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| author | Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> | 2026-09-13 12:27:00 -0700 |
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| committer | Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> | 2026-09-13 12:27:00 -0700 |
| commit | 22098763a10d9c1340827fcf6edab66f153b27f0 (patch) | |
| tree | 3962f95a34df034652ff93686cdd156c7197f2d9 /Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst | |
| download | linux-stable-22098763a10d9c1340827fcf6edab66f153b27f0.tar.gz linux-stable-22098763a10d9c1340827fcf6edab66f153b27f0.zip | |
Merge tag 'trace-v7.3-rc2' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/trace/linux-tracegrafted
Pull tracing fixes from Steven Rostedt:
- Don't destroy user event fields when removal fails
User event fields are destroyed before the event is removed from
visibility. But that can fail leaving the still visible event with no
fields. Move the destroying of the fields to after the event is
successfully removed from visibility.
- Initialize function graph state is fork before calling
copy_exec_state()
For non-CLONE_VM forks, copy_exec_state() allocates a new
task_exec_state. If that allocation fails, ftrace_graph_exit_task()
will free the tasks ret_stack pointer. Since that pointer is still
using the parent's ret_stack, it mistakenly frees the parent's
pointer too.
Call ftrace_graph_init() on the task first which will NULL out the
new tasks's ret_stack and if the copy fails, it will not free
anything.
- Remove FGRAPH_MAX_INDEX
The macro FGRAPH_MAX_INDEX was added but never used. Remove it.
- Save ent_size in function graph printing of nested functions
The function graph tracer needs to look at the next event to see if
the next event is the return of the current function entry. If it is,
it prints a single line:
ktime_get();
Otherwise it prints it like a nested function:
tick_nohz_irq_exit() {
ktime_get();
kcpustat_irq_exit();
}
In order to look at the next event, it must save the current event so
that it has the information to print from it. It saves the event in
the iterator descriptor called "ent". What it doesn't save is the
ent_size of the event which is now used to know if the function graph
arguments are to be printed. The peek doesn't save the size so the
size used happens to be that of the size of the last event that was
seen.
Save the entry event size in the iterator descriptor so that the
correct size is used.
- Fix several errors with freeing data in the histogram code
The histogram code had a lot of leaked or or incorrect accounting
when failures happen. Correct them.
- Fix histogram regression of .percent and .graph modifiers
Up until 6.3 histogram values could have "percent" or "graph"
modifiers that changed how they were printed. But a change that added
restricting histograms values from being strings, stack traces and
other modifiers inadvertently prevented them from using the percent
and graph modifiers, which were legal use cases for values.
Put back the percent and graph modifiers.
- Fix various typos in the comments
- Set the trace_clock before initializing a histogram with clock
argument
The histogram API allows the user to specific which trace clock to
use via a "clock=" string. The histogram is set up first before the
clock is checked. If the passed in clock is not valid, it exits
without fully fixing up the histogram leaving it on the list and a
use-after-free can trigger.
Update the clock argument first and if it fails then exit gracefully
before the histogram trigger is placed on any lists.
- Restore :mod: trailer after parsing in ftrace_set_clr_event
The function ftrace_set_clr_event() modifies the parse string and
needs to put it back to what was passed in. It searches for ":mod:"
via a strsep() but fails to put back the first ':' in the string.
Add back the ':' in the passed in string.
- Take trace_array reference when opening a tracer options file
The options files are dynamically created and some tracers add their
own options. When a tracer adds their own list of options, the
trace_array holding them has an array to hold the list of options for
each tracer. This array increases in size via a krealloc(), and the
new entry gets a newly allocated array to hold the options of the new
tracer being added.
The element in each entry of the tracer's option array holds a
pointer back to the trace_array, a pointer to the tracer it is
associated to, a pointer to the flags of the option.
The issue is that these arrays are freed when the trace_array is
freed when its instance it represents is removed from the instances
directory. There's a race that an open of one of these options files
can happen when the instance is being removed.
Add a new helper function to be called by the open function of the
options file to iterate all existing trace_arrays under a lock and
find the one that has the given option element in one of it's tracer
arrays. If found, then update the associated trace_array's reference
counter to keep it from being freed. If not found, have the open call
return -ENODEV.
- Disable interrupts when acquiring the lock in rb_wake_up_waiters()
The function rb_wake_up_waiters() assumes it will be called in
interrupt context and does not disable irqs when taking
cpu_buffer->reader_lock, which can be called in hard interrupt
context. The issue is in PREEMPT_RT, this function is called in
thread context leaving this lock open to a deadlock.
Take the lock with interrupts disabled.
