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authorLinus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>2026-09-13 12:27:00 -0700
committerLinus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>2026-09-13 12:27:00 -0700
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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 ...
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+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+.. Copyright (C) 2019, Google LLC.
+
+Kernel Concurrency Sanitizer (KCSAN)
+====================================
+
+The Kernel Concurrency Sanitizer (KCSAN) is a dynamic race detector, which
+relies on compile-time instrumentation, and uses a watchpoint-based sampling
+approach to detect races. KCSAN's primary purpose is to detect `data races`_.
+
+Usage
+-----
+
+KCSAN is supported by both GCC and Clang. With GCC we require version 11 or
+later, and with Clang also require version 11 or later.
+
+To enable KCSAN configure the kernel with::
+
+ CONFIG_KCSAN = y
+
+KCSAN provides several other configuration options to customize behaviour (see
+the respective help text in ``lib/Kconfig.kcsan`` for more info).
+
+Error reports
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+A typical data race report looks like this::
+
+ ==================================================================
+ BUG: KCSAN: data-race in test_kernel_read / test_kernel_write
+
+ write to 0xffffffffc009a628 of 8 bytes by task 487 on cpu 0:
+ test_kernel_write+0x1d/0x30
+ access_thread+0x89/0xd0
+ kthread+0x23e/0x260
+ ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30
+
+ read to 0xffffffffc009a628 of 8 bytes by task 488 on cpu 6:
+ test_kernel_read+0x10/0x20
+ access_thread+0x89/0xd0
+ kthread+0x23e/0x260
+ ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30
+
+ value changed: 0x00000000000009a6 -> 0x00000000000009b2
+
+ Reported by Kernel Concurrency Sanitizer on:
+ CPU: 6 PID: 488 Comm: access_thread Not tainted 5.12.0-rc2+ #1
+ Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.14.0-2 04/01/2014
+ ==================================================================
+
+The header of the report provides a short summary of the functions involved in
+the race. It is followed by the access types and stack traces of the 2 threads
+involved in the data race. If KCSAN also observed a value change, the observed
+old value and new value are shown on the "value changed" line respectively.
+
+The other less common type of data race report looks like this::
+
+ ==================================================================
+ BUG: KCSAN: data-race in test_kernel_rmw_array+0x71/0xd0
+
+ race at unknown origin, with read to 0xffffffffc009bdb0 of 8 bytes by task 515 on cpu 2:
+ test_kernel_rmw_array+0x71/0xd0
+ access_thread+0x89/0xd0
+ kthread+0x23e/0x260
+ ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30
+
+ value changed: 0x0000000000002328 -> 0x0000000000002329
+
+ Reported by Kernel Concurrency Sanitizer on:
+ CPU: 2 PID: 515 Comm: access_thread Not tainted 5.12.0-rc2+ #1
+ Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.14.0-2 04/01/2014
+ ==================================================================
+
+This report is generated where it was not possible to determine the other
+racing thread, but a race was inferred due to the data value of the watched
+memory location having changed. These reports always show a "value changed"
+line. A common reason for reports of this type are missing instrumentation in
+the racing thread, but could also occur due to e.g. DMA accesses. Such reports
+are shown only if ``CONFIG_KCSAN_REPORT_RACE_UNKNOWN_ORIGIN=y``, which is
+enabled by default.
+
+Selective analysis
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+It may be desirable to disable data race detection for specific accesses,
+functions, compilation units, or entire subsystems. For static blacklisting,
+the below options are available:
+
+* KCSAN understands the ``data_race(expr)`` annotation, which tells KCSAN that
+ any data races due to accesses in ``expr`` should be ignored and resulting
+ behaviour when encountering a data race is deemed safe. Please see
+ `"Marking Shared-Memory Accesses" in the LKMM`_ for more information.
+
+* Similar to ``data_race(...)``, the type qualifier ``__data_racy`` can be used
+ to document that all data races due to accesses to a variable are intended
+ and should be ignored by KCSAN::
+
+ struct foo {
+ ...
+ int __data_racy stats_counter;
+ ...
+ };
+
+* Disabling data race detection for entire functions can be accomplished by
+ using the function attribute ``__no_kcsan``::
+
+ __no_kcsan
+ void foo(void) {
+ ...
