It is currently impossible to enable ipv6 forwarding on a per-interface basis like in ipv4. To enable forwarding on an ipv6 interface we need to enable it on all interfaces and disable it on the other interfaces using a netfilter rule. This is especially cumbersome if you have lots of interfaces and only want to enable forwarding on a few. According to the sysctl docs [0] the `net.ipv6.conf.all.forwarding` enables forwarding for all interfaces, while the interface-specific `net.ipv6.conf.<interface>.forwarding` configures the interface Host/Router configuration.

Introduce a new sysctl flag `force_forwarding`, which can be set on every interface. The ip6_forwarding function will then check if the global forwarding flag OR the force_forwarding flag is active and forward the packet.

To preserve backwards-compatibility reset the flag (on all interfaces) to 0 if the net.ipv6.conf.all.forwarding flag is set to 0.

Add a short selftest that checks if a packet gets forwarded with and without `force_forwarding`.

[0]: https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.txt

Acked-by: Nicolas Dichtel nicolas.dichtel@6wind.com Signed-off-by: Gabriel Goller g.goller@proxmox.com ---

v7: * rebase * fix typos in commit message v6: https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20250711124243.526735-1-g.goller@proxmox.com/ * rebase * remove brackets around single line * add 'nodad' to addresses in selftest to avoid sporadic failures v5: https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20250707094307.223975-1-g.goller@proxmox.com/ * update conf/all/forwarding docs * simplified backwards-compat comment * remove ASSERT_RTNL as it's guaranteed by __in6_dev_get_rtnl_net() already * cange ip6_forward logic so that it doesn't depend on the idev existing * move WRITE_ONCE inside device lock v4: https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20250703160154.560239-1-g.goller@proxmox.com/ * actually write the sysctl value to the table * use ASSERT_RTNL() when forwarding the sysctl change * remove useless comments in function body * simplify forwarding and force_forwarding check in ip6_output.c * fix code backticks in Documentation (double instead of single) * add selftests v3: https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20250702074619.139031-1-g.goller@proxmox.com/ * remove forwarding=0 setting force_forwarding=0 globally. * add min and max (0 and 1) value to sysctl. v2: https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20250701140423.487411-1-g.goller@proxmox.com/ * rename from `do_forwarding` to `force_forwarding`. * add global `force_forwarding` flag which will enable `force_forwarding` on every interface like the `ipv4.all.forwarding` flag. * `forwarding`=0 will disable global and per-interface `force_forwarding`. * export option as NETCONFA_FORCE_FORWARDING. v1: https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20250702074619.139031-1-g.goller@proxmox.com/

Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.rst | 8 +- include/linux/ipv6.h | 1 + include/uapi/linux/ipv6.h | 1 + include/uapi/linux/netconf.h | 1 + include/uapi/linux/sysctl.h | 1 + net/ipv6/addrconf.c | 82 ++++++++++++++ net/ipv6/ip6_output.c | 3 +- tools/testing/selftests/net/Makefile | 1 + .../selftests/net/ipv6_force_forwarding.sh | 105 ++++++++++++++++++ 9 files changed, 200 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) create mode 100755 tools/testing/selftests/net/ipv6_force_forwarding.sh

diff --git a/Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.rst b/Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.rst index 14700ea77e75..bb620f554598 100644 --- a/Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.rst +++ b/Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.rst @@ -2543,8 +2543,8 @@ conf/all/disable_ipv6 - BOOLEAN conf/all/forwarding - BOOLEAN Enable global IPv6 forwarding between all interfaces.

- IPv4 and IPv6 work differently here; e.g. netfilter must be used - to control which interfaces may forward packets and which not. + IPv4 and IPv6 work differently here; the ``force_forwarding`` flag must + be used to control which interfaces may forward packets.