- Use rcu_assign_pointer() for tmp_ops filter hash
The tmp_ops used in update_ftrace_direct_mod() assigns its
filter_hash field directly, but that field is annotated as __rcu and
sparse complains. Assign it with rcu_assign_pointer()
- Fix use-after-free in enable_trigger_private_data_free()
The trace_event_call is accessed through the event_trigger_data's
trace_event_file pointer to put the trace_event_call on freeing. The
issue is that the trace_event_file data may have been freed already
causing a use-after-free. Add a field to the event_trigger_data that
points directly to the trace_event_call so that it can decrement its
reference directly without needing to go through the
trace_event_file.
- Fix accounting of buffer data remote headers
trace_buffer_desc_size() and trace_remote_alloc_buffer() undercount
the number of pages is needed for the asked for size as it doesn't
take into account the meta data on each page. Add a helper function
to do the calculation properly and use that in these functions.
- Catch nr_page_va overflow in ring_buffer_desc sizing
The number of pages per remote ring buffer is capped by
ring_buffer_desc::nr_page_va (32 bits). A buffer_size large enough to
overflow that field would silently allocate a descriptor smaller than
what was asked for.
- Do not resize the subbuf order if any per_cpu buffer is disabled
The mmapping of ring buffers disables resizing the subbuffers, but it
is done per-cpu whereas the subbuf size change is done for all the
per_cpu buffers under the buffer->mutex. It could change the size of
some while the mapping is happening on others. Have the resize of the
subbuf order check all the per_cpu buffers under the lock to see if
any of them is disabled before starting and causing an inconsistency
between buffers that are being mapped.
* tag 'trace-v7.3-rc2' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/trace/linux-trace: (25 commits)
ring-buffer: Check resize_disabled before publishing the new subbuf order
tracing/remotes: Catch nr_page_va overflow in ring_buffer_desc sizing
tracing/remotes: Account for ring buffer page header in size calculation
tracing: Don't dereference trace_event_file in deferred trigger free
ftrace: Use rcu_assign_pointer() for tmp_ops filter hash
ring-buffer: Acquire the lock with irqsave in rb_wake_up_waiters()
tracing: Take trace_array reference when opening a tracer options file
tracing: Fix ring_buffer_read_page_size() kernel-doc
tracing: Restore :mod: trailer after parsing in ftrace_set_clr_event()
tracing: Fix memory corruption from a "STACKTRACE" histogram key
tracing: Fix memory corruption from the histogram stacktrace modifier
tracing: Undo the registration when enabling the histogram trigger fails
tracing: Take the reference before publishing the named histogram trigger
tracing: Set the trace clock before registering the histogram trigger
tracing: Fix typo "preceeded" in comment
tracing: Fix typo "availabe" in comment
tracing: Let histogram values keep the percent and graph modifiers
tracing: Keep the entry count when the histogram stats allocation fails
tracing: Free histogram the field rejected for a bad modifier
tracing: Free histogram the var ref when its initialization fails
...
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst | 165 |
1 files changed, 165 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..f4f867cab --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst @@ -0,0 +1,165 @@ +.. SPDX-License-Identifier: (GPL-2.0+ OR CC-BY-4.0) +.. [see the bottom of this file for redistribution information] + +====================== +Bisecting a regression +====================== + +This document describes how to use a ``git bisect`` to find the source code +change that broke something -- for example when some functionality stopped +working after upgrading from Linux 6.0 to 6.1. + +The text focuses on the gist of the process. If you are new to bisecting the +kernel, better follow Documentation/admin-guide/verify-bugs-and-bisect-regressions.rst +instead: it depicts everything from start to finish while covering multiple +aspects even kernel developers occasionally forget. This includes detecting +situations early where a bisection would be a waste of time, as nobody would +care about the result -- for example, because the problem happens after the +kernel marked itself as 'tainted', occurs in an abandoned version, was already +fixed, or is caused by a .config change you or your Linux distributor performed. + +Finding the change causing a kernel issue using a bisection +=========================================================== + +*Note: the following process assumes you prepared everything for a bisection. +This includes having a Git clone with the appropriate sources, installing the +software required to build and install kernels, as well as a .config file stored +in a safe place (the following example assumes '~/prepared_kernel_.config') to +use as pristine base at each bisection step; ideally, you have also worked out +a fully reliable and straight-forward way to reproduce the regression, too.