summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/Documentation/driver-api/firmware/firmware-usage-guidelines.rst
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
authorSven Schnelle <svens@linux.ibm.com>2026-09-09 11:29:53 +0200
committerMasami Hiramatsu (Google) <mhiramat@kernel.org>2026-09-10 08:43:35 +0900
commitd22c3e0088e85be8131f7a9283f759cdbb20726d (patch)
tree9668df2aa27b26f850d3ba5ba1287e443803675c /Documentation/driver-api/firmware/firmware-usage-guidelines.rst
downloadlinux-stable-d22c3e0088e85be8131f7a9283f759cdbb20726d.tar.gz
linux-stable-d22c3e0088e85be8131f7a9283f759cdbb20726d.zip
selftests/ftrace: Fix unique symbol check in kprobe_non_uniq_symbol.tcgrafted
The current regex also matches symbols in modules, which makes the test fail on s390 where name_show is present only once in the kernel, but also multiple times in modules: 000001b1401cdc20 t name_show 000001b0c05e6c40 t name_show [mdev] 000001b0c0495f30 t name_show [i2c_core] Fix this by changing the regular expression to only match the function name. Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260909092954.2200558-1-svens@linux.ibm.com/ Fixes: 03b80ff8023a ("selftests/ftrace: Add new test case which checks non unique symbol") Signed-off-by: Sven Schnelle <svens@linux.ibm.com> Reviewed-by: Steven Rostedt <rostedt@goodmis.org> Signed-off-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google) <mhiramat@kernel.org>
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/driver-api/firmware/firmware-usage-guidelines.rst')
-rw-r--r--Documentation/driver-api/firmware/firmware-usage-guidelines.rst49
1 files changed, 49 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/driver-api/firmware/firmware-usage-guidelines.rst b/Documentation/driver-api/firmware/firmware-usage-guidelines.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..336e91228
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/driver-api/firmware/firmware-usage-guidelines.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+===================
+Firmware Guidelines
+===================
+
+Users switching to a newer kernel should *not* have to install newer
+firmware files to keep their hardware working. At the same time updated
+firmware files must not cause any regressions for users of older kernel
+releases.
+
+Drivers that use firmware from linux-firmware should follow the rules in
+this guide. (Where there is limited control of the firmware,
+i.e. company doesn't support Linux, firmwares sourced from misc places,
+then of course these rules will not apply strictly.)
+
+* Firmware files shall be designed in a way that it allows checking for
+ firmware ABI version changes. It is recommended that firmware files be
+ versioned with at least a major/minor version. It is suggested that
+ the firmware files in linux-firmware be named with some device
+ specific name, and just the major version. The firmware version should
+ be stored in the firmware header, or as an exception, as part of the
+ firmware file name, in order to let the driver detact any non-ABI
+ fixes/changes. The firmware files in linux-firmware should be
+ overwritten with the newest compatible major version. Newer major
+ version firmware shall remain compatible with all kernels that load
+ that major number.
+
+* If the kernel support for the hardware is normally inactive, or the
+ hardware isn't available for public consumption, this can
+ be ignored, until the first kernel release that enables that hardware.
+ This means no major version bumps without the kernel retaining
+ backwards compatibility for the older major versions. Minor version
+ bumps should not introduce new features that newer kernels depend on
+ non-optionally.
+
+* If a security fix needs lockstep firmware and kernel fixes in order to
+ be successful, then all supported major versions in the linux-firmware
+ repo that are required by currently supported stable/LTS kernels,
+ should be updated with the security fix. The kernel patches should
+ detect if the firmware is new enough to declare if the security issue
+ is fixed. All communications around security fixes should point at
+ both the firmware and kernel fixes. If a security fix requires
+ deprecating old major versions, then this should only be done as a
+ last option, and be stated clearly in all communications.
+
+* Firmware files that affect the User API (UAPI) shall not introduce
+ changes that break existing userspace programs. Updates to such firmware
+ must ensure backward compatibility with existing userspace applications.
+ This includes maintaining consistent interfaces and behaviors that
+ userspace programs rely on.