-		return mountDynamicContentAt(mpt, root_fd, rel_dst);
+		return mountDynamicContentAt(mpt, root_fd, parent_fd, basename.c_str());
 	}
 
 	if (mpt->flags & MS_BIND) {
-		return doBindMountAt(mpt, root_fd, rel_dst);
+		return doBindMountAt(mpt, parent_fd, basename.c_str());
 	}
 
 	int mnt_fd = createFilesystemMount(*mpt);
@@ -468,18 +565,18 @@ static bool mountSinglePointAt(mount_t* mpt, int root_fd) {
 	}
 
 	if (!applyMountFlags(mnt_fd, mpt->flags & ~MS_RDONLY)) {
-		LOG_W("Failed to apply mount flags to '%s'", rel_dst);
+		LOG_W("Failed to apply mount flags to '%s'", basename.c_str());
 	}
 
-	if (util::syscall(__NR_move_mount, (uintptr_t)mnt_fd, (uintptr_t)"", (uintptr_t)root_fd,
+	if (util::syscall(__NR_move_mount, (uintptr_t)mnt_fd, (uintptr_t)"", (uintptr_t)parent_fd,
-		(uintptr_t)rel_dst, (uintptr_t)MOVE_MOUNT_F_EMPTY_PATH) < 0) {
+		(uintptr_t)basename.c_str(), (uintptr_t)MOVE_MOUNT_F_EMPTY_PATH) < 0) {
-		PLOG_W("move_mount() for '%s'", rel_dst);
+		PLOG_W("move_mount() for '%s'", basename.c_str());
 		close(mnt_fd);
 		return false;
 	}
 	close(mnt_fd);
 
-	return openMountForRemount(mpt, root_fd, rel_dst);
+	return openMountForRemount(mpt, parent_fd, basename.c_str());
 }
 
 static mount_t prepareMountPoint(const nsjail::MountPt& proto) {
@@ -513,6 +610,13 @@ static mount_t prepareMountPoint(const nsjail::MountPt& proto) {
 	}
 	mpt.dst += proto.dst();
 
+	if (!util::isSafeContainmentPath(mpt.dst)) {
+		LOG_E("Mount destination escapes containment via '.'/'..'/NUL: %s", QC(mpt.dst));
+		/* Keep the unsafe dst so later mount steps fail closed rather than
+		 * treating a cleared path as the jail root. */
+		return mpt;
+	}
+
 	mpt.flags = proto.rw() ? 0 : (uintptr_t)MS_RDONLY;
 	if (proto.is_bind()) {
 		mpt.flags |= MS_BIND | MS_REC | MS_PRIVATE;

