Re: [PATCH] dm init: ensure block device is ready before creating mapped device

Benjamin Marzinski
2026-02-08T06:21:16Z

On Fri, Feb 06, 2026 at 05:05:26AM +0000, jaeyuel.im@lge.com wrote:
> From: "jaeyuel.im" <jaeyuel.im@lge.com>
>
> The current implementation of dm_init_init() uses early_lookup_bdev() to
> wait for the device node to appear. However, early_lookup_bdev() only
> verifies that the device node exists and returns the dev_t. It does not
> guarantee that the underlying block device structure is fully initialized
> and ready for I/O operations or to be opened.
>
> On certain platforms (e.g., embedded systems with specific storage
> drivers), this can lead to a race condition where dm_early_create()
> attempts to open the device immediately after early_lookup_bdev() returns,
> but fails because the device is not yet fully ready. This results in boot
> failures as the mapped device cannot be created.
>
> This patch adds an additional check using blkdev_get_no_open() after
> early_lookup_bdev() returns. This ensures that the struct block_device is
> actually available and the device is ready to be opened, effectively
> preventing the race condition.
>
> Changes in v2:
> - Pass autoload parameter for new blkdev_get_no_open()
>
> Changes in v3:
> - Exported to a public header for both blkdev_get_no_open() and
> blkdev_put_no_open()
>
> Link: https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/dm-devel/patch/20251212000955.171808-1-jaeyuel.im@lge.com/
> Signed-off-by: jaeyuel.im <jaeyuel.im@lge.com>
> ---

You should put the description of your version changes here, after the
triple dash, so that they aren't part of the actual commit message.

> drivers/md/dm-init.c | 14 ++++++++++++++
> include/linux/blkdev.h | 3 +++
> 2 files changed, 17 insertions(+)
>
> [snip]
> diff --git a/include/linux/blkdev.h b/include/linux/blkdev.h
> index 72e34acd439c..7f4a05b536ca 100644
> --- a/include/linux/blkdev.h
> +++ b/include/linux/blkdev.h
> @@ -1873,4 +1873,7 @@ static inline int bio_split_rw_at(struct bio *bio,
>
> #define DEFINE_IO_COMP_BATCH(name) struct io_comp_batch name = { }

If you're adding declarations linux/blkdev.h, you should remove them
from block/blk.h, so the functions aren't declared twice.

Also, IMHO it seems more natural for these declarions to placed near the
related bdev_file_open_by_dev() and bdev_file_open_by_path() ones
earlier in this file.

Finally I Added Jens and linux-block to the CCs, since the patch
includes changes to the block files. FYI, scripts/get_maintainer.pl can
help you send your patches the right people and lists.

-Ben

> +struct block_device *blkdev_get_no_open(dev_t dev, bool autoload);
> +void blkdev_put_no_open(struct block_device *bdev);
> +
> #endif /* _LINUX_BLKDEV_H */
> --
> 2.34.1
>