Re: [BUG] Deadlock due due to interactions of block, RCU, and cpu offline

["Paul E. McKenney" <paulmck@linux.vnet.ibm.com>]

On Sun, Mar 26, 2017 at 05:10:40PM -0600, Jeffrey Hugo wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I observe that running stress-ng with the cpu-online and fstat tests
> results in a deadlock of hung tasks:
> 
> [  366.810486] INFO: task stress-ng-cpu-o:2590 blocked for more than
> 120 seconds.
> [  366.817689]       Not tainted 4.9.0 #39
> [  366.821504] "echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs"
> disables this message.
> [  366.829320] stress-ng-cpu-o D    0  2590   2589 0x00000008
> [  366.834803] Call trace:
> [  366.837222] [<ffff000008085dd0>] __switch_to+0x60/0x70
> [  366.842338] [<ffff000008a23c18>] __schedule+0x178/0x648
> [  366.847550] [<ffff000008a24120>] schedule+0x38/0x98
> [  366.852408] [<ffff00000848b774>] blk_mq_freeze_queue_wait+0x64/0x1a8
> [  366.858749] [<ffff00000848e9d4>] blk_mq_queue_reinit_work+0x74/0x110
> [  366.865081] [<ffff00000848ea94>] blk_mq_queue_reinit_dead+0x24/0x30
> [  366.871335] [<ffff0000080c9898>] cpuhp_invoke_callback+0x98/0x4a8
> [  366.877411] [<ffff0000080cb084>] cpuhp_down_callbacks+0x114/0x150
> [  366.883484] [<ffff000008a22578>] _cpu_down+0x100/0x1d8
> [  366.888609] [<ffff0000080cbfdc>] do_cpu_down+0x4c/0x78
> [  366.893727] [<ffff0000080cc02c>] cpu_down+0x24/0x30
> [  366.898593] [<ffff0000086aaf28>] cpu_subsys_offline+0x20/0x30
> [  366.904318] [<ffff0000086a53d8>] device_offline+0xa8/0xd8
> [  366.909704] [<ffff0000086a550c>] online_store+0x4c/0xa8
> [  366.914907] [<ffff0000086a241c>] dev_attr_store+0x44/0x60
> [  366.920294] [<ffff0000082b6a24>] sysfs_kf_write+0x5c/0x78
> [  366.925672] [<ffff0000082b5cec>] kernfs_fop_write+0xbc/0x1e8
> [  366.931318] [<ffff000008238320>] __vfs_write+0x48/0x138
> [  366.936526] [<ffff000008239078>] vfs_write+0xa8/0x1c0
> [  366.941557] [<ffff00000823a08c>] SyS_write+0x54/0xb0
> [  366.946511] [<ffff000008083370>] el0_svc_naked+0x24/0x28
> [  366.951800] INFO: task stress-ng-fstat:2591 blocked for more than
> 120 seconds.
> [  366.959008]       Not tainted 4.9.0 #39
> [  366.962823] "echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs"
> disables this message.
> [  366.970640] stress-ng-fstat D    0  2591   2589 0x00000000
> [  366.976105] Call trace:
> [  366.978540] [<ffff000008085dd0>] __switch_to+0x60/0x70
> [  366.983658] [<ffff000008a23c18>] __schedule+0x178/0x648
> [  366.988870] [<ffff000008a24120>] schedule+0x38/0x98
> [  366.993727] [<ffff00000848b774>] blk_mq_freeze_queue_wait+0x64/0x1a8
> [  367.000068] [<ffff00000848e2d0>] blk_mq_freeze_queue+0x28/0x38
> [  367.005880] [<ffff0000086d480c>] lo_release+0x64/0x90
> [  367.010919] [<ffff000008278bd4>] __blkdev_put+0x26c/0x2c8
> [  367.016300] [<ffff000008278fec>] blkdev_put+0x54/0x128
> [  367.021418] [<ffff0000082790ec>] blkdev_close+0x2c/0x40
> [  367.026631] [<ffff00000823ab58>] __fput+0xa0/0x1e0
> [  367.031401] [<ffff00000823ad10>] ____fput+0x20/0x30
> [  367.036266] [<ffff0000080e7a40>] task_work_run+0xc8/0xe8
> [  367.041557] [<ffff0000080882b4>] do_notify_resume+0xac/0xb8
> [  367.047116] [<ffff000008083294>] work_pending+0x8/0x10
> 
> I have tested and found this issue to be reproducible on both x86
> and ARM64 architectures on 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, and 4.11-rc3
> kernels.
> 
> Using the below test methodology [1], the issue reproduces within a
> few minutes.
> 
> Using ftrace, I have analyzed the issue on 4.9 and I believe I've
> found the root cause [2].
> 
> Based on my analysis, I have developed a fix [3], which addresses
> the issue as I am able to run stress-ng for over an hour where I was
> unable to do so before, however I do not know the full extend of
> impacts from this fix, and look for guidance from the community to
> determine the final fix.
> 
> 
> [1] Test methodology
> --------------------
> Boot a multicore system such as a desktop i5 system with nr_cpus=2
> 
> Enable all logging to determine when the deadlock occurs (prints
> from test stop flowing out of the serial port)
>      echo 1 > /sys/module/printk/parameters/ignore_loglevel
> 
> Run stress-ng
>      stress-ng --fstat 1 --cpu-online 1 -t 3600
> 
> Wait for the test output to stop, and the hung task watchdog to fire.
> 
> 
> [2] Analysis
> ------------
> Again, this analysis is based upon the 4.9 kernel, but believe it to
> still apply to newer kernels.
> 
> I conclude that the hung tasks occur due to a race condition which
> results in a deadlock.
> 
> The race condition occurs between "normal" work in the block layer
> on a core (the stress-ng-fstat task in the above dump) and cpu
> offline of that core (the stress-ng-cpu-o task in the above dump).
> 
> The fput() from userspace in the fstat task results in a call to
> blk_mq_freeze_queue(), which drops the last reference to the queue
> via percpu_ref_kill(), and then waits for the ref count of the queue
> to hit 0 in blk_mq_freeze_queue_wait().  percpu_ref_kill() will
> result in __percpu_ref_switch_to_atomic() which will use
> call_rcu_sched() to setup delayed work to finalize the percpu_ref
> cleanup and drop the ref count to 0.
> 
> Note that call_rcu_sched() queues the work to a per-cpu queue, thus
> the work can only be run on the core it is queued on, by the work
> thread that is pinned to that core.
> 
> It is a race between this work running, and the cpu offline processing.

