+ mm-madvise-update-is_valid_guard_vma-to-use-vma_can_merge.patch added to mm-unstable branch

[Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>]

The patch titled
     Subject: mm/madvise: update is_valid_guard_vma() to use vma_can_merge()
has been added to the -mm mm-unstable branch.  Its filename is
     mm-madvise-update-is_valid_guard_vma-to-use-vma_can_merge.patch

This patch will shortly appear at
     https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/akpm/25-new.git/tree/patches/mm-madvise-update-is_valid_guard_vma-to-use-vma_can_merge.patch

This patch will later appear in the mm-unstable branch at
    git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/akpm/mm

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------------------------------------------------------
From: "Lorenzo Stoakes (ARM)" <ljs@kernel.org>
Subject: mm/madvise: update is_valid_guard_vma() to use vma_can_merge()
Date: Fri, 09 Oct 2026 19:04:23 +0100

We currently disallow the installation of lightweight guard regions in VMAs
whose flags intersect VMA_SPECIAL_FLAGS or VMA_HUGETLB_BIT, or
VMA_LOCKED_BIT unless allow_locked is set.

hugetlb VMAs set VMA_DONTEXPAND_BIT so this was already redundant,
VMA_SPECIAL_FLAGS already sufficed.

However, now that VMA_IO_BIT is only set if VMA_PFNMAP or VMA_MIXEDMAP_BIT
is set, this check collapses to being the equivalent of
!vma_can_merge().

Update is_valid_guard_vma() to reflect this.

No functional change intended.

Link: https://lore.kernel.org/20261009-b4-mmap-prepare-vma-flag-sanify-v5-29-923b70125b1e@kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Lorenzo Stoakes (ARM) <ljs@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
Acked-by: Zi Yan <ziy@nvidia.com>
Acked-by: David Hildenbrand (Arm) <david@kernel.org>
Cc: Liam R. Howlett <liam@infradead.org>
Cc: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@kernel.org>
Cc: Jann Horn <jannh@google.com>
Cc: Pedro Falcato <pfalcato@suse.de>
Cc: Mike Rapoport <rppt@kernel.org>
Cc: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Cc: Michal Hocko <mhocko@suse.com>
Cc: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
Cc: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>
Cc: Dennis Dalessandro <dennis.dalessandro@cornelisnetworks.com>
Cc: Jason Gunthorpe <jgg@ziepe.ca>
Cc: Leon Romanovsky <leon@kernel.org>
Cc: Paul Moore <paul@paul-moore.com>
Cc: Stephen Smalley <stephen.smalley.work@gmail.com>
Cc: Jaroslav Kysela <perex@perex.cz>
Cc: Takashi Iwai <tiwai@suse.com>
Cc: Alexei Starovoitov <ast@kernel.org>
Cc: Daniel Borkmann <daniel@iogearbox.net>
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Cc: Dev Jain <dev.jain@arm.com>
Cc: Barry Song <baohua@kernel.org>
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Cc: Usama Arif <usama.arif@linux.dev>
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Cc: Chengming Zhou <chengming.zhou@linux.dev>
Cc: Michal Hocko <mhocko@kernel.org>
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Cc: Xu Xin <xu.xin@linux.dev>
Cc: Ihor Solodrai <ihor.solodrai@linux.dev>
Cc: Bert Karwatzki <spasswolf@web.de>
---

 mm/madvise.c |   20 +++++++++++++-------
 1 file changed, 13 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

--- a/mm/madvise.c~mm-madvise-update-is_valid_guard_vma-to-use-vma_can_merge
+++ a/mm/madvise.c
@@ -1057,19 +1057,25 @@ static long madvise_remove(struct madvis
 	return error;
 }
 
