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| author | Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> | 2026-08-30 09:22:00 -0700 |
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| committer | Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> | 2026-08-30 09:22:00 -0700 |
| commit | 034dd340b08be1f2f0477ad16131d609f9dbd53c (patch) | |
| tree | 2536f4b2d7893ccd916b5abdf3c454ad6edc03c2 /Documentation/trace/rv/runtime-verification.rst | |
| download | linux-stable-034dd340b08be1f2f0477ad16131d609f9dbd53c.tar.gz linux-stable-034dd340b08be1f2f0477ad16131d609f9dbd53c.zip | |
Merge tag 'trace-v7.3-2' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/trace/linux-tracegrafted
Pull tracing fixes from Steven Rostedt:
- Fix error output of boot instance creation failure
Currently if a boot instance creation fails, instead of printing out
the name of the instance that failed, it prints "(null)". That is
because it prints "cur_str" that had already been processed by
strsep(). Print the saved name instead.
While at it, print the error code of the failure.
- Fix use-after-free for same named historgrams
Histograms can be named so that they can be used in multiple events.
But if the named histogram has a variable attached, the second event
that uses the named histogram which duplicates it and needs to free
the original after duplication leaves the old variable in place and
still visible. If another histogram uses than variable, it will use
the stale one which will try to reference the freed duplicate
histogram and crash the kernel.
Free the duplicate variables along with the duplicated histogram
data.
- Check return value of kthread_run() in event self test
The events self tests uses a kthread for testing but does not check
if it succeeded in creating a kthread. If the kthread creation were
to fail, the code will still try to call kthread_stop() on the error
returned.
- Fix race between reading trace_pipe and updating subbuffer size
If a user is reading the trace_pipe file at the same time they update
the ring buffer sub-buffer size, can cause the trace_pipe read to
read stale data. Add trace_access_lock() around updating the ring
buffer sub-buffer size.
- Fix eventfs_inode on failure path in creation of the events directory
In the creation of the "events" directory, if after allocating the
eventfs_inode a failure is detected, it calls cleanup_ei() which
calls free_ei(). The free_ei() will test if eventfs_inode being freed
has no children. It is a bug if it does. But on the failure case of
the creation of the "events" directory, the children lists have not
yet been initialized and the free will trigger a warning because
list_empty() on an uninitialized list returns false.
Move the initialization into init_ei() where it makes more sense and
makes sure that a created eventfs_inode has its lists initialized
upon creation.
- Check return value of kthread_run() in ftrace direct sample code
The sample code that shows how to use the ftrace direct calls does
not test the return of kthread_run() to see if it succeeds. Return a
failure if the kthread_run() doesn't succeed.
- Clear user events state on fork in case of alloc failure
On fork, the child gets a pointer to the parent's user events state.
It makes a copy of it then updates the child's pointer to it. But if
the allocation fails, the duplication function leaves the child with
a pointer to its parent's descriptor. When the child cleans up its
data, it will free the parent's descriptor while the parent is still
using it.
In the duplication function, set the child's user_event_mm to NULL
before testing if the allocation succeeded, and when it exits it will
not free the parent's descriptor.
- Fix retry exhaustion in simple ring buffer reader swap
simple_ring_buffer_swap_reader_page() starts with retry set to 8 and
post-decrements it only after a failed link replacement. On the final
attempt, a successful replacement leaves retry at zero, while a
failed replacement leaves it at -1.
But the check for success expects the retry value to be non-zero and
exits with an error on zero. This is the opposite result. Fix it.
- Fail nicely when the remote swap_reader_page() returns an error
Currently, if the swap_reader_page() of a remote buffer fails, it
triggers a WARN_ON_ONCE() and continues normally. Instead, have it
exit with an error and a pr_warn() print instead of a full WARNING.
