[PATCH V5 1/2] tools/perf: Fix the check for parameterized field in event term

[PATCH V5 1/2] tools/perf: Fix the check for parameterized field in event term

[Athira Rajeev]

The format_alias() function in util/pmu.c has a check to
detect whether the event has parameterized field ( =? ).
The string alias->terms contains the event and if the event
has user configurable parameter, there will be presence of
sub string "=?" in the alias->terms.

Snippet of code:

 /* Paramemterized events have the parameters shown. */
       if (strstr(alias->terms, "=?")) {
               /* No parameters. */
               snprintf(buf, len, "%.*s/%s/", (int)pmu_name_len, pmu->name, alias->name);

if "strstr" contains the substring, it returns a pointer
and hence enters the above check which is not the expected
check. And hence "perf list" doesn't have the parameterized
fields in the result.

Fix this check to use:

if (!strstr(alias->terms, "=?")) {

With this change, perf list shows the events correctly with
the strings showing parameters.

Before the fix:

 # ./perf list|grep -w PM_PAU_CYC
  hv_24x7/PM_PAU_CYC/                                [Kernel PMU event]

With this fix:

 # ./perf list|grep -w PM_PAU_CYC
  hv_24x7/PM_PAU_CYC,chip=?/                         [Kernel PMU event]

Reviewed-by: Ian Rogers <irogers@google.com>
Acked-by: Namhyung Kim <namhyung@kernel.org>
Tested-by: Venkat Rao Bagalkote <venkat88@linux.ibm.com>
Signed-off-by: Athira Rajeev <atrajeev@linux.ibm.com>
---
Changelog:
v4 -> v5:
Added Reviewed-by from Ian and Namhyung.
Added Tested-by from Venkat

v3 -> v4:
Updated commit message to show real example
addressing review comment from Namhyung.

v2 -> v3:
Split the strstr correction in a single patch

 tools/perf/util/pmu.c | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/tools/perf/util/pmu.c b/tools/perf/util/pmu.c
index 9994709ef12b..e765a7ffb0d6 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/pmu.c
+++ b/tools/perf/util/pmu.c
@@ -2134,7 +2134,7 @@ static char *format_alias(char *buf, int len, const struct perf_pmu *pmu,
 						   skip_duplicate_pmus);
 
 	/* Paramemterized events have the parameters shown. */
-	if (strstr(alias->terms, "=?")) {
+	if (!strstr(alias->terms, "=?")) {
 		/* No parameters. */
 		snprintf(buf, len, "%.*s/%s/", (int)pmu_name_len, pmu->name, alias->name);
 		return buf;
-- 
2.52.0

[PATCH V5 2/2] tools/perf: Use scnprintf in buffer offset calculations

[Athira Rajeev]

Replace snprintf with scnprintf in buffer offset calculations to
ensure the 'used' count will not exceed the "len".

The current logic in perf_pmu__for_each_event uses an unconditional
+ 1 increment to buf_used to account for null terminators. This can
cause a stack buffer overflow in the subsequent scnprintf call.
When the local stack buffer buf (1024 bytes) is full, buf_used can
reach 1025. This causes the subsequent remaining space calculation
sizeof(buf) - buf_used to underflow.

Use sub_non_neg() to see if space actually existed, and only
increment the offset if remaining space is present.

Changes includes:
- Use sub_non_neg to check if space exists
- Replacing snprintf with scnprintf to ensure the return value
reflects the actual bytes written into the buffer.
- Only increment buf_used by 1 if space exists
- If a parameterized event uses a built-in perf keyword for its
parameter name (eg, config=?), the lexer parses it as a predefined
term token, which sets term->config to NULL. Add check to use
parse_events__term_type_str() if term->config is NULL.

Signed-off-by: Athira Rajeev <atrajeev@linux.ibm.com>
---
Changelog:
v4 -> v5:
Addressed review comment from Namhyung in buf_used variable
to use return from scnprintf since cannot return a number
greater than or equal to argument

v2 -> v3:
- Split the scnprintf related changes in separate patch
- Handle the overflow issues and unconditional increment
wrapped around sub_non_neg addressing review comment from Sashiko

 tools/perf/util/pmu.c | 40 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----------
 1 file changed, 29 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/perf/util/pmu.c b/tools/perf/util/pmu.c
index e765a7ffb0d6..1539960ba23b 100644
--- a/tools/perf/util/pmu.c
+++ b/tools/perf/util/pmu.c
@@ -2146,15 +2146,19 @@ static char *format_alias(char *buf, int len, const struct perf_pmu *pmu,
 		pr_err("Failure to parse '%s' terms '%s': %d\n",
 			alias->name, alias->terms, ret);
 		parse_events_terms__exit(&terms);
-		snprintf(buf, len, "%.*s/%s/", (int)pmu_name_len, pmu->name, alias->name);
+		scnprintf(buf, len, "%.*s/%s/", (int)pmu_name_len, pmu->name, alias->name);
 		return buf;
 	}
-	used = snprintf(buf, len, "%.*s/%s", (int)pmu_name_len, pmu->name, alias->name);
+	used = scnprintf(buf, len, "%.*s/%s", (int)pmu_name_len, pmu->name, alias->name);
 
