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Lorenzo Stoakes (ARM) 33192a26cd mm/huge_memory: fix huge_zero_pfn race
Patch series "mm/huge_memory: fix huge_zero_pfn race", v2.

There is a subtle race in the reference-counted huge_zero_folio
implementation.

The fast path atomic logic fails to account for the fact that the shrinker
(which drops the final huge_zero_refcount pin) can overwrite huge_zero_pfn
with the ~0UL sentinel value in shrink_huge_zero_folio_scan() after a
racing get_huge_zero_folio() installed a valid value there.

This results in huge_zero_folio being correctly set but huge_zero_pfn
being set incorrectly and thus is_huge_zero_pfn() and consequently
is_huge_zero_pmd() will misidentify the huge zero folio as being an
ordinary THP folio.

This can result in the huge zero folio being split and otherwise treated
incorrectly.

The solution to this is very subtle as there is an atomic fast path, and
thus ordering in weakly ordered architectures has to be treated very
carefully.

The first commit fixes the issue by introducing a spinlock around
huge_zero_[pfn, folio, refcount] write, with careful consideration paid to
load/store ordering in the fast path.  It is placed first and kept as
small as possible so that it can be backported on its own.

The second commit is a pure cleanup which reworks the
CONFIG_PERSISTENT_HUGE_ZERO_FOLIO logic to better separate the persistent
logic from the dynamically allocated one.


This patch (of 2):

If !CONFIG_PERSISTENT_HUGE_ZERO_FOLIO, the huge_zero_folio is refcounted
by huge_zero_refcount and returned by mm_get_huge_zero_folio().

When the caller is done with the huge zero page, its reference count is
decremented.  Only a shrinker can set the reference count to zero.

A race can unfortunately occur between a shrinker decrementing the
reference count to zero and a concurrent page fault.

This is because shrink_huge_zero_folio_scan() might, if very unlucky, be
preempted between setting huge_zero_refcount to zero and writing an
invalid value.

During this time get_huge_zero_folio() could write to huge_zero_pfn before
shrink_huge_zero_folio_scan() resumes.

In this event the huge zero folio will be persistently misidentified
causing the THP code path to be entered inappropriately for the huge zero
folio:

                CPU 0                                   CPU 1
=======================================|=================================
shrink_huge_zero_folio_scan()          |
   atomic_cmpxchg() sets refcount to 0 |
   xchg() sets huge_zero_folio to NULL | get_huge_zero_folio()
                 |                     |    atomic_inc_not_zero() -> zero
      preempted for a long time        |    Allocate new huge zero folio
                 |                     |    Write valid huge_zero_folio
                 v                     |    Write valid huge_zero_pfn
  Overwrite huge_zero_pfn with ~0UL   <--- Invalid overwrite!

This results in is_huge_zero_pfn() and is_huge_zero_pmd() incorrectly
returning false for a huge zero page which could result in issues like the
huge zero folio being incorrectly split.

Note that the issue is with huge_zero_pfn not huge_zero_folio, as
get_huge_zero_folio() uses cmpxchg() gated on huge_zero_folio being NULL
with a retry loop and shrink_huge_zero_folio_scan() uses xchg() to set
huge_zero_folio.

Fix the issue by introducing a spinlock, huge_zero_lock, to prevent
concurrent write of huge_zero_folio, huge_zero_pfn and huge_zero_refcount.

There needs to be significant care taken here to ensure correctness:

The fast path in get_huge_zero_folio() uses atomic_inc_not_zero(), which
is outside of the critical section, and means huge zero allocation is
gated on zero huge_zero_refcount.

The fast path doesn't use huge_zero_lock, so the critical section is
irrelevant to it.

So invariants are required - huge_zero_refcount MUST:

* Only be set in the huge_zero_lock critical section to ensure
  serialisation of huge_zero_pfn, huge_zero_folio and huge_zero_refcount
  writes.

* Be set non-zero only AFTER huge_zero_[pfn, folio] are set to valid values
  so installation of the huge zero folio on read page fault ensures
  concurrent is_huge_zero_*() calls correctly identify the huge zero folio.

