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authorKumar Kartikeya Dwivedi <memxor@gmail.com>2026-09-04 10:43:19 +0200
committerAlexei Starovoitov <ast@kernel.org>2026-09-04 07:58:36 -0700
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tree58e8288fead484f6755ad0815fc74c3742663761 /Documentation/filesystems/ext4/inlinedata.rst
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selftests/bpf: Reject graph kptr use after RCU unlockgrafted
Add a sleepable verifier test that loads a graph-node local kptr in an explicit RCU read-side critical section, then passes its node to bpf_rbtree_remove() after the section ends. Before the verifier fix, the stale NON_OWN_REF flag makes the node look like a live borrowed reference and the program is accepted. After the fix, the pointer is demoted without NON_OWN_REF and the graph kfunc argument is rejected. Also exercise a graph kptr loaded while a spin lock provides implicit RCU protection. The pointer must be invalidated when the lock is released, which guards the required ordering between non-owning-reference invalidation and RCU demotion. Update the existing fault-protected load test state description. The post-unlock pointer no longer carries NON_OWN_REF, but remains readable because the load is rewritten to use BPF_PROBE_MEM. Signed-off-by: Kumar Kartikeya Dwivedi <memxor@gmail.com> Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20260904084325.52250-7-memxor@gmail.com Signed-off-by: Alexei Starovoitov <ast@kernel.org>
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+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+Inline Data
+-----------
+
+The inline data feature was designed to handle the case that a file's
+data is so tiny that it readily fits inside the inode, which
+(theoretically) reduces disk block consumption and reduces seeks. If the
+file is smaller than 60 bytes, then the data are stored inline in
+``inode.i_block``. If the rest of the file would fit inside the extended
+attribute space, then it might be found as an extended attribute
+“system.data” within the inode body (“ibody EA”). This of course
+constrains the amount of extended attributes one can attach to an inode.
+If the data size increases beyond i_block + ibody EA, a regular block
+is allocated and the contents moved to that block.
+
+Pending a change to compact the extended attribute key used to store
+inline data, one ought to be able to store 160 bytes of data in a
+256-byte inode (as of June 2015, when i_extra_isize is 28). Prior to
+that, the limit was 156 bytes due to inefficient use of inode space.
+
+The inline data feature requires the presence of an extended attribute
+for “system.data”, even if the attribute value is zero length.
+
+Inline Directories
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The first four bytes of i_block are the inode number of the parent
+directory. Following that is a 56-byte space for an array of directory
+entries; see ``struct ext4_dir_entry``. If there is a “system.data”
+attribute in the inode body, the EA value is an array of
+``struct ext4_dir_entry`` as well. Note that for inline directories, the
+i_block and EA space are treated as separate dirent blocks; directory
+entries cannot span the two.
+
+Inline directory entries are not checksummed, as the inode checksum
+should protect all inline data contents.