[PATCH v2 0/1] mm/mmu_notifier: Add async OOM cleanup via call_srcu()

shaikh.kamal
2026-04-30T04:43:15Z

This series implements the after_oom_unregister callback design
proposed by Paolo in v1 review [1].

The current OOM notifier path calls synchronize_srcu() inline from
mmu_notifier_oom_enter(), which can deadlock on PREEMPT_RT when
locks such as siglock are held. This series moves the cleanup to an
asynchronous context using call_srcu(), allowing the OOM path to
proceed without waiting for an SRCU grace period.

Subscribers opt in via a new after_oom_unregister callback in
struct mmu_notifier_ops.

KVM is the first (and currently only) user.

Changes since v1 [1]:
- Implement after_oom_unregister callback in struct
mmu_notifier_ops as proposed by Paolo
- Add mmu_notifier_oom_enter() to detach subscriptions and
schedule cleanup via call_srcu()
- Add mmu_notifier_barrier() (srcu_barrier wrapper) so consumers
can wait for pending callbacks during teardown
- Move call site from __oom_kill_process() to __oom_reap_task_mm()
to fix KASAN vmalloc-out-of-bounds observed in v1
- Use hlist_del_init() to keep hlist_unhashed() correct for the
kvm_destroy_vm() detection path, avoiding use-after-free on the
stack-allocated oom_list head
- Add KVM after_oom_unregister implementation to clear
mn_active_invalidate_count
- Update kvm_destroy_vm() to detect detached subscriptions via
hlist_unhashed() and use mmu_notifier_barrier() + mmdrop()
instead of mmu_notifier_unregister()
- Remove pr_err() on GFP_ATOMIC failure per checkpatch; the
trade-off is documented inline

Testing
-------

Developed and tested under virtme-ng with PREEMPT_RT, KASAN, and
lockdep enabled.

Test setup:
- simple_kvm.c: minimal userspace program that opens /dev/kvm,
creates a VM, registers memory, creates a vCPU, and sleeps
- CONFIG_DEBUG_VM-only debugfs interface (not part of this
submission) at /sys/kernel/debug/oom_reap_task to invoke
__oom_reap_task_mm() on a target task

Test sequence:
$ ./simple_kvm &
$ echo $! | sudo tee /sys/kernel/debug/oom_reap_task

Observed with patch applied:
- __oom_reap_task_mm() completes in ~3 ms
- mmu_notifier_oom_enter() detaches the KVM subscription
- call_srcu() callback runs after ~57 ms (SRCU grace period)
- KVM after_oom_unregister clears mn_active_invalidate_count
- mmu_notifier_barrier() returns cleanly
- No KASAN reports, no kernel BUGs, lockdep clean

Stress runs (20 iterations) showed consistent results.

Reproducing the syzbot-reported issue
-------------------------------------
The issue reported by syzbot is reproducible on an unpatched
PREEMPT_RT kernel, triggering a "sleeping function called from
invalid context" warning in kvm_mmu_notifier_invalidate_range_start().
With this patch applied, the warning is no longer observed..

Known limitations
-----------------

Failure of GFP_ATOMIC allocation in mmu_notifier_oom_enter()
causes the corresponding after_oom_unregister callback to be
skipped. The OOM path cannot sleep without reintroducing the
deadlock this series fixes, and synchronous execution would
require waiting for SRCU readers. Cleanup still occurs later via
the normal unregister path. A mempool-backed allocator could
address this in the future.

[1] https://lore.kernel.org/all/CABgObfZQM0Eq1=vzm812D+CAcjOaE1f1QAUqGo5rTzXgLnR9cQ@mail.gmail.com

Reported-by: syzbot+c3178b6b512446632bac@syzkaller.appspotmail.com
Closes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=c3178b6b512446632bac
Tested-by: Shaikh Kamaluddin <shaikhkamal2012@gmail.com>

shaikh.kamal (1):
mm/mmu_notifier: Add async OOM cleanup via call_srcu()

include/linux/mmu_notifier.h | 10 +++
mm/mmu_notifier.c | 123 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
mm/oom_kill.c | 3 +
virt/kvm/kvm_main.c | 27 +++++++-
4 files changed, 162 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

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2.43.0