* tag 'trace-v7.3-2' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/trace/linux-trace:
ring-buffer: Stop remote reader update when page swap fails
tracing: Fix retry exhaustion in simple ring buffer reader swap
tracing/user_events: Clear copied tracing state before fork duplication
samples/ftrace: Fix kthread_stop() on ERR_PTR in ftrace-direct-multi-modify
samples/ftrace: Fix kthread_stop() on ERR_PTR in ftrace-direct-modify
eventfs: Initialize ei->children and ei->list in init_ei()
tracing: Fix use-after-free in trace_pipe read on sub-buffer order change
tracing: Fix crash passing ERR_PTR to kthread_stop()
tracing: Fix use-after-free with same-name named triggers
tracing: Fix logged instance name on creation failure
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/trace/rv/runtime-verification.rst')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/trace/rv/runtime-verification.rst | 231 |
1 files changed, 231 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/trace/rv/runtime-verification.rst b/Documentation/trace/rv/runtime-verification.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..c700dde92 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/trace/rv/runtime-verification.rst @@ -0,0 +1,231 @@ +==================== +Runtime Verification +==================== + +Runtime Verification (RV) is a lightweight (yet rigorous) method that +complements classical exhaustive verification techniques (such as *model +checking* and *theorem proving*) with a more practical approach for complex +systems. + +Instead of relying on a fine-grained model of a system (e.g., a +re-implementation at instruction level), RV works by analyzing the trace of the +system's actual execution, comparing it against a formal specification of +the system behavior. + +The main advantage is that RV can give precise information on the runtime +behavior of the monitored system, without the pitfalls of developing models +that require a re-implementation of the entire system in a modeling language. +Moreover, given an efficient monitoring method, it is possible to execute an +*online* verification of a system, enabling the *reaction* for unexpected +events, avoiding, for example, the propagation of a failure on safety-critical +systems. + +Runtime Monitors and Reactors +============================= + +A monitor is the central part of the runtime verification of a system. The +monitor stands in between the formal specification of the desired (or +undesired) behavior, and the trace of the actual system. + +In Linux terms, the runtime verification monitors are encapsulated inside the +*RV monitor* abstraction. A *RV monitor* includes a reference model of the +system, a set of instances of the monitor (per-cpu monitor, per-task monitor, +and so on), and the helper functions that glue the monitor to the system via +trace, as depicted below:: + + Linux +---- RV Monitor ----------------------------------+ Formal + Realm | | Realm + +-------------------+ +----------------+ +-----------------+ + | Linux kernel | | Monitor | | Reference | + | Tracing | -> | Instance(s) | <- | Model | + | (instrumentation) | | (verification) | | (specification) | + +-------------------+ +----------------+ +-----------------+ + | | | + | V | + | +----------+ | + | | Reaction | | + | +--+--+--+-+ | + | | | | | + | | | +-> trace output ? | + +------------------------|--|----------------------+ + | +----> panic ? + +-------> <user-specified> + +In addition to the verification and monitoring of the system, a monitor can +react to an unexpected event. The forms of reaction can vary from logging the +event occurrence to the enforcement of the correct behavior to the extreme +action of taking a system down to avoid the propagation of a failure. + +In Linux terms, a *reactor* is an reaction method available for *RV monitors*. +By default, all monitors should provide a trace output of their actions, +which is already a reaction. In addition, other reactions will be available +so the user can enable them as needed. + +For further information about the principles of runtime verification and +RV applied to Linux: + + Bartocci, Ezio, et al. *Introduction to runtime verification.* In: Lectures on + Runtime Verification. Springer, Cham, 2018. p. 1-33. + + Falcone, Ylies, et al. *A taxonomy for classifying runtime verification tools.* + In: International Conference on Runtime Verification. Springer, Cham, 2018. p. + 241-262. + + De Oliveira, Daniel Bristot. *Automata-based formal analysis and + verification of the real-time Linux kernel.