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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/locking/percpu-rw-semaphore.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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+====================
+Percpu rw semaphores
+====================
+
+Percpu rw semaphores is a new read-write semaphore design that is
+optimized for locking for reading.
+
+The problem with traditional read-write semaphores is that when multiple
+cores take the lock for reading, the cache line containing the semaphore
+is bouncing between L1 caches of the cores, causing performance
+degradation.
+
+Locking for reading is very fast, it uses RCU and it avoids any atomic
+instruction in the lock and unlock path. On the other hand, locking for
+writing is very expensive, it calls synchronize_rcu() that can take
+hundreds of milliseconds.
+
+The lock is declared with "struct percpu_rw_semaphore" type.
+The lock is initialized with percpu_init_rwsem, it returns 0 on success
+and -ENOMEM on allocation failure.
+The lock must be freed with percpu_free_rwsem to avoid memory leak.
+
+The lock is locked for read with percpu_down_read, percpu_up_read and
+for write with percpu_down_write, percpu_up_write.
+
+The idea of using RCU for optimized rw-lock was introduced by
+Eric Dumazet <eric.dumazet@gmail.com>.
+The code was written by Mikulas Patocka <mpatocka@redhat.com>