linux-kernel.vger.kernel.org archive mirror
 help / color / mirror / Atom feed
* Possible race in hysdn.ko
@ 2017-07-27 16:19 Anton Volkov
  2017-07-28  4:46 ` isdn
  0 siblings, 1 reply; 8+ messages in thread
From: Anton Volkov @ 2017-07-27 16:19 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: isdn; +Cc: netdev, linux-kernel, ldv-project, khoroshilov

Hello.

While searching for races in the Linux kernel I've come across
"drivers/isdn/hysdn/hysdn.ko" module. Here is a question that I came up
with while analysing results. Lines are given using the info from Linux
v4.12.

In hysdn_proclog.c file in put_log_buffer function a non-standard type
of synchronization is employed. It uses pd->del_lock as some kind of
semaphore (hysdn_proclog.c: lines 129 and 143). Consider the following
case:

Thread 1:                    Thread 2:
hysdn_log_write
-> hysdn_add_log
     -> put_log_buffer
          spin_lock()          hysdn_conf_open
          i = pd->del_lock++   -> hysdn_add_log
          spin_unlock()           -> put_log_buffer
          if (!i) <delete-loop>        spin_lock()
          pd->del_lock--               i = pd->del_lock++
                                       spin_unlock()
                                       if (!i) <delete-loop>
                                       pd->del_lock--

<delete-loop> - the loop that deletes unused buffer entries
(hysdn_proclog.c: lines 134-142).
pd->del_lock-- is not an atomic operation and is executed without any
locks. Thus it may interfere in the increment process of pd->del_lock in
another thread. There may be cases that lead to the inability of any
thread going through the <delete-loop>.

I see several possible solutions to this problem:
1) move the <delete-loop> under the spin_lock and delete
pd->del_lock synchronization;
2) wrap pd->del_lock-- with spin_lock protection.

What do you think should be done about it?

Thank you for your time.

^ permalink raw reply	[flat|nested] 8+ messages in thread

end of thread, other threads:[~2017-08-07 18:25 UTC | newest]

Thread overview: 8+ messages (download: mbox.gz / follow: Atom feed)
-- links below jump to the message on this page --
2017-07-27 16:19 Possible race in hysdn.ko Anton Volkov
2017-07-28  4:46 ` isdn
2017-07-28 14:53   ` [PATCH] hysdn: fix to a race condition in put_log_buffer Anton Volkov
2017-08-01  0:22     ` David Miller
2017-08-03 11:33   ` Anton Volkov
2017-08-03 12:03     ` Sergei Shtylyov
2017-08-07 12:54       ` [PATCH v2] " Anton Volkov
2017-08-07 18:25         ` David Miller

This is a public inbox, see mirroring instructions
for how to clone and mirror all data and code used for this inbox;
as well as URLs for NNTP newsgroup(s).