Re: [PATCH v5 5/6] net/mlx5: fix LTO stringop-overflow warning

Dariusz Sosnowski
2026-02-05T13:44:00Z

On Tue, Jan 20, 2026 at 11:52:10AM -0800, Stephen Hemminger wrote:
> When compiling with LTO (Link Time Optimization) enabled, GCC's
> interprocedural analysis produces false positive warnings about
> potential buffer overflow in mlx5dr_action_prepare_decap_l3_data():
>
> In function 'mlx5dr_action_prepare_decap_l3_data',
> inlined from 'mlx5dr_action_handle_tunnel_l3_to_l2',
> inlined from 'mlx5dr_action_create_reformat_hws':
> warning: writing 4 bytes into a region of size 0 [-Wstringop-overflow=]
> memcpy(dst, e_src, MLX5DR_ACTION_INLINE_DATA_SIZE);
> note: at offset [140, 524248] into destination object 'mh_data' of size 64
>
> With LTO, the function chain is fully inlined, giving GCC visibility
> into the 64-byte stack buffer 'mh_data'. However, GCC's static analysis
> cannot determine that num_of_actions is constrained to either
> DECAP_L3_NUM_ACTIONS_W_NO_VLAN (6) or DECAP_L3_NUM_ACTIONS_W_VLAN (7)
> by the callers. It assumes worst-case bounds that greatly exceed the
> buffer size.
>
> Fix this by adding an explicit bounds check at function entry. The
> valid values for num_of_actions are 6 (no VLAN) or 7 (with VLAN),
> which produce maximum buffer usage well under 64 bytes:
> - offset 12 + (num_of_actions-3) * 8 + 2 = max 46 bytes for 7 actions
>
> This provides GCC with the proof it needs that subsequent memcpy
> operations are safe.
>
> This is not a data path function - it executes only during flow rule
> creation, so the additional check has no performance impact.
>
> Bugzilla ID: 1710
> Fixes: f8c8a6d8440d ("net/mlx5/hws: add action object")
> Cc: stable@dpdk.org
>
> Signed-off-by: Stephen Hemminger <stephen@networkplumber.org>
> ---
> drivers/net/mlx5/hws/mlx5dr_action.c | 14 ++++++++++++++
> 1 file changed, 14 insertions(+)
>
> diff --git a/drivers/net/mlx5/hws/mlx5dr_action.c b/drivers/net/mlx5/hws/mlx5dr_action.c
> index b35bf07c3c..3b12506577 100644
> --- a/drivers/net/mlx5/hws/mlx5dr_action.c
> +++ b/drivers/net/mlx5/hws/mlx5dr_action.c
> @@ -3620,6 +3620,20 @@ mlx5dr_action_prepare_decap_l3_data(uint8_t *src, uint8_t *dst,
> uint8_t *e_src;
> int i;
>
> + /*
> + * Bounds check to help GCC LTO static analysis.
> + *
> + * When LTO inlines this into mlx5dr_action_handle_tunnel_l3_to_l2(),
> + * GCC sees the 64-byte mh_data buffer but cannot prove num_of_actions
> + * is bounded, causing false -Wstringop-overflow warnings.
> + *
> + * Valid num_of_actions values are DECAP_L3_NUM_ACTIONS_W_NO_VLAN (6)
> + * or DECAP_L3_NUM_ACTIONS_W_VLAN (7). This check gives GCC the proof
> + * it needs that the loop iterations stay within buffer bounds.
> + */
> + if (unlikely(num_of_actions > DECAP_L3_NUM_ACTIONS_W_VLAN))
> + return;

This function can be executed as part of fast path
in async flow creation, so if possible
I would avoid adding such a condition.

I tested locally with GCC 14.2.0 and it looks like
if this condition is changed to equivalent __rte_assume(),
then this condition is removed from generated code
(https://godbolt.org/z/afx8jjr6Y as an example,
code generated by LTO also optimizes the relevant code).
__rte_assume() also fixes the LTO warning.

Could you please change the condition to equivalent __rte_assume()?

> +
> /* num_of_actions = remove l3l2 + 4/5 inserts + remove extra 2 bytes
> * copy from end of src to the start of dst.
> * move to the end, 2 is the leftover from 14B or 18B
> --
> 2.51.0
>