tests/path_containment_test.cc

@@ -0,0 +1,191 @@
+/*
+ * Regression tests for mount-destination path traversal hardening.
+ *
+ * Standalone harness (mirrors util::isSafeContainmentPath /
+ * createDirRecursively policy) so it can run without linking full nsjail.
+ *
+ *   g++ -std=c++20 -O1 -o path_containment_test tests/path_containment_test.cc
+ *   ./path_containment_test
+ */
+
+#include <cerrno>
+#include <cstdio>
+#include <cstring>
+#include <fcntl.h>
+#include <string>
+#include <sys/stat.h>
+#include <unistd.h>
+#include <vector>
+
+namespace {
+
+std::vector<std::string> strSplit(const std::string& str, char delim) {
+	std::vector<std::string> vec;
+	std::string word;
+	for (char c : str) {
+		if (c == delim) {
+			vec.push_back(word);
+			word.clear();
+		} else {
+			word.push_back(c);
+		}
+	}
+	vec.push_back(word);
+	return vec;
+}
+
+bool isSafeContainmentPath(const std::string& path) {
+	if (path.empty()) {
+		return true;
+	}
+	if (path.find('\0') != std::string::npos) {
+		return false;
+	}
+	for (const auto& component : strSplit(path, '/')) {
+		if (component.empty()) {
+			continue;
+		}
+		if (component == "." || component == "..") {
+			return false;
+		}
+	}
+	return true;
+}
+
+bool createDirRecursivelySafe(const char* dir) {
+	if (dir[0] != '/') {
+		return false;
+	}
+	if (!isSafeContainmentPath(dir)) {
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	int prev_dir_fd = open("/", O_RDONLY | O_CLOEXEC | O_DIRECTORY);
+	if (prev_dir_fd == -1) {
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	char path[4096];
+	if (snprintf(path, sizeof(path), "%s", dir) >= (int)sizeof(path)) {
+		close(prev_dir_fd);
+		return false;
+	}
+	char* curr = path;
+	for (;;) {
+		while (*curr == '/') {
+			curr++;
+		}
+		char* next = strchr(curr, '/');
+		if (next == nullptr) {
+			close(prev_dir_fd);
+			return true;
+		}
+		*next = '\0';
+		if (mkdirat(prev_dir_fd, curr, 0755) == -1 && errno != EEXIST) {
+			close(prev_dir_fd);
+			return false;
+		}
+		int dir_fd = openat(prev_dir_fd, curr, O_DIRECTORY | O_CLOEXEC | O_NOFOLLOW);
+		if (dir_fd == -1) {
+			close(prev_dir_fd);
+			return false;
+		}
+		close(prev_dir_fd);
+		prev_dir_fd = dir_fd;
+		curr = next + 1;
+	}
+}
+
+}  // namespace
+
+static void expect_safe(const char* p, bool want) {
+	bool got = isSafeContainmentPath(p);
+	if (got != want) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "FAIL isSafeContainmentPath(%s) = %d want %d\n", p, got, want);
+		exit(1);
+	}
+}
+
+int main() {
+	expect_safe("", true);
+	expect_safe("/", true);
+	expect_safe("/usr/lib", true);
+	expect_safe("/tmp/nsjail.root/home/user", true);
+	expect_safe("usr/lib", true);
+	expect_safe("/usr//lib", true);
+
+	expect_safe("..", false);
+	expect_safe("/..", false);
+	expect_safe("/../", false);
+	expect_safe("/tmp/../etc", false);
+	expect_safe("/tmp/nsjail.root/../../etc/passwd", false);
+	expect_safe("/foo/./bar", false);
+	expect_safe("./foo", false);
+	expect_safe("foo/../../bar", false);
+
+	std::string with_nul = std::string("/tmp/foo") + '\0' + "bar";
+	if (isSafeContainmentPath(with_nul)) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "FAIL NUL component accepted\n");
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	(void)system("rm -rf /tmp/nsj_path_test /tmp/nsj_path_escaped");
+	mkdir("/tmp/nsj_path_test", 0755);
+	const char* escape =
+	    "/tmp/nsj_path_test/root/../../nsj_path_escaped/evil_dir/leaf";
+	if (createDirRecursivelySafe(escape)) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "FAIL createDirRecursively accepted traversal path\n");
+		return 1;
+	}
+	if (access("/tmp/nsj_path_escaped", F_OK) == 0) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "FAIL escape directory was created\n");
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+	const char* ok = "/tmp/nsj_path_test/root/home/user/docs/leaf";
+	if (!createDirRecursivelySafe(ok)) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "FAIL createDirRecursively rejected safe path\n");
+		return 1;
+	}
+	if (access("/tmp/nsj_path_test/root/home/user/docs", F_OK) != 0) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "FAIL safe parents were not created\n");
+		return 1;
+	}
+
+
+	/* Symlink intermediate must fail closed under O_NOFOLLOW walk policy. */
+	(void)system("rm -rf /tmp/nsj_sym_stage /tmp/nsj_sym_escape");
+	mkdir("/tmp/nsj_sym_stage", 0755);
+	mkdir("/tmp/nsj_sym_escape", 0755);
+	if (symlink("/tmp/nsj_sym_escape", "/tmp/nsj_sym_stage/link") != 0) {
+		fprintf(stderr, "FAIL symlink setup\n");
+		return 1;
+	}
+	/* Mimic new-API component walk with O_NOFOLLOW */
+	{
+		int root = open("/tmp/nsj_sym_stage", O_RDONLY | O_DIRECTORY | O_CLOEXEC);
+		if (root < 0) {
+			perror("open stage");
+			return 1;
+		}
+		if (mkdirat(root, "link", 0755) == -1 && errno != EEXIST) {
+			/* link exists as symlink; EEXIST expected */
+		}
+		int next = openat(root, "link", O_DIRECTORY | O_CLOEXEC | O_NOFOLLOW);
+		if (next >= 0) {
+			fprintf(stderr, "FAIL openat(O_NOFOLLOW) followed/opened symlink\n");
+			close(next);
+			close(root);
+			return 1;
+		}
+		close(root);
+		if (access("/tmp/nsj_sym_escape/pwned", F_OK) == 0) {
+			fprintf(stderr, "FAIL escape created\n");
+			return 1;
+		}
+	}
+
+	printf("OK path_containment_test passed\n");
+	return 0;
+}
+