* Be set zero only BEFORE huge_zero_[pfn, folio] are set to NULL and ~0UL
  respectively, and atomically.

Establish these by:

* Only setting huge_zero_refcount to zero or an absolute value in the
  huge_zero_lock critical section in get_huge_zero_folio() and
  shrink_huge_zero_folio_scan(), and always updating atomically there
  and elsewhere.

* Using atomic_set_release(&huge_zero_refcount) in get_huge_zero_folio()
  after huge_zero_[pfn, folio] are set. This is paired with
  atomic_inc_not_zero() to ensure atomic_inc_not_zero() only observes a
  non-zero value if huge_zero_[pfn, folio] are set.

* Using atomic_cmpxchg() in shrink_huge_zero_folio_scan() (as before) to
  ensure that it is set zero only when equal to 1 and set atomically.

* atomic_cmpxchg() being fully ordered ensures this is done prior to
  huge_zero_[folio, pfn] being set to NULL and ~0UL respectively.

Eliminate the retry loop in get_huge_zero_folio() as the atomic_cmpxchg()
in shrink_huge_zero_folio_scan() is now performed under the lock, and
replace with an equally locked atomic_inc() to set the reference count
should the caller be raced on huge zero folio installation.

folio_put() naturally implies a full memory barrier so its ordering is
maintained correctly.

The huge zero folio also cannot be released except when the shrinker does
so as it is non-LRU and non-rmappable.

Note that only the huge zero shrinker (via shrink_huge_zero_folio_scan())
can actually set huge_zero_refcount to zero, which is the count of mm's
which have at least one huge zero folio installed plus one shrinker pin.

Additionally convert a BUG_ON() to a VM_WARN_ON_ONCE().

