linux-kernel-modules

Linux Kernel Modules

Purpose

Guide agents through writing loadable Linux kernel modules (LKMs): the Kbuild build system, module parameters, /proc and sysfs interfaces, character device implementation, kernel debugging with KGDB and ftrace, and module signing for Secure Boot.

Triggers

• "How do I write a Linux kernel module?"
• "How do I add parameters to my kernel module?"
• "How do I create a /proc or sysfs entry?"
• "How do I implement a character device driver?"
• "How do I debug a kernel module with KGDB?"
• "How do I sign a kernel module for Secure Boot?"

Workflow

1. Minimal kernel module

// hello.c — minimal loadable kernel module
#include <linux/module.h>
#include <linux/kernel.h>
#include <linux/init.h>

MODULE_LICENSE("GPL");
MODULE_AUTHOR("Your Name");
MODULE_DESCRIPTION("Minimal hello world module");
MODULE_VERSION("1.0");

static int __init hello_init(void)
{
    printk(KERN_INFO "hello: module loaded\n");
    return 0;   // non-zero = load failure
}

static void __exit hello_exit(void)
{
    printk(KERN_INFO "hello: module unloaded\n");
}

module_init(hello_init);
module_exit(hello_exit);

# Makefile — must be exactly this structure for Kbuild
obj-m := hello.o

KDIR := /lib/modules/$(shell uname -r)/build

all:
	$(MAKE) -C $(KDIR) M=$(PWD) modules

clean:
	$(MAKE) -C $(KDIR) M=$(PWD) clean

# Build
make

# Load
sudo insmod hello.ko

# Check it loaded
lsmod | grep hello
dmesg | tail -5       # see printk output

# Unload
sudo rmmod hello

# Show module info
modinfo hello.ko

2. Module parameters

#include <linux/moduleparam.h>

static int count = 1;
static char *name = "world";

// module_param(variable, type, permissions)
// permissions: 0 = no sysfs entry, S_IRUGO = readable, S_IWUSR = writable
module_param(count, int, S_IRUGO | S_IWUSR);
MODULE_PARM_DESC(count, "Number of times to print (default: 1)");

module_param(name, charp, S_IRUGO);
MODULE_PARM_DESC(name, "Name to greet (default: world)");

static int __init hello_init(void)
{
    int i;
    for (i = 0; i < count; i++)
        printk(KERN_INFO "hello: Hello, %s!\n", name);
    return 0;
}