This also sets all interfaces' Host/Router setting 'forwarding' to the specified value. See below for details. @@ -2561,6 +2561,10 @@ proxy_ndp - BOOLEAN

Default: 0 (disabled)

+force_forwarding - BOOLEAN + Enable forwarding on this interface only -- regardless of the setting on + ``conf/all/forwarding``. When setting ``conf.all.forwarding`` to 0, + the ``force_forwarding`` flag will be reset on all interfaces.

fwmark_reflect - BOOLEAN Controls the fwmark of kernel-generated IPv6 reply packets that are not diff --git a/include/linux/ipv6.h b/include/linux/ipv6.h index db0eb0d86b64..bc6ec2959173 100644 --- a/include/linux/ipv6.h +++ b/include/linux/ipv6.h @@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ struct ipv6_devconf { __s32 hop_limit; __s32 mtu6; __s32 forwarding; + __s32 force_forwarding; __s32 disable_policy; __s32 proxy_ndp; __cacheline_group_end(ipv6_devconf_read_txrx); diff --git a/include/uapi/linux/ipv6.h b/include/uapi/linux/ipv6.h index cf592d7b630f..d4d3ae774b26 100644 --- a/include/uapi/linux/ipv6.h +++ b/include/uapi/linux/ipv6.h @@ -199,6 +199,7 @@ enum { DEVCONF_NDISC_EVICT_NOCARRIER, DEVCONF_ACCEPT_UNTRACKED_NA, DEVCONF_ACCEPT_RA_MIN_LFT, + DEVCONF_FORCE_FORWARDING, DEVCONF_MAX };

diff --git a/include/uapi/linux/netconf.h b/include/uapi/linux/netconf.h index fac4edd55379..1c8c84d65ae3 100644 --- a/include/uapi/linux/netconf.h +++ b/include/uapi/linux/netconf.h @@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ enum { NETCONFA_IGNORE_ROUTES_WITH_LINKDOWN, NETCONFA_INPUT, NETCONFA_BC_FORWARDING, + NETCONFA_FORCE_FORWARDING, __NETCONFA_MAX }; #define NETCONFA_MAX (__NETCONFA_MAX - 1) diff --git a/include/uapi/linux/sysctl.h b/include/uapi/linux/sysctl.h index 8981f00204db..63d1464cb71c 100644 --- a/include/uapi/linux/sysctl.h +++ b/include/uapi/linux/sysctl.h @@ -573,6 +573,7 @@ enum { NET_IPV6_ACCEPT_RA_FROM_LOCAL=26, NET_IPV6_ACCEPT_RA_RT_INFO_MIN_PLEN=27, NET_IPV6_RA_DEFRTR_METRIC=28, + NET_IPV6_FORCE_FORWARDING=29, __NET_IPV6_MAX };

diff --git a/net/ipv6/addrconf.c b/net/ipv6/addrconf.c index 4f1d7d110302..81a067a2e526 100644 --- a/net/ipv6/addrconf.c +++ b/net/ipv6/addrconf.c @@ -239,6 +239,7 @@ static struct ipv6_devconf ipv6_devconf __read_mostly = { .ndisc_evict_nocarrier = 1, .ra_honor_pio_life = 0, .ra_honor_pio_pflag = 0, + .force_forwarding = 0, };

static struct ipv6_devconf ipv6_devconf_dflt __read_mostly = { @@ -303,6 +304,7 @@ static struct ipv6_devconf ipv6_devconf_dflt __read_mostly = { .ndisc_evict_nocarrier = 1, .ra_honor_pio_life = 0, .ra_honor_pio_pflag = 0, + .force_forwarding = 0, };

/* Check if link is ready: is it up and is a valid qdisc available */ @@ -857,6 +859,9 @@ static void addrconf_forward_change(struct net *net, __s32 newf) idev = __in6_dev_get_rtnl_net(dev); if (idev) { int changed = (!idev->cnf.forwarding) ^ (!newf); + /* Disabling all.forwarding sets 0 to force_forwarding for all interfaces */ + if (newf == 0) + WRITE_ONCE(idev->cnf.force_forwarding, 0);

WRITE_ONCE(idev->cnf.forwarding, newf); if (changed) @@ -5710,6 +5715,7 @@ static void ipv6_store_devconf(const struct ipv6_devconf *cnf, array[DEVCONF_ACCEPT_UNTRACKED_NA] = READ_ONCE(cnf->accept_untracked_na); array[DEVCONF_ACCEPT_RA_MIN_LFT] = READ_ONCE(cnf->accept_ra_min_lft); + array[DEVCONF_FORCE_FORWARDING] = READ_ONCE(cnf->force_forwarding); }

static inline size_t inet6_ifla6_size(void) @@ -6738,6 +6744,75 @@ static int addrconf_sysctl_disable_policy(const struct ctl_table *ctl, int write return ret; }

