Linux kernel source tree
Go to file
Lorenzo Stoakes 17fd82c3ab mm/vma: add and use vma_assert_stabilised()
Sometimes we wish to assert that a VMA is stable, that is - the VMA cannot
be changed underneath us.  This will be the case if EITHER the VMA lock or
the mmap lock is held.

In order to do so, we introduce a new assert vma_assert_stabilised() -
this will make a lockdep assert if lockdep is enabled AND the VMA is
read-locked.

Currently lockdep tracking for VMA write locks is not implemented, so it
suffices to check in this case that we have either an mmap read or write
semaphore held.

Note that because the VMA lock uses the non-standard vmlock_dep_map naming
convention, we cannot use lockdep_assert_is_write_held() so have to open
code this ourselves via lockdep-asserting that
lock_is_held_type(&vma->vmlock_dep_map, 0).

We have to be careful here - for instance when merging a VMA, we use the
mmap write lock to stabilise the examination of adjacent VMAs which might
be simultaneously VMA read-locked whilst being faulted in.

If we were to assert VMA read lock using lockdep we would encounter an
incorrect lockdep assert.

Also, we have to be careful about asserting mmap locks are held - if we
try to address the above issue by first checking whether mmap lock is held
and if so asserting it via lockdep, we may find that we were raced by
another thread acquiring an mmap read lock simultaneously that either we
don't own (and thus can be released any time - so we are not stable) or
was indeed released since we last checked.

So to deal with these complexities we end up with either a precise (if
lockdep is enabled) or imprecise (if not) approach - in the first instance
we assert the lock is held using lockdep and thus whether we own it.

If we do own it, then the check is complete, otherwise we must check for
the VMA read lock being held (VMA write lock implies mmap write lock so
the mmap lock suffices for this).

If lockdep is not enabled we simply check if the mmap lock is held and
risk a false negative (i.e.  not asserting when we should do).

There are a couple places in the kernel where we already do this
stabliisation check - the anon_vma_name() helper in mm/madvise.c and
vma_flag_set_atomic() in include/linux/mm.h, which we update to use
vma_assert_stabilised().

This change abstracts these into vma_assert_stabilised(), uses lockdep if
possible, and avoids a duplicate check of whether the mmap lock is held.

This is also self-documenting and lays the foundations for further VMA
stability checks in the code.

The only functional change here is adding the lockdep check.

Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/6c9e64bb2b56ddb6f806fde9237f8a00cb3a776b.1769198904.git.lorenzo.stoakes@oracle.com
Signed-off-by: Lorenzo Stoakes <lorenzo.stoakes@oracle.com>
Reviewed-by: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@suse.cz>
Reviewed-by: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Cc: Boqun Feng <boqun.feng@gmail.com>
Cc: Liam Howlett <liam.howlett@oracle.com>
Cc: Michal Hocko <mhocko@suse.com>
Cc: Mike Rapoport <rppt@kernel.org>
Cc: Shakeel Butt <shakeel.butt@linux.dev>
Cc: Waiman Long <longman@redhat.com>
Cc: Sebastian Andrzej Siewior <bigeasy@linutronix.de>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
2026-01-31 14:22:51 -08:00
arch sparc/mm: export symbols for lazy_mmu_mode KUnit tests 2026-01-31 14:22:40 -08:00
block mm/block/fs: remove laptop_mode 2026-01-20 19:24:47 -08:00
certs sign-file,extract-cert: use pkcs11 provider for OPENSSL MAJOR >= 3 2024-09-20 19:52:48 +03:00
crypto crypto: seqiv - Do not use req->iv after crypto_aead_encrypt 2025-12-19 14:47:06 +08:00
Documentation Docs/mm/damon/maintainer-profile: remove damon-tests/perf suggestion 2026-01-31 14:22:49 -08:00
drivers zram: rename init_lock to dev_lock 2026-01-31 14:22:36 -08:00
fs mm/block/fs: remove laptop_mode 2026-01-20 19:24:47 -08:00
include mm/vma: add and use vma_assert_stabilised() 2026-01-31 14:22:51 -08:00
init arch, mm: consolidate initialization of nodes, zones and memory map 2026-01-26 20:02:18 -08:00
io_uring io_uring-6.19-20260116 2026-01-16 20:56:56 -08:00
ipc Significant patch series in this pull request: 2025-12-06 14:01:20 -08:00
kernel Merge branch 'mm-hotfixes-stable' into mm-stable to pick up "mm/shmem, 2026-01-31 14:20:03 -08:00
lib alloc_tag: fix rw permission issue when handling boot parameter 2026-01-31 14:22:37 -08:00
LICENSES LICENSES: Add modern form of the LGPL-2.1 tags to the usage guide section 2025-10-22 07:58:19 +02:00
mm mm/vma: add and use vma_assert_stabilised() 2026-01-31 14:22:51 -08:00
net Including fixes from bluetooth, can and IPsec. 2026-01-15 10:11:11 -08:00
rust rust: bitops: fix missing _find_* functions on 32-bit ARM 2026-01-13 22:16:39 -05:00
samples samples/ftrace: Adjust LoongArch register restore order in direct calls 2025-12-31 15:19:25 +08:00
scripts Crypto library fixes for v6.19-rc5 2026-01-11 15:07:56 -10:00
security Landlock fix for v6.19-rc6 2026-01-18 15:15:47 -08:00
sound ALSA: hda/tas2781: Add newly-released HP laptop 2026-01-15 15:04:27 +01:00
tools selftests/damon/wss_estimation: deduplicate failed samples output 2026-01-31 14:22:45 -08:00
usr initramfs: add gen_init_cpio to hostprogs unconditionally 2025-11-26 21:55:40 +01:00
virt KVM fixes for 6.19-rc1 2025-12-18 18:38:45 +01:00
.clang-format s390/pci: Fix cyclic dead-lock in zpci_zdev_put() and zpci_scan_devices() 2025-12-14 11:03:58 +01:00
.clippy.toml rust: clean Rust 1.88.0's warning about clippy::disallowed_macros configuration 2025-05-07 00:11:47 +02:00
.cocciconfig
.editorconfig .editorconfig: remove trim_trailing_whitespace option 2024-06-13 16:47:52 +02:00
.get_maintainer.ignore MAINTAINERS: remove Alyssa Rosenzweig 2025-09-18 21:17:31 +02:00
.gitattributes .gitattributes: set diff driver for Rust source code files 2023-05-31 17:48:25 +02:00
.gitignore rust: kbuild: add proc macro library support 2025-11-24 17:15:36 +01:00
.mailmap mailmap: add entry for Viacheslav Bocharov 2026-01-26 19:03:46 -08:00
.pylintrc docs: Move the python libraries to tools/lib/python 2025-11-18 09:22:40 -07:00
.rustfmt.toml rust: add .rustfmt.toml 2022-09-28 09:02:20 +02:00
COPYING COPYING: state that all contributions really are covered by this file 2020-02-10 13:32:20 -08:00
CREDITS treewide: Update email address 2026-01-11 06:09:11 -10:00
Kbuild sched: Make migrate_{en,dis}able() inline 2025-09-25 09:57:16 +02:00
Kconfig io_uring: Rename KConfig to Kconfig 2025-02-19 14:53:27 -07:00
MAINTAINERS MAINTAINERS: move memory balloon infrastructure to "MEMORY MANAGEMENT - BALLOON" 2026-01-31 14:22:36 -08:00
Makefile Linux 6.19-rc6 2026-01-18 15:42:45 -08:00
README README: restructure with role-based documentation and guidelines 2025-11-29 08:40:33 -07:00

Linux kernel
============

The Linux kernel is the core of any Linux operating system. It manages hardware,
system resources, and provides the fundamental services for all other software.