-static bool is_valid_guard_vma(struct vm_area_struct *vma, bool allow_locked)
+static bool is_valid_guard_vma(const struct vm_area_struct *vma,
+			       bool allow_locked)
 {
-	vm_flags_t disallowed = VM_SPECIAL | VM_HUGETLB;
-
 	/*
-	 * A user could lock after setting a guard range but that's fine, as
+	 * A user could lock after setting a guard range but that's fine as
 	 * they'd not be able to fault in. The issue arises when we try to zap
 	 * existing locked VMAs. We don't want to do that.
 	 */
-	if (!allow_locked)
-		disallowed |= VM_LOCKED;
+	if (!allow_locked && vma_test(vma, VMA_LOCKED_BIT))
+		return false;
+	/*
+	 * Guard regions require a VMA whose page tables are managed solely by
+	 * the core, which is also what merging requires, so disallow any flags
+	 * that would prevent a merge.
+	 */
+	if (!vma_can_merge(vma))
+		return false;
 
-	return !(vma->vm_flags & disallowed);
+	return true;
 }
 
 static bool is_guard_pte_marker(pte_t ptent)
_

Patches currently in -mm which might be from ljs@kernel.org are

mm-vma-fix-mmap_prepare-file-handling-remove-file_doesnt_need_get.patch
mm-vma-introduce-and-use-vma_can_merge.patch
mm-consistently-validate-vma-state-after-mmap-hooks.patch
mm-vma-ensure-mmap_prepare-doesnt-set-actions-on-a-mergeable-vma.patch
mm-make-map_kernel_pages_-internal-and-unexported.patch
mm-vma-tidy-up-map-kernel-pages-enum-values.patch
mm-add-mmap-action-for-discontiguous-kernel-page-mapping.patch
docs-filesystems-update-mmap_prepare-docs-for-discontig-kernel-pgs.patch
drivers-usb-mon-update-to-use-mmap_prepare-map-kernel-pages.patch
infiniband-update-hfi1-to-use-remap_vmalloc_range.patch
selinux-reject-writable-opens-of-policy-file-drop-mmap-shared-write-check.patch
alsa-pcm-use-vm_insert_page-to-map-pcm-status-page.patch
bpf-arena-mark-arena_map_mmap-mappings-vm_mixedmap.patch
mm-vma-add-vma_is_mm_managed-predicates.patch
mm-vma-only-allow-mmap-to-clear-vma_maywrite_bit-if-not-mm-managed.patch
mm-vma-add-and-use-vma__is_fixed_mapping.patch
scsi-sg-convert-mmap-hook-to-mmap_prepare-and-rework.patch
fbdev-defio-assert-fbinfo_virtfb-drop-vm_io-add-vm_mixedmap.patch
hsi-cmt_speech-convert-mmap-hook-to-mmap_prepare-refactor.patch
mm-gup-error-out-early-on-vma_mayread_bit-vmas.patch
uprobes-remove-vm_io-set-vm_mixedmap-for-mapped-kernel-pages.patch
mm-mlock-clear-vma_locked_mask-over-mmap-callback.patch
mm-mlock-eliminate-weird-vma_io_bit-abuse-and-simplify.patch
mm-vma-enforce-that-mm-managed-mappings-may-not-set-vma_io_bit.patch
mm-remove-vma_io_bit-check-in-vma_is_mm_managed.patch
mm-remove-hugetlb_inlineh.patch
mm-rename-is_vm_hugetlb_page-to-vma_is_hugetlb.patch
mm-drop-some-redundant-checks-around-hugetlb-vmas.patch
mm-madvise-update-is_valid_guard_vma-to-use-vma_can_merge.patch
mm-vma-introduce-vma_is_mm_backed.patch
mm-uffd-use-predicates-for-userfaultfd-checks.patch
mm-madvise-use-predicates-for-madvise-madv_dofork.patch
mm-eliminate-vma_special_flags-usage-when-hugetlb-explicitly-tested.patch
mm-eliminate-vma_special_flags-check-in-lru_gen_look_around.patch
mm-avoid-use-of-vma_special_flags-in-migrate_vma_setup.patch
mm-eliminate-vm_special-vma_special_flags.patch
fuse-dax-do-not-set-vm_mixedmap.patch
mm-huge_memory-remove-vma_is_special_huge.patch
mm-vma-const-ify-vma_assert_stabilised-and-associated-functions.patch
mm-implement-and-use-vma_has_anon_rmap-silence-kcsan.patch
mm-update-comments-to-refer-to-anon-rmap-rather-than-anon_vma.patch
mm-vma-dont-remove-vma-from-rmap-if-pgoff-unchanged.patch