+static void addrconf_force_forward_change(struct net *net, __s32 newf) +{ + struct net_device *dev; + struct inet6_dev *idev; + + for_each_netdev(net, dev) { + idev = __in6_dev_get_rtnl_net(dev); + if (idev) { + int changed = (!idev->cnf.force_forwarding) ^ (!newf); + + WRITE_ONCE(idev->cnf.force_forwarding, newf); + if (changed) + inet6_netconf_notify_devconf(dev_net(dev), RTM_NEWNETCONF, + NETCONFA_FORCE_FORWARDING, + dev->ifindex, &idev->cnf); + } + } +} + +static int addrconf_sysctl_force_forwarding(const struct ctl_table *ctl, int write, + void *buffer, size_t *lenp, loff_t *ppos) +{ + struct inet6_dev *idev = ctl->extra1; + struct ctl_table tmp_ctl = *ctl; + struct net *net = ctl->extra2; + int *valp = ctl->data; + int new_val = *valp; + int old_val = *valp; + loff_t pos = *ppos; + int ret; + + tmp_ctl.extra1 = SYSCTL_ZERO; + tmp_ctl.extra2 = SYSCTL_ONE; + tmp_ctl.data = &new_val; + + ret = proc_douintvec_minmax(&tmp_ctl, write, buffer, lenp, ppos); + + if (write && old_val != new_val) { + if (!rtnl_net_trylock(net)) + return restart_syscall(); + + WRITE_ONCE(*valp, new_val); + + if (valp == &net->ipv6.devconf_dflt->force_forwarding) { + inet6_netconf_notify_devconf(net, RTM_NEWNETCONF, + NETCONFA_FORCE_FORWARDING, + NETCONFA_IFINDEX_DEFAULT, + net->ipv6.devconf_dflt); + } else if (valp == &net->ipv6.devconf_all->force_forwarding) { + inet6_netconf_notify_devconf(net, RTM_NEWNETCONF, + NETCONFA_FORCE_FORWARDING, + NETCONFA_IFINDEX_ALL, + net->ipv6.devconf_all); + + addrconf_force_forward_change(net, new_val); + } else { + inet6_netconf_notify_devconf(net, RTM_NEWNETCONF, + NETCONFA_FORCE_FORWARDING, + idev->dev->ifindex, + &idev->cnf); + } + rtnl_net_unlock(net); + } + + if (ret) + *ppos = pos; + return ret; +} + static int minus_one = -1; static const int two_five_five = 255; static u32 ioam6_if_id_max = U16_MAX; @@ -7208,6 +7283,13 @@ static const struct ctl_table addrconf_sysctl[] = { .extra1 = SYSCTL_ZERO, .extra2 = SYSCTL_TWO, }, + { + .procname = "force_forwarding", + .data = &ipv6_devconf.force_forwarding, + .maxlen = sizeof(int), + .mode = 0644, + .proc_handler = addrconf_sysctl_force_forwarding, + }, };

static int __addrconf_sysctl_register(struct net *net, char *dev_name, diff --git a/net/ipv6/ip6_output.c b/net/ipv6/ip6_output.c index 0412f8544695..1e1410237b6e 100644 --- a/net/ipv6/ip6_output.c +++ b/net/ipv6/ip6_output.c @@ -511,7 +511,8 @@ int ip6_forward(struct sk_buff *skb) u32 mtu;

idev = __in6_dev_get_safely(dev_get_by_index_rcu(net, IP6CB(skb)->iif)); - if (READ_ONCE(net->ipv6.devconf_all->forwarding) == 0) + if (!READ_ONCE(net->ipv6.devconf_all->forwarding) && + (!idev || !READ_ONCE(idev->cnf.force_forwarding))) goto error;

if (skb->pkt_type != PACKET_HOST) diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/net/Makefile b/tools/testing/selftests/net/Makefile index 13e2678d418b..b31a71f2b372 100644 --- a/tools/testing/selftests/net/Makefile +++ b/tools/testing/selftests/net/Makefile @@ -116,6 +116,7 @@ TEST_GEN_FILES += skf_net_off TEST_GEN_FILES += tfo TEST_PROGS += tfo_passive.sh TEST_PROGS += broadcast_pmtu.sh +TEST_PROGS += ipv6_force_forwarding.sh

