elf_validity_cache_strtab(9)

✨ elf_validity_cache_strtab(9) ✨

okay so bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual entry for elf_validity_cache_strtab — yes that's a whole mouthful, but it's literally the vibe check for your symbol string table 💅

---

🌸 NAME 🌸

elf_validity_cache_strtab — validate and cache the symbol string table, no cap 🎀

---

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

int elf_validity_cache_strtab (struct load_info *info );

---

💖 ARGUMENTS 💖

• info — the load info we're reading from and updating, bestie. it must have load_info->sechdrs and load_info->secstrings populated, and it must have load_info->index populated too. like, all three. don't come to this function unprepared 🙈

---

🔥 DESCRIPTION 🔥

So here's what this icon actually checks for you:

• the string table is not empty — an empty one is giving nothing, we don't stan
• the string table starts and ends with NUL — this one's required by the ELF spec, so it's not just a preference, it's the law 📜
• every Elf_Sym->st_name offset in the symbol table is inbounds of the string table — no wandering off the edge, we stay in our lane ✨

and after all that, it caches the pointer as load_info->strtab inside info. slay 💅

---

🫶 RETURN 🫶

• 0 on success 💚
• a negative error code if any check failed 😭 — yeah, something didn't pass the vibe check

---

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

Kernel file ./kernel/module/main.c, plus the whole friend group:

• find_any_unique_sec(9)
• is_module_percpu_address(9)
• module_refcount(9)
• verify_module_namespace(9)
• elf_validity_ehdr(9)
• elf_validity_cache_sechdrs(9)
• elf_validity_cache_secstrings(9)
• elf_validity_cache_index_info(9)
• elf_validity_cache_index_mod(9)
• elf_validity_cache_index_sym(9)
• elf_validity_cache_index_str(9)
• elf_validity_cache_index_versions(9)
• elf_validity_cache_index(9)
• is_module_address(9)
• __module_address(9)
• is_module_text_address(9)
• __module_text_address(9)

---

okay that's the whole page, bestie!! this one lives in ./kernel/module and the version/date stamp on it is October 2026 — so yeah, mark your calendar, it's giving future icon energy 🗓️💜 go forth and validate those string tables fr fr 💖✨