From: Kees Cook <kees@kernel.org>
To: Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org>
Cc: "Kees Cook" <kees@kernel.org>, "Ian Rogers" <irogers@google.com>,
"Greg Kroah-Hartman" <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>,
"Nathan Chancellor" <nathan@kernel.org>,
"Bill Wendling" <morbo@google.com>,
"Justin Stitt" <justinstitt@google.com>,
"Jonathan Corbet" <corbet@lwn.net>,
"Andy Whitcroft" <apw@canonical.com>,
"Joe Perches" <joe@perches.com>,
"Mauro Carvalho Chehab" <mchehab+huawei@kernel.org>,
"Christian König" <christian.koenig@amd.com>,
llvm@lists.linux.dev, linux-doc@vger.kernel.org,
"Nick Desaulniers" <ndesaulniers@google.com>,
linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, linux-hardening@vger.kernel.org
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Compiler Attributes: Add __require_explicit_initialization macro
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2026 15:58:15 -0700 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20261014225818.3457479-1-kees@kernel.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20261014225811.i.852-kees@kernel.org>
From: Ian Rogers <irogers@google.com>
Clang supports the 'require_explicit_initialization' attribute on struct
fields to indicate that a field must be initialized explicitly by the
user when the object is constructed. When an aggregate initializer or
uninitialized variable omits an annotated field, Clang emits a
-Wuninitialized-explicit-init warning (enabled by default).
Add the __require_explicit_initialization macro to
include/linux/compiler_attributes.h (which is included by
include/linux/compiler_types.h and include/linux/compiler.h) so kernel
structs with error-prone initialization (such as mandatory callbacks or
cleanup handlers) can enforce explicit initialization at compile time,
as discussed at the Linux Plumbers Conference.
Also teach Sphinx (Documentation/conf.py), kernel-doc
(tools/lib/python/kdoc/xforms_lists.py), and checkpatch.pl about the new
attribute macro.
Link: https://lpc.events/event/20/contributions/2392/
Assisted-by: Antigravity:gemini-3.1-pro
Signed-off-by: Ian Rogers <irogers@google.com>
Acked-by: Miguel Ojeda <ojeda@kernel.org>
Reviewed-by: Nick Desaulniers <ndesaulniers@google.com>
Signed-off-by: Kees Cook <kees@kernel.org>
---
scripts/checkpatch.pl | 1 +
Documentation/conf.py | 1 +
include/linux/compiler_attributes.h | 12 ++++++++++++
tools/lib/python/kdoc/xforms_lists.py | 1 +
4 files changed, 15 insertions(+)
diff --git a/scripts/checkpatch.pl b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
index 8a7787d228a6..4a3ae6b0100a 100755
--- a/scripts/checkpatch.pl
+++ b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
@@ -6871,6 +6871,7 @@ sub process {
"noreturn" => "__noreturn",
"packed" => "__packed",
"pure" => "__pure",
+ "require_explicit_initialization" => "__require_explicit_initialization",
"section" => "__section",
"used" => "__used",
"weak" => "__weak"
diff --git a/Documentation/conf.py b/Documentation/conf.py
index 5ab26ce89daf..3e5cb9ca0970 100644
--- a/Documentation/conf.py
+++ b/Documentation/conf.py
@@ -203,6 +203,7 @@ c_id_attributes = [
"__noreturn",
"__packed",
"__pure",
+ "__require_explicit_initialization",
"__section",
"__always_unused",
"__maybe_unused",
diff --git a/include/linux/compiler_attributes.h b/include/linux/compiler_attributes.h
index 476c4c560d17..625e95e684c7 100644
--- a/include/linux/compiler_attributes.h
+++ b/include/linux/compiler_attributes.h
@@ -322,6 +322,18 @@
*/
#define __pure __attribute__((__pure__))
+/*
+ * Optional: not supported by gcc
+ * Optional: only supported since clang >= 20.0
+ *
+ * clang: https://clang.llvm.org/docs/AttributeReference.html#require-explicit-initialization
+ */
+#if __has_attribute(__require_explicit_initialization__)
+# define __require_explicit_initialization __attribute__((__require_explicit_initialization__))
+#else
+# define __require_explicit_initialization
+#endif
+
/*
* gcc: https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Common-Function-Attributes.html#index-section-function-attribute
* gcc: https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Common-Variable-Attributes.html#index-section-variable-attribute
diff --git a/tools/lib/python/kdoc/xforms_lists.py b/tools/lib/python/kdoc/xforms_lists.py
index e3dda2fe8a53..32066fbbe763 100644
--- a/tools/lib/python/kdoc/xforms_lists.py
+++ b/tools/lib/python/kdoc/xforms_lists.py
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ class CTransforms:
(CMatch("CRYPTO_MINALIGN_ATTR"), ""),
(CMatch("__private"), ""),
(CMatch("__rcu"), ""),
+ (CMatch("__require_explicit_initialization"), ""),
(CMatch("____cacheline_aligned_in_smp"), ""),
(CMatch("____cacheline_aligned"), ""),
(CMatch("__cacheline_group_(?:begin|end)"), ""),
--
2.55.0
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-10-14 22:58 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 3+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-10-14 22:58 [PATCH 0/2] Add __require_explicit_initialization and its first user Kees Cook
2026-10-14 22:58 ` Kees Cook [this message]
2026-10-14 22:58 ` [PATCH 2/2] seq_file: Require explicit initialization of struct seq_operations Kees Cook
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