# YNL files, must be before "include ..lib.mk" YNL_GEN_FILES := busy_poller netlink-dumps diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/net/ipv6_force_forwarding.sh b/tools/testing/selftests/net/ipv6_force_forwarding.sh new file mode 100755 index 000000000000..bf0243366caa --- /dev/null +++ b/tools/testing/selftests/net/ipv6_force_forwarding.sh @@ -0,0 +1,105 @@ +#!/bin/bash +# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 +# +# Test IPv6 force_forwarding interface property +# +# This test verifies that the force_forwarding property works correctly: +# - When global forwarding is disabled, packets are not forwarded normally +# - When force_forwarding is enabled on an interface, packets are forwarded +# regardless of the global forwarding setting + +source lib.sh + +cleanup() { + cleanup_ns $ns1 $ns2 $ns3 +} + +trap cleanup EXIT + +setup_test() { + # Create three namespaces: sender, router, receiver + setup_ns ns1 ns2 ns3 + + # Create veth pairs: ns1 <-> ns2 <-> ns3 + ip link add name veth12 type veth peer name veth21 + ip link add name veth23 type veth peer name veth32 + + # Move interfaces to namespaces + ip link set veth12 netns $ns1 + ip link set veth21 netns $ns2 + ip link set veth23 netns $ns2 + ip link set veth32 netns $ns3 + + # Configure interfaces + ip -n $ns1 addr add 2001:db8:1::1/64 dev veth12 nodad + ip -n $ns2 addr add 2001:db8:1::2/64 dev veth21 nodad + ip -n $ns2 addr add 2001:db8:2::1/64 dev veth23 nodad + ip -n $ns3 addr add 2001:db8:2::2/64 dev veth32 nodad + + # Bring up interfaces + ip -n $ns1 link set veth12 up + ip -n $ns2 link set veth21 up + ip -n $ns2 link set veth23 up + ip -n $ns3 link set veth32 up + + # Add routes + ip -n $ns1 route add 2001:db8:2::/64 via 2001:db8:1::2 + ip -n $ns3 route add 2001:db8:1::/64 via 2001:db8:2::1 + + # Disable global forwarding + ip netns exec $ns2 sysctl -qw net.ipv6.conf.all.forwarding=0 +} + +test_force_forwarding() { + local ret=0 + + echo "TEST: force_forwarding functionality" + + # Check if force_forwarding sysctl exists + if ! ip netns exec $ns2 test -f /proc/sys/net/ipv6/conf/veth21/force_forwarding; then + echo "SKIP: force_forwarding not available" + return $ksft_skip + fi + + # Test 1: Without force_forwarding, ping should fail + ip netns exec $ns2 sysctl -qw net.ipv6.conf.veth21.force_forwarding=0 + ip netns exec $ns2 sysctl -qw net.ipv6.conf.veth23.force_forwarding=0 + + if ip netns exec $ns1 ping -6 -c 1 -W 2 2001:db8:2::2 &>/dev/null; then + echo "FAIL: ping succeeded when forwarding disabled" + ret=1 + else + echo "PASS: forwarding disabled correctly" + fi + + # Test 2: With force_forwarding enabled, ping should succeed + ip netns exec $ns2 sysctl -qw net.ipv6.conf.veth21.force_forwarding=1 + ip netns exec $ns2 sysctl -qw net.ipv6.conf.veth23.force_forwarding=1 + + if ip netns exec $ns1 ping -6 -c 1 -W 2 2001:db8:2::2 &>/dev/null; then + echo "PASS: force_forwarding enabled forwarding" + else + echo "FAIL: ping failed with force_forwarding enabled" + ret=1 + fi + + return $ret +} + +echo "IPv6 force_forwarding test" +echo "==========================" + +setup_test +test_force_forwarding +ret=$? + +if [ $ret -eq 0 ]; then + echo "OK" + exit 0 +elif [ $ret -eq $ksft_skip ]; then + echo "SKIP" + exit $ksft_skip +else + echo "FAIL" + exit 1 +fi