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setrlimit

Intro

setrlimit - setting resource limits for processes

Description

The setrlimit() system call is used to set limits on the resources that can be consumed by a process. These limits can be used to limit the amount of memory, number of open files and processes, and other resources that a process can utilize. There are two types of limits which can be set with setrlimit(): soft limits and hard limits. The soft limit can be exceeded temporarily, while the hard limit can not be exceeded at all. The hard limit is typically much lower than the soft limit.

One advantage of using setrlimit() is that it can help protect a process from consuming too many resources, which could lead to crashing. It also can help prevent situations where other processes suffer because one process is taking up too many resources.

Arguments

  • resource:int[K] - the type of resource limit to be set. The value of this parameter must be one of the constants specified in <sys/resource.h>.
  • rlim:const struct rlimit*[K] - a pointer to a struct rlimit that contains the new limits to be set.

Available Tags

  • K - Originated from kernel-space.
  • U - Originated from user space (for example, pointer to user space memory used to get it)
  • TOCTOU - Vulnerable to TOCTOU (time of check, time of use)
  • OPT - Optional argument - might not always be available (passed with null value)

Hooks

sys_setrlimit

Type

Kprobe

Purpose

To track resource limits being set by processes.

Example Use Case

The setrlimit() system call can be used to limit the amount of memory used by a given process. This is useful for ensuring that processes do not consume too much memory, which can lead to instability.

Issues

The setrlimit() system call is not well understood by many developers. Misuses can lead to instability and crashes.

  • getrlimit - provides information about the resources used by the process

This document was automatically generated by OpenAI and needs review. It might not be accurate and might contain errors. The authors of Tracee recommend that the user reads the "events.go" source file to understand the events and their arguments better.