docs: admin-guide: document the kernel.modprobe sysctl

Document the kernel.modprobe sysctl in the same place that all the other
kernel.* sysctls are documented.  Make sure to mention how to use this
sysctl to completely disable module autoloading, and how this sysctl
relates to CONFIG_STATIC_USERMODEHELPER.

[[email protected]: v5]
Link: http://lkml.kernel.org/r/[email protected]
Signed-off-by: Eric Biggers <[email protected]>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <[email protected]>
Cc: Alexei Starovoitov <[email protected]>
Cc: Greg Kroah-Hartman <[email protected]>
Cc: Jeff Vander Stoep <[email protected]>
Cc: Jessica Yu <[email protected]>
Cc: Kees Cook <[email protected]>
Cc: Luis Chamberlain <[email protected]>
Cc: NeilBrown <[email protected]>
Link: http://lkml.kernel.org/r/[email protected]
Signed-off-by: Linus Torvalds <[email protected]>

diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/kernel.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/kernel.rst
index 335696d3360da617121420825144edfe59becb03..39c95c0e13d30d656b213bfe6715332bf5a269a6 100644 (file)
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/kernel.rst
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/kernel.rst
@@ -446,6 +446,27 @@ Notes:
      successful IPC object allocation. If an IPC object allocation syscall
      fails, it is undefined if the value remains unmodified or is reset to -1.
 
+modprobe:
+=========
+
+The path to the usermode helper for autoloading kernel modules, by
+default "/sbin/modprobe".  This binary is executed when the kernel
+requests a module.  For example, if userspace passes an unknown
+filesystem type to mount(), then the kernel will automatically request
+the corresponding filesystem module by executing this usermode helper.
+This usermode helper should insert the needed module into the kernel.
+
+This sysctl only affects module autoloading.  It has no effect on the
+ability to explicitly insert modules.
+
+If this sysctl is set to the empty string, then module autoloading is
+completely disabled.  The kernel will not try to execute a usermode
+helper at all, nor will it call the kernel_module_request LSM hook.
+
+If CONFIG_STATIC_USERMODEHELPER=y is set in the kernel configuration,
+then the configured static usermode helper overrides this sysctl,
+except that the empty string is still accepted to completely disable
+module autoloading as described above.
 
 nmi_watchdog
 ============