util.cc

@@ -233,11 +233,35 @@ bool writeBufToFile(
 	return true;
 }
 
+bool isSafeContainmentPath(const std::string& path) {
+	/* Empty / root-only paths refer to the containment root itself. */
+	if (path.empty()) {
+		return true;
+	}
+	/* Embedded NUL would truncate C-string APIs and hide trailing components. */
+	if (path.find('\0') != std::string::npos) {
+		return false;
+	}
+	for (const auto& component : strSplit(path, '/')) {
+		if (component.empty()) {
+			continue;
+		}
+		if (component == "." || component == "..") {
+			return false;
+		}
+	}
+	return true;
+}
+
 bool createDirRecursively(const char* dir) {
 	if (dir[0] != '/') {
 		LOG_W("The directory path must start with '/': '%s' provided", dir);
 		return false;
 	}
+	if (!isSafeContainmentPath(dir)) {
+		LOG_W("Refusing path with '.'/'..'/NUL components: '%s'", dir);
+		return false;
+	}
 
 	int prev_dir_fd = TEMP_FAILURE_RETRY(open("/", O_RDONLY | O_CLOEXEC | O_DIRECTORY));
 	if (prev_dir_fd == -1) {
@@ -272,9 +296,12 @@ bool createDirRecursively(const char* dir) {
 			}
 		}
 
-		int dir_fd = TEMP_FAILURE_RETRY(openat(prev_dir_fd, curr, O_DIRECTORY | O_CLOEXEC));
+		/* O_NOFOLLOW: do not walk through symlinks that escape the intended tree. */
+		int dir_fd = TEMP_FAILURE_RETRY(
+		    openat(prev_dir_fd, curr, O_DIRECTORY | O_CLOEXEC | O_NOFOLLOW));
 		if (dir_fd == -1) {
-			PLOG_W("openat('%d', %s, O_DIRECTORY | O_CLOEXEC)", prev_dir_fd, QC(curr));
+			PLOG_W("openat('%d', %s, O_DIRECTORY | O_CLOEXEC | O_NOFOLLOW)", prev_dir_fd,
+			    QC(curr));
 			close(prev_dir_fd);
 			return false;
 		}

util.h

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 #define NS_UTIL_H
 
 #include <errno.h>
+#include <fcntl.h>
 #include <inttypes.h>
 #include <stdbool.h>
 #include <stdint.h>
@@ -60,6 +61,9 @@ int recvFd(int sock);
 bool writeBufToFile(
     const char* filename, const void* buf, size_t len, int open_flags, bool log_errors = true);
 bool createDirRecursively(const char* dir);
+/* Reject ".", ".." and embedded NUL in mount destinations so they cannot
+ * escape the jail staging root via path traversal. */
+bool isSafeContainmentPath(const std::string& path);
 std::string* StrAppend(std::string* str, const char* format, ...)
     __attribute__((format(printf, 2, 3)));
 std::string StrPrintf(const char* format, ...) __attribute__((format(printf, 1, 2)));
@@ -105,7 +109,7 @@ inline bool existsAsDir(const char* path) {
 inline bool existsAsDirAt(int dir_fd, const char* path) {
 	int saved = errno;
 	struct stat st;
-	if (fstatat(dir_fd, path, &st, 0) == 0 && S_ISDIR(st.st_mode)) {
+	if (fstatat(dir_fd, path, &st, AT_SYMLINK_NOFOLLOW) == 0 && S_ISDIR(st.st_mode)) {
 		return true;
 	}
 	errno = saved;
@@ -125,7 +129,7 @@ inline bool existsAsReg(const char* path) {
 inline bool existsAsRegAt(int dir_fd, const char* path) {
 	int saved = errno;
 	struct stat st;
-	if (fstatat(dir_fd, path, &st, 0) == 0 && S_ISREG(st.st_mode)) {
+	if (fstatat(dir_fd, path, &st, AT_SYMLINK_NOFOLLOW) == 0 && S_ISREG(st.st_mode)) {
 		return true;
 	}
 	errno = saved;