Link: https://lore.kernel.org/20260730-fix-refcounted-huge-zero-v2-0-c5d8a41b317f@kernel.org
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/20260730-fix-refcounted-huge-zero-v2-1-c5d8a41b317f@kernel.org
Fixes: 3b77e8c8cd ("mm/thp: make is_huge_zero_pmd() safe and quicker")
Signed-off-by: Lorenzo Stoakes (ARM) <ljs@kernel.org>
Reported-by: Hengbin Zhang <uqbarz@gmail.com>
Closes: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-mm/20260727154001.4102341-1-uqbarz@gmail.com/
Suggested-by: David Hildenbrand (Arm) <david@kernel.org>
Acked-by: David Hildenbrand (Arm) <david@kernel.org>
Cc: Baolin Wang <baolin.wang@linux.alibaba.com>
Cc: Barry Song <baohua@kernel.org>
Cc: Dev Jain <dev.jain@arm.com>
Cc: Hannes Reinecke <hare@suse.de>
Cc: Hugh Dickins <hughd@google.com>
Cc: Kiryl Shutsemau <kas@kernel.org>
Cc: Lance Yang <lance.yang@linux.dev>
Cc: Liam R. Howlett <liam@infradead.org>
Cc: Nico Pache <npache@redhat.com>
Cc: Pankaj Raghav <p.raghav@samsung.com>
Cc: Ryan Roberts <ryan.roberts@arm.com>
Cc: Yang Shi <shy828301@gmail.com>
Cc: Zi Yan <ziy@nvidia.com>
Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
2026-08-04 20:02:01 -07:00
arch microblaze: restore the page alignment of swapper_pg_dir 2026-08-04 20:02:00 -07:00
block block: fix aligning of bounced dio read bios 2026-07-16 06:11:37 -06:00
certs treewide: fix indentation and whitespace in Kconfig files 2026-05-28 21:24:42 -07:00
crypto crypto: aes - Fix conditions for selecting MAC dependencies 2026-07-09 11:06:22 -04:00
Documentation spi: Fixes for v7.2 2026-07-26 12:13:42 -07:00
drivers Pin control fixes for the v7.2 series: 2026-07-27 08:48:48 -07:00
fs 13 hotfixes. All are cc:stable. 11 are for MM. All are singletons - 2026-07-27 14:36:26 -07:00
include mm/vmalloc: acquire init_mm lock on huge vmap to avoid ptdump UAF 2026-08-04 20:02:00 -07:00
init rust: allow suspicious_runtime_symbol_definitions lint for Rust >= 1.98 2026-06-29 13:02:15 +02:00
io_uring io_uring-7.2-20260724 2026-07-24 19:58:03 -07:00
ipc kernel-7.2-rc1.misc 2026-06-15 03:05:50 +05:30
kernel tracing fix for 7.2: 2026-07-26 09:15:59 -07:00
lib 13 hotfixes. All are cc:stable. 11 are for MM. All are singletons - 2026-07-27 14:36:26 -07:00
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/huge_memory: fix huge_zero_pfn race 2026-08-04 20:02:01 -07:00
net BPF fixes: 2026-07-24 19:31:12 -07:00
rust rust: time: fix as_micros_ceil() to round correctly for negative Delta 2026-07-18 19:07:35 +02:00
samples tracing fixes for 7.2: 2026-07-12 09:46:37 -07:00
scripts scripts/sorttable: Handle RISC-V patchable ftrace entries 2026-06-25 13:15:03 -06:00
security keys: make keyring key-chunk byte order agree with keyring_diff_objects() 2026-07-23 18:23:39 +03:00
sound ALSA: hda/realtek - Add quirk for Dell Pro QC1255 2026-07-21 09:55:17 +02:00
tools selftests/mm: fix potential wild pointer access of getline due to missing init 2026-07-28 17:37:34 -07:00
usr kbuild: uapi: also test UAPI headers against C++ compilers 2026-03-25 13:24:42 +01:00
virt KVM/arm64 fixes for 7.2, take #2 2026-07-15 12:13:30 +02:00
.clang-format clang-format: fix formatting of guard() and scoped_guard() statements 2026-05-28 21:24:41 -07:00
.clippy.toml rust: bump Clippy's MSRV and clean incompatible_msrv allows 2026-04-07 09:51:39 +02:00
.cocciconfig
.editorconfig editorconfig: add rst extension 2026-01-26 19:07:09 -08:00
.get_maintainer.ignore .get_maintainer.ignore: add myself 2026-04-02 16:48:25 +02:00
.gitattributes .gitattributes: set diff driver for Rust source code files 2023-05-31 17:48:25 +02:00
.gitignore SPDX patches for 7.2-rc1 2026-06-22 12:06:22 -07:00
.mailmap MAINTAINERS: update address for Brendan Jackman 2026-08-04 20:02:01 -07:00
.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
CREDITS CREDITS: Add Wolfram Sang 2026-07-14 16:34:04 +02:00
Kbuild checksyscalls: move instance functionality into generic code 2026-04-05 09:21:32 +02:00
Kconfig io_uring: Rename KConfig to Kconfig 2025-02-19 14:53:27 -07:00
MAINTAINERS MAINTAINERS: update address for Brendan Jackman 2026-08-04 20:02:01 -07:00
Makefile Linux 7.2-rc5 2026-07-26 14:45:48 -07:00
README docs: add AI Coding Assistants documentation 2026-01-06 14:55:06 -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
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* Join the community: https://lore.kernel.org/

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

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* Building requirements: Documentation/process/changes.rst
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* License: See COPYING

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


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============

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* New Kernel Developer - Getting started with kernel development
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For Specific Users
==================

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

Welcome! Start your kernel development journey here:

* Getting Started: Documentation/process/development-process.rst
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* Coding Style: Documentation/process/coding-style.rst
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* 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
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* Networking Stack: Documentation/networking/index.rst
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---------------

Security documentation and hardening guides:

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-----------------------------

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
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--------------------

Configure, tune, and troubleshoot Linux systems:

* Admin Guide: Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst
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----------

Lead kernel subsystems and manage contributions:

* Maintainer Handbook: Documentation/maintainer/index.rst
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---------------

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* 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

AI Coding Assistant
-------------------

CRITICAL: If you are an LLM or AI-powered coding assistant, you MUST read and
follow the AI coding assistants documentation before contributing to the Linux
kernel:

* Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst

This documentation contains essential requirements about licensing, attribution,
and the Developer Certificate of Origin that all AI tools must comply with.


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=========================

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