+
+ To dynamically limit for which functions to generate reports, see the
+ `DebugFS interface`_ blacklist/whitelist feature.
+
+* To disable data race detection for a particular compilation unit, add to the
+ ``Makefile``::
+
+ KCSAN_SANITIZE_file.o := n
+
+* To disable data race detection for all compilation units listed in a
+ ``Makefile``, add to the respective ``Makefile``::
+
+ KCSAN_SANITIZE := n
+
+.. _"Marking Shared-Memory Accesses" in the LKMM: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/tools/memory-model/Documentation/access-marking.txt
+
+Furthermore, it is possible to tell KCSAN to show or hide entire classes of
+data races, depending on preferences. These can be changed via the following
+Kconfig options:
+
+* ``CONFIG_KCSAN_REPORT_VALUE_CHANGE_ONLY``: If enabled and a conflicting write
+ is observed via a watchpoint, but the data value of the memory location was
+ observed to remain unchanged, do not report the data race.
+
+* ``CONFIG_KCSAN_ASSUME_PLAIN_WRITES_ATOMIC``: Assume that plain aligned writes
+ up to word size are atomic by default. Assumes that such writes are not
+ subject to unsafe compiler optimizations resulting in data races. The option
+ causes KCSAN to not report data races due to conflicts where the only plain
+ accesses are aligned writes up to word size.
+
+* ``CONFIG_KCSAN_PERMISSIVE``: Enable additional permissive rules to ignore
+ certain classes of common data races. Unlike the above, the rules are more
+ complex involving value-change patterns, access type, and address. This
+ option depends on ``CONFIG_KCSAN_REPORT_VALUE_CHANGE_ONLY=y``. For details
+ please see the ``kernel/kcsan/permissive.h``. Testers and maintainers that
+ only focus on reports from specific subsystems and not the whole kernel are
+ recommended to disable this option.
+
+To use the strictest possible rules, select ``CONFIG_KCSAN_STRICT=y``, which
+configures KCSAN to follow the Linux-kernel memory consistency model (LKMM) as
+closely as possible.
+
+DebugFS interface
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The file ``/sys/kernel/debug/kcsan`` provides the following interface:
+
+* Reading ``/sys/kernel/debug/kcsan`` returns various runtime statistics.
+
+* Writing ``on`` or ``off`` to ``/sys/kernel/debug/kcsan`` allows turning KCSAN
+ on or off, respectively.
+
+* Writing ``!some_func_name`` to ``/sys/kernel/debug/kcsan`` adds
+ ``some_func_name`` to the report filter list, which (by default) blacklists
+ reporting data races where either one of the top stackframes are a function
+ in the list.
+
+* Writing either ``blacklist`` or ``whitelist`` to ``/sys/kernel/debug/kcsan``
+ changes the report filtering behaviour. For example, the blacklist feature
+ can be used to silence frequently occurring data races; the whitelist feature
+ can help with reproduction and testing of fixes.
+
+Tuning performance
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Core parameters that affect KCSAN's overall performance and bug detection
+ability are exposed as kernel command-line arguments whose defaults can also be
+changed via the corresponding Kconfig options.
+
+* ``kcsan.skip_watch`` (``CONFIG_KCSAN_SKIP_WATCH``): Number of per-CPU memory
+ operations to skip, before another watchpoint is set up. Setting up
+ watchpoints more frequently will result in the likelihood of races to be
+ observed to increase. This parameter has the most significant impact on
+ overall system performance and race detection ability.
+
+* ``kcsan.udelay_task`` (``CONFIG_KCSAN_UDELAY_TASK``): For tasks, the
+ microsecond delay to stall execution after a watchpoint has been set up.
+ Larger values result in the window in which we may observe a race to
+ increase.
+
+* ``kcsan.udelay_interrupt`` (``CONFIG_KCSAN_UDELAY_INTERRUPT``): For
+ interrupts, the microsecond delay to stall execution after a watchpoint has
+ been set up. Interrupts have tighter latency requirements, and their delay
+ should generally be smaller than the one chosen for tasks.
+
+They may be tweaked at runtime via ``/sys/module/kcsan/parameters/``.
