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name: syzlang-ioctl-basics description: Syzkaller syzlang syntax basics for describing ioctl syscalls

Syzlang Ioctl Basics

Syzkaller's description language (syzlang) describes syscalls for fuzzing. Description files are located at /opt/syzkaller/sys/linux/*.txt.

Syscall Syntax

Basic form:

Copysyscall_name(arg1 type1, arg2 type2, ...) return_type

Specialized syscalls use $ suffix:

Copysyscall$VARIANT(args...) return_type

Common Type Patterns

Ioctl Patterns

For ioctls with output:

Copyioctl$CMD(fd fd_type, cmd const[CMD], arg ptr[out, int32])

For ioctls with input:

Copyioctl$CMD(fd fd_type, cmd const[CMD], arg ptr[in, struct_type])

For simple value ioctls:

Copyioctl$CMD(fd fd_type, cmd const[CMD], arg intptr[0:1])

For ioctls using ifreq structure (from socket.txt):

Copyioctl$CMD(fd fd_type, cmd const[CMD], arg ptr[in, ifreq_t[flags[flag_set, int16]]])

Struct Definitions

Structs must have typed fields:

Copystruct_name {
    field1    type1
    field2    type2
}

Flag Sets

Define reusable flag sets:

Copyflag_set_name = FLAG1, FLAG2, FLAG3

Then use with flags[flag_set_name, int16].

Resources

File descriptor resources:

Copyresource resource_name[fd]

Read/Write Syscalls

For specialized read/write:

Copyread$suffix(fd fd_type, buf ptr[out, buffer_type], count len[buf])
write$suffix(fd fd_type, buf ptr[in, buffer_type], count len[buf])

Tips

1. Check existing files for patterns (e.g., sys/linux/socket.txt)
2. Run make descriptions after edits to validate syntax
3. Some constants only exist on certain architectures
4. Use ptr[in, ...] for input, ptr[out, ...] for output