 	list_for_each_entry(term, &terms.terms, list) {
+		const char *name = term->config;
+
+		if (!name)
+			name = parse_events__term_type_str(term->type_term);
 		if (term->type_val == PARSE_EVENTS__TERM_TYPE_STR)
-			used += snprintf(buf + used, sub_non_neg(len, used),
-					",%s=%s", term->config,
+			used += scnprintf(buf + used, sub_non_neg(len, used),
+					",%s=%s", name,
 					term->val.str);
 	}
 	parse_events_terms__exit(&terms);
@@ -2218,6 +2222,7 @@ int perf_pmu__for_each_event(struct perf_pmu *pmu, bool skip_duplicate_pmus,
 	int ret = 0;
 	struct hashmap_entry *entry;
 	size_t bkt;
+	size_t size_rem;
 
 	if (perf_pmu__is_tracepoint(pmu))
 		return tp_pmu__for_each_event(pmu, state, cb);
@@ -2251,17 +2256,30 @@ int perf_pmu__for_each_event(struct perf_pmu *pmu, bool skip_duplicate_pmus,
 			}
 			buf_used = strlen(buf) + 1;
 		}
+
 		info.scale_unit = NULL;
 		if (strlen(event->unit) || event->scale != 1.0) {
-			info.scale_unit = buf + buf_used;
-			buf_used += snprintf(buf + buf_used, sizeof(buf) - buf_used,
-					"%G%s", event->scale, event->unit) + 1;
+			/* Check the remaining space */
+			size_rem = sub_non_neg(sizeof(buf), buf_used);
+
+			if (size_rem > 0) {
+				info.scale_unit = buf + buf_used;
+				buf_used += scnprintf(buf + buf_used, size_rem, "%G%s",
+						event->scale, event->unit) + 1;
+			}
 		}
 		info.desc = event->desc;
 		info.long_desc = event->long_desc;
-		info.encoding_desc = buf + buf_used;
-		buf_used += snprintf(buf + buf_used, sizeof(buf) - buf_used,
-				"%.*s/%s/", (int)pmu_name_len, info.pmu_name, event->terms) + 1;
+		info.encoding_desc = NULL;
+
+		/* Check the remaining space */
+		size_rem = sub_non_neg(sizeof(buf), buf_used);
+		if (size_rem > 0) {
+			info.encoding_desc = buf + buf_used;
+			buf_used += scnprintf(buf + buf_used, size_rem, "%.*s/%s/",
+					(int)pmu_name_len, info.pmu_name, event->terms) + 1;
+		}
+
 		info.str = event->terms;
 		info.topic = event->topic;
 		info.deprecated = perf_pmu_alias__check_deprecated(pmu, event);
@@ -2271,7 +2289,7 @@ int perf_pmu__for_each_event(struct perf_pmu *pmu, bool skip_duplicate_pmus,
 	}
 	if (pmu->selectable) {
 		info.name = buf;
-		snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "%s//", pmu->name);
+		scnprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "%s//", pmu->name);
 		info.alias = NULL;
 		info.scale_unit = NULL;
 		info.desc = NULL;
-- 
2.52.0

Re: [PATCH V5 1/2] tools/perf: Fix the check for parameterized field in event term

[Arnaldo Carvalho de Melo]

On Tue, Jun 09, 2026 at 07:13:31PM +0530, Athira Rajeev wrote:
> The format_alias() function in util/pmu.c has a check to
> detect whether the event has parameterized field ( =? ).
> The string alias->terms contains the event and if the event
> has user configurable parameter, there will be presence of
> sub string "=?" in the alias->terms.

Thanks, applied to perf-tools-next, for v7.2.

- Arnaldo

Re: [PATCH V5 1/2] tools/perf: Fix the check for parameterized field in event term

[Athira Rajeev]

> On 11 Jun 2026, at 1:37 AM, Arnaldo Carvalho de Melo <acme@kernel.org> wrote:
> 
> On Tue, Jun 09, 2026 at 07:13:31PM +0530, Athira Rajeev wrote:
>> The format_alias() function in util/pmu.c has a check to
>> detect whether the event has parameterized field ( =? ).
>> The string alias->terms contains the event and if the event
>> has user configurable parameter, there will be presence of
>> sub string "=?" in the alias->terms.
> 
> Thanks, applied to perf-tools-next, for v7.2.
> 
> - Arnaldo
Thanks Arnaldo

Athira