+
+Data Races
+----------
+
+In an execution, two memory accesses form a *data race* if they *conflict*,
+they happen concurrently in different threads, and at least one of them is a
+*plain access*; they *conflict* if both access the same memory location, and at
+least one is a write. For a more thorough discussion and definition, see `"Plain
+Accesses and Data Races" in the LKMM`_.
+
+.. _"Plain Accesses and Data Races" in the LKMM: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/tools/memory-model/Documentation/explanation.txt?id=8f6629c004b193d23612641c3607e785819e97ab#n2164
+
+Relationship with the Linux-Kernel Memory Consistency Model (LKMM)
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The LKMM defines the propagation and ordering rules of various memory
+operations, which gives developers the ability to reason about concurrent code.
+Ultimately this allows to determine the possible executions of concurrent code,
+and if that code is free from data races.
+
+KCSAN is aware of *marked atomic operations* (``READ_ONCE``, ``WRITE_ONCE``,
+``atomic_*``, etc.), and a subset of ordering guarantees implied by memory
+barriers. With ``CONFIG_KCSAN_WEAK_MEMORY=y``, KCSAN models load or store
+buffering, and can detect missing ``smp_mb()``, ``smp_wmb()``, ``smp_rmb()``,
+``smp_store_release()``, and all ``atomic_*`` operations with equivalent
+implied barriers.
+
+Note, KCSAN will not report all data races due to missing memory ordering,
+specifically where a memory barrier would be required to prohibit subsequent
+memory operation from reordering before the barrier. Developers should
+therefore carefully consider the required memory ordering requirements that
+remain unchecked.
+
+Race Detection Beyond Data Races
+--------------------------------
+
+For code with complex concurrency design, race-condition bugs may not always
+manifest as data races. Race conditions occur if concurrently executing
+operations result in unexpected system behaviour. On the other hand, data races
+are defined at the C-language level. The following macros can be used to check
+properties of concurrent code where bugs would not manifest as data races.
+
+.. kernel-doc:: include/linux/kcsan-checks.h
+ :functions: ASSERT_EXCLUSIVE_WRITER ASSERT_EXCLUSIVE_WRITER_SCOPED
+ ASSERT_EXCLUSIVE_ACCESS ASSERT_EXCLUSIVE_ACCESS_SCOPED
+ ASSERT_EXCLUSIVE_BITS
+
+Implementation Details
+----------------------
+
+KCSAN relies on observing that two accesses happen concurrently. Crucially, we
+want to (a) increase the chances of observing races (especially for races that
+manifest rarely), and (b) be able to actually observe them. We can accomplish
+(a) by injecting various delays, and (b) by using address watchpoints (or
+breakpoints).
+
+If we deliberately stall a memory access, while we have a watchpoint for its
+address set up, and then observe the watchpoint to fire, two accesses to the
+same address just raced. Using hardware watchpoints, this is the approach taken
+in `DataCollider
+<http://usenix.org/legacy/events/osdi10/tech/full_papers/Erickson.pdf>`_.
+Unlike DataCollider, KCSAN does not use hardware watchpoints, but instead
+relies on compiler instrumentation and "soft watchpoints".
+
+In KCSAN, watchpoints are implemented using an efficient encoding that stores
+access type, size, and address in a long; the benefits of using "soft
+watchpoints" are portability and greater flexibility. KCSAN then relies on the
+compiler instrumenting plain accesses. For each instrumented plain access:
+
+1. Check if a matching watchpoint exists; if yes, and at least one access is a
+ write, then we encountered a racing access.
+
+2. Periodically, if no matching watchpoint exists, set up a watchpoint and
+ stall for a small randomized delay.
+
+3. Also check the data value before the delay, and re-check the data value
+ after delay; if the values mismatch, we infer a race of unknown origin.
+
+To detect data races between plain and marked accesses, KCSAN also annotates
+marked accesses, but only to check if a watchpoint exists; i.e. KCSAN never
+sets up a watchpoint on marked accesses. By never setting up watchpoints for
+marked operations, if all accesses to a variable that is accessed concurrently
+are properly marked, KCSAN will never trigger a watchpoint and therefore never
+report the accesses.
+
+Modeling Weak Memory
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+KCSAN's approach to detecting data races due to missing memory barriers is
+based on modeling access reordering (with ``CONFIG_KCSAN_WEAK_MEMORY=y``).