* + +* Preparation: start the bisection and tell Git about the points in the history + you consider to be working and broken, which Git calls 'good' and 'bad':: + + git bisect start + git bisect good v6.0 + git bisect bad v6.1 + + Instead of Git tags like 'v6.0' and 'v6.1' you can specify commit-ids, too. + +1. Copy your prepared .config into the build directory and adjust it to the + needs of the codebase Git checked out for testing:: + + cp ~/prepared_kernel_.config .config + make olddefconfig + +2. Now build, install, and boot a kernel. This might fail for unrelated reasons, + for example, when a compile error happens at the current stage of the + bisection a later change resolves. In such cases run ``git bisect skip`` and + go back to step 1. + +3. Check if the functionality that regressed works in the kernel you just built. + + If it works, execute:: + + git bisect good + + If it is broken, run:: + + git bisect bad + + Note, getting this wrong just once will send the rest of the bisection + totally off course. To prevent having to start anew later you thus want to + ensure what you tell Git is correct; it is thus often wise to spend a few + minutes more on testing in case your reproducer is unreliable. + + After issuing one of these two commands, Git will usually check out another + bisection point and print something like 'Bisecting: 675 revisions left to + test after this (roughly 10 steps)'. In that case go back to step 1. + + If Git instead prints something like 'cafecaca0c0dacafecaca0c0dacafecaca0c0da + is the first bad commit', then you have finished the bisection. In that case + move to the next point below. Note, right after displaying that line Git will + show some details about the culprit including its patch description; this can + easily fill your terminal, so you might need to scroll up to see the message + mentioning the culprit's commit-id. + + In case you missed Git's output, you can always run ``git bisect log`` to + print the status: it will show how many steps remain or mention the result of + the bisection. + +* Recommended complementary task: put the bisection log and the current .config + file aside for the bug report; furthermore tell Git to reset the sources to + the state before the bisection:: + + git bisect log > ~/bisection-log + cp .config ~/bisection-config-culprit + git bisect reset + +* Recommended optional task: try reverting the culprit on top of the latest + codebase and check if that fixes your bug; if that is the case, it validates + the bisection and enables developers to resolve the regression through a + revert. + + To try this, update your clone and check out latest mainline. Then tell Git + to revert the change by specifying its commit-id:: + + git revert --no-edit cafec0cacaca0 + + Git might reject this, for example when the bisection landed on a merge + commit. In that case, abandon the attempt. Do the same, if Git fails to revert + the culprit on its own because later changes depend on it -- at least unless + you bisected a stable or longterm kernel series, in which case you want to + check out its latest codebase and try a revert there. + + If a revert succeeds, build and test another kernel to check if reverting + resolved your regression. + +With that the process is complete. Now report the regression as described by +Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst. + +Bisecting linux-next +-------------------- + +If you face a problem only happening in linux-next, bisect between the +linux-next branches 'stable' and 'master'. The following commands will start +the process for a linux-next tree you added as a remote called 'next':: + + git bisect start + git bisect good next/stable + git bisect bad next/master + +The 'stable' branch refers to the state of linux-mainline that the current +linux-next release (found in the 'master' branch) is based on -- the former +thus should be free of any problems that show up in -next, but not in Linus' +tree. + +This will bisect across a wide range of changes, some of which you might have +used in earlier linux-next releases without problems. Sadly there is no simple +way to avoid checking them: bisecting from one linux-next release to a later +one (say between 'next-20241020' and 'next-20241021') is impossible, as they +share no common history. + +Additional reading material +--------------------------- + +* The `man page for 'git bisect' <https://git-scm.com/docs/git-bisect>`_ and + `fighting regressions with 'git bisect' <https://git-scm.com/docs/git-bisect-lk2009.html>`_ + in the Git documentation. +* `Working with git bisect <https://nathanchance.dev/posts/working-with-git-bisect/>`_ + from kernel developer Nathan Chancellor. +* `Using Git bisect to figure out when brokenness was introduced <http://webchick.net/node/99>`_. +* `Fully automated bisecting with 'git bisect run' <https://lwn.net/Articles/317154>`_. + +.. + end-of-content +.. + This document is maintained by Thorsten Leemhuis <linux@leemhuis.info>. If + you spot a typo or small mistake, feel free to let him know directly and + he'll fix it. You are free to do the same in a mostly informal way if you + want to contribute changes to the text -- but for copyright reasons please CC + linux-doc@vger.kernel.org and 'sign-off' your contribution as + Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst explains in the section 'Sign + your work - the Developer's Certificate of Origin'. +.. + This text is available under GPL-2.0+ or CC-BY-4.0, as stated at the top + of the file. If you want to distribute this text under CC-BY-4.0 only, + please use 'The Linux kernel development community' for author attribution + and link this as source: + https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/plain/Documentation/admin-guide/bug-bisect.rst + +.. + Note: Only the content of this RST file as found in the Linux kernel sources + is available under CC-BY-4.0, as versions of this text that were processed + (for example by the kernel's build system) might contain content taken from + files which use a more restrictive license. |