* Ph.D. Thesis, 2020. + +Online RV monitors +================== + +Monitors can be classified as *offline* and *online* monitors. *Offline* +monitor process the traces generated by a system after the events, generally by +reading the trace execution from a permanent storage system. *Online* monitors +process the trace during the execution of the system. Online monitors are said +to be *synchronous* if the processing of an event is attached to the system +execution, blocking the system during the event monitoring. On the other hand, +an *asynchronous* monitor has its execution detached from the system. Each type +of monitor has a set of advantages. For example, *offline* monitors can be +executed on different machines but require operations to save the log to a +file. In contrast, *synchronous online* method can react at the exact moment +a violation occurs. + +Another important aspect regarding monitors is the overhead associated with the +event analysis. If the system generates events at a frequency higher than the +monitor's ability to process them in the same system, only the *offline* +methods are viable. On the other hand, if the tracing of the events incurs +on higher overhead than the simple handling of an event by a monitor, then a +*synchronous online* monitors will incur on lower overhead. + +Indeed, the research presented in: + + De Oliveira, Daniel Bristot; Cucinotta, Tommaso; De Oliveira, Romulo Silva. + *Efficient formal verification for the Linux kernel.* In: International + Conference on Software Engineering and Formal Methods. Springer, Cham, 2019. + p. 315-332. + +Shows that for Deterministic Automata models, the synchronous processing of +events in-kernel causes lower overhead than saving the same events to the trace +buffer, not even considering collecting the trace for user-space analysis. +This motivated the development of an in-kernel interface for online monitors. + +For further information about modeling of Linux kernel behavior using automata, +see: + + De Oliveira, Daniel B.; De Oliveira, Romulo S.; Cucinotta, Tommaso. *A thread + synchronization model for the PREEMPT_RT Linux kernel.* Journal of Systems + Architecture, 2020, 107: 101729. + +The user interface +================== + +The user interface resembles the tracing interface (on purpose). It is +currently at "/sys/kernel/tracing/rv/". + +The following files/folders are currently available: + +**available_monitors** + +- Reading list the available monitors, one per line + +For example:: + + # cat available_monitors + wip + wwnr + +**available_reactors** + +- Reading shows the available reactors, one per line. + +For example:: + + # cat available_reactors + nop + panic + printk + +**enabled_monitors**: + +- Reading lists the enabled monitors, one per line +- Writing to it enables a given monitor +- Writing a monitor name with a '!' prefix disables it +- Truncating the file disables all enabled monitors + +For example:: + + # cat enabled_monitors + # echo wip > enabled_monitors + # echo wwnr >> enabled_monitors + # cat enabled_monitors + wip + wwnr + # echo '!wip' >> enabled_monitors + # cat enabled_monitors + wwnr + # echo > enabled_monitors + # cat enabled_monitors + # + +Note that it is possible to enable more than one monitor concurrently. + +**monitoring_on** + +This is an on/off general switcher for monitoring. It resembles the +"tracing_on" switcher in the trace interface. + +- Writing "0" stops the monitoring +- Writing "1" continues the monitoring +- Reading returns the current status of the monitoring + +Note that it does not disable enabled monitors but stop the per-entity +monitors monitoring the events received from the system. + +**reacting_on** + +- Writing "0" prevents reactions for happening +- Writing "1" enable reactions +- Reading returns the current status of the reaction + +**monitors/** + +Each monitor will have its own directory inside "monitors/". There the +monitor-specific files will be presented. The "monitors/" directory resembles +the "events" directory on tracefs. + +For example:: + + # cd monitors/wip/ + # ls + desc enable + # cat desc + wakeup in preemptive per-cpu testing monitor. + # cat enable + 0 + +**monitors/MONITOR/desc** + +- Reading shows a description of the monitor *MONITOR* + +**monitors/MONITOR/enable** + +- Writing "0" disables the *MONITOR* +- Writing "1" enables the *MONITOR* +- Reading return the current status of the *MONITOR* + +**monitors/MONITOR/reactors** + +- List available reactors, with the select reaction for the given *MONITOR* + inside "[]". The default one is the nop (no operation) reactor. +- Writing the name of a reactor enables it to the given MONITOR. + +For example:: + + # cat monitors/wip/reactors + [nop] + panic + printk + # echo panic > monitors/wip/reactors + # cat monitors/wip/reactors + nop + [panic] + printk |