One quick way to test this assumption is to build a kernel with Kconfig
options CONFIG_RCU_NOCB_CPU=y and CONFIG_RCU_NOCB_CPU_ALL=y.  This will
cause call_rcu_sched() to queue the work to a kthread, which can migrate
to some other CPU.  If your analysis is correct, this should avoid
the deadlock.  (Note that the deadlock should be fixed in any case,
just a diagnostic assumption-check procedure.)

> If the cpu offline processing is able to get to and process the
> RCU/tree:online state before the queued work from the block layer,
> then the pinned work thread will be migrated to another core via
> rcutree_offline_cpu(), and the work will not be able to execute.
> 
> This race condition does not result in deadlock until later in the
> cpu offline processing.  Once we hit the block/mq:prepare state the
> block layer freezes all the queues and waits for the ref counts to
> hit 0. This normally works because at this point the cpu being
> offlined is dead from cpu:teardown, and the offline processing is
> occuring on another active cpu, so call_rcu_sched() will queue work
> to an active cpu where it can get processed.  However the fstat
> process already did that work for one of the queues to be frozen in
> the block layer, so the processing of the block/mq:prepare state
> waits on the same ref count as fstat to hit 0.  Thus we see the
> result of this as the stress-ng-cpu-o task above.
> 
> The block/mq:prepare processing stalls the cpu offline processing
> which causes a deadlock because the processing does not get to the
> RCU/tree:prepare state which migrates all of the queued work from
> the offline cpu to another cpu, which would allow the work that the
> fstat task queued to execute, drop the ref count to 0, and unblock
> both stalled tasks.
> 
> By reordering the cpu offline states such the shutdown processing of
> RCU/tree:prepare occurs before block/mq:prepare [3], we prevent
> deadlock by enabling the queued work in the RCU framework to run
> elsewhere, and eventually unblock the tasks waiting on the ref
> count.
> 
> However, it is not entirely clear what are the full ramifications of
> this reorder.  I assume the ordering of these cpu online/offline
> states is carefully considered, and without that knowledge, I could
> not say for certain that my fix [3] is safe.
> 
> What is the opinion of the domain experts?

I do hope that we can come up with a better fix.  No offense intended,
as coming up with -any- fix in the CPU-hotplug domain is not to be
denigrated, but this looks to be at vest quite fragile.

							Thanx, Paul

> -- 
> Jeffrey Hugo
> Qualcomm Datacenter Technologies as an affiliate of Qualcomm
> Technologies, Inc.
> Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. is a member of the
> Code Aurora Forum, a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project.
> 
> 
> [3] Proposed fix
> ---8>---
> diff --git a/include/linux/cpuhotplug.h b/include/linux/cpuhotplug.h
> index afe641c..9b86db9 100644
> --- a/include/linux/cpuhotplug.h
> +++ b/include/linux/cpuhotplug.h
> @@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ enum cpuhp_state {
>         CPUHP_ARM_SHMOBILE_SCU_PREPARE,
>         CPUHP_SH_SH3X_PREPARE,
>         CPUHP_BLK_MQ_PREPARE,
> +       CPUHP_RCUTREE_PREP2,
>         CPUHP_TIMERS_DEAD,
>         CPUHP_NOTF_ERR_INJ_PREPARE,
>         CPUHP_MIPS_SOC_PREPARE,
> diff --git a/kernel/cpu.c b/kernel/cpu.c
> index 29de1a9..b46c573 100644
> --- a/kernel/cpu.c
> +++ b/kernel/cpu.c
> @@ -1289,6 +1289,11 @@ static int __init cpu_hotplug_pm_sync_init(void)
>         [CPUHP_RCUTREE_PREP] = {
>                 .name                   = "RCU/tree:prepare",
>                 .startup.single         = rcutree_prepare_cpu,
> +               .teardown.single        = NULL,
> +       },
> +       [CPUHP_RCUTREE_PREP2] = {
> +               .name                   = "RCU/tree:dead",
> +               .startup.single         = NULL,
>                 .teardown.single        = rcutree_dead_cpu,
>         },
>         /*
>