+Each plain memory access for which a watchpoint is set up, is also selected for
+simulated reordering within the scope of its function (at most 1 in-flight
+access).
+
+Once an access has been selected for reordering, it is checked along every
+other access until the end of the function scope. If an appropriate memory
+barrier is encountered, the access will no longer be considered for simulated
+reordering.
+
+When the result of a memory operation should be ordered by a barrier, KCSAN can
+then detect data races where the conflict only occurs as a result of a missing
+barrier. Consider the example::
+
+ int x, flag;
+ void T1(void)
+ {
+ x = 1; // data race!
+ WRITE_ONCE(flag, 1); // correct: smp_store_release(&flag, 1)
+ }
+ void T2(void)
+ {
+ while (!READ_ONCE(flag)); // correct: smp_load_acquire(&flag)
+ ... = x; // data race!
+ }
+
+When weak memory modeling is enabled, KCSAN can consider ``x`` in ``T1`` for
+simulated reordering. After the write of ``flag``, ``x`` is again checked for
+concurrent accesses: because ``T2`` is able to proceed after the write of
+``flag``, a data race is detected. With the correct barriers in place, ``x``
+would not be considered for reordering after the proper release of ``flag``,
+and no data race would be detected.
+
+Deliberate trade-offs in complexity but also practical limitations mean only a
+subset of data races due to missing memory barriers can be detected. With
+currently available compiler support, the implementation is limited to modeling
+the effects of "buffering" (delaying accesses), since the runtime cannot
+"prefetch" accesses. Also recall that watchpoints are only set up for plain
+accesses, and the only access type for which KCSAN simulates reordering. This
+means reordering of marked accesses is not modeled.
+
+A consequence of the above is that acquire operations do not require barrier
+instrumentation (no prefetching). Furthermore, marked accesses introducing
+address or control dependencies do not require special handling (the marked
+access cannot be reordered, later dependent accesses cannot be prefetched).
+
+Key Properties
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+1. **Memory Overhead:** The overall memory overhead is only a few MiB
+ depending on configuration. The current implementation uses a small array of
+ longs to encode watchpoint information, which is negligible.
+
+2. **Performance Overhead:** KCSAN's runtime aims to be minimal, using an
+ efficient watchpoint encoding that does not require acquiring any shared
+ locks in the fast-path. For kernel boot on a system with 8 CPUs:
+
+ - 5.0x slow-down with the default KCSAN config;
+ - 2.8x slow-down from runtime fast-path overhead only (set very large
+ ``KCSAN_SKIP_WATCH`` and unset ``KCSAN_SKIP_WATCH_RANDOMIZE``).
+
+3. **Annotation Overheads:** Minimal annotations are required outside the KCSAN
+ runtime. As a result, maintenance overheads are minimal as the kernel
+ evolves.
+
+4. **Detects Racy Writes from Devices:** Due to checking data values upon
+ setting up watchpoints, racy writes from devices can also be detected.
+
+5. **Memory Ordering:** KCSAN is aware of only a subset of LKMM ordering rules;
+ this may result in missed data races (false negatives).
+
+6. **Analysis Accuracy:** For observed executions, due to using a sampling
+ strategy, the analysis is *unsound* (false negatives possible), but aims to
+ be complete (no false positives).
+
+Alternatives Considered
+-----------------------
+
+An alternative data race detection approach for the kernel can be found in the
+`Kernel Thread Sanitizer (KTSAN)
+<https://github.com/google/kernel-sanitizers/blob/master/KTSAN.md>`_.
+KTSAN is a happens-before data race detector, which explicitly establishes the
+happens-before order between memory operations, which can then be used to
+determine data races as defined in `Data Races`_.
+
+To build a correct happens-before relation, KTSAN must be aware of all ordering
+rules of the LKMM and synchronization primitives. Unfortunately, any omission
+leads to large numbers of false positives, which is especially detrimental in
+the context of the kernel which includes numerous custom synchronization
+mechanisms. To track the happens-before relation, KTSAN's implementation
+requires metadata for each memory location (shadow memory), which for each page
+corresponds to 4 pages of shadow memory, and can translate into overhead of
+tens of GiB on a large system.