Quick Start
-----------

* Report a bug: See Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst
* Get the latest kernel: https://kernel.org
* Build the kernel: See Documentation/admin-guide/quickly-build-trimmed-linux.rst
* Join the community: https://lore.kernel.org/

Essential Documentation
-----------------------

All users should be familiar with:

* Building requirements: Documentation/process/changes.rst
* Code of Conduct: Documentation/process/code-of-conduct.rst
* License: See COPYING

Documentation can be built with make htmldocs or viewed online at:
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/


Who Are You?
============

Find your role below:

* New Kernel Developer - Getting started with kernel development
* Academic Researcher - Studying kernel internals and architecture
* Security Expert - Hardening and vulnerability analysis
* Backport/Maintenance Engineer - Maintaining stable kernels
* System Administrator - Configuring and troubleshooting
* Maintainer - Leading subsystems and reviewing patches
* Hardware Vendor - Writing drivers for new hardware
* Distribution Maintainer - Packaging kernels for distros


For Specific Users
==================

New Kernel Developer
--------------------

Welcome! Start your kernel development journey here:

* Getting Started: Documentation/process/development-process.rst
* Your First Patch: Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
* Coding Style: Documentation/process/coding-style.rst
* Build System: Documentation/kbuild/index.rst
* Development Tools: Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst
* Kernel Hacking Guide: Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst
* Core APIs: Documentation/core-api/index.rst

Academic Researcher
-------------------

Explore the kernel's architecture and internals:

* Researcher Guidelines: Documentation/process/researcher-guidelines.rst
* Memory Management: Documentation/mm/index.rst
* Scheduler: Documentation/scheduler/index.rst
* Networking Stack: Documentation/networking/index.rst
* Filesystems: Documentation/filesystems/index.rst
* RCU (Read-Copy Update): Documentation/RCU/index.rst
* Locking Primitives: Documentation/locking/index.rst
* Power Management: Documentation/power/index.rst

Security Expert
---------------

Security documentation and hardening guides:

* Security Documentation: Documentation/security/index.rst
* LSM Development: Documentation/security/lsm-development.rst
* Self Protection: Documentation/security/self-protection.rst
* Reporting Vulnerabilities: Documentation/process/security-bugs.rst
* CVE Procedures: Documentation/process/cve.rst
* Embargoed Hardware Issues: Documentation/process/embargoed-hardware-issues.rst
* Security Features: Documentation/userspace-api/seccomp_filter.rst

Backport/Maintenance Engineer
-----------------------------

Maintain and stabilize kernel versions:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* Backporting Guide: Documentation/process/backporting.rst
* Applying Patches: Documentation/process/applying-patches.rst
* Subsystem Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git for Maintainers: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

System Administrator
--------------------

Configure, tune, and troubleshoot Linux systems:

* Admin Guide: Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Sysctl Tuning: Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/index.rst
* Tracing/Debugging: Documentation/trace/index.rst
* Performance Security: Documentation/admin-guide/perf-security.rst
* Hardware Monitoring: Documentation/hwmon/index.rst

Maintainer
----------

Lead kernel subsystems and manage contributions:

* Maintainer Handbook: Documentation/maintainer/index.rst
* Pull Requests: Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst
* Managing Patches: Documentation/maintainer/modifying-patches.rst
* Rebasing and Merging: Documentation/maintainer/rebasing-and-merging.rst
* Development Process: Documentation/process/maintainer-handbooks.rst
* Maintainer Entry Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git Configuration: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

Hardware Vendor
---------------

Write drivers and support new hardware:

* Driver API Guide: Documentation/driver-api/index.rst
* Driver Model: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/driver.rst
* Device Drivers: Documentation/driver-api/infrastructure.rst
* Bus Types: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/bus.rst
* Device Tree Bindings: Documentation/devicetree/bindings/
* Power Management: Documentation/driver-api/pm/index.rst
* DMA API: Documentation/core-api/dma-api.rst

Distribution Maintainer
-----------------------

Package and distribute the kernel:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* ABI Documentation: Documentation/ABI/README
* Kernel Configuration: Documentation/kbuild/kconfig.rst
* Module Signing: Documentation/admin-guide/module-signing.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Tainted Kernels: Documentation/admin-guide/tainted-kernels.rst



Communication and Support
=========================

* Mailing Lists: https://lore.kernel.org/
* IRC: #kernelnewbies on irc.oftc.net
* Bugzilla: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/
* MAINTAINERS file: Lists subsystem maintainers and mailing lists
* Email Clients: Documentation/process/email-clients.rst