Re: general protection fault in wb_workfn (2)

Tetsuo Handa
2018-06-09T05:30:41Z

Dmitry Vyukov wrote:
> Here we go:

Great. Thank you.

>
> [ 2853.033175] WARNING: wb_workfn: device is NULL
> [ 2853.034709] wb->state=2
>

It is surprising that wb->state == WB_shutting_down .

WB_shutting_down is set by only wb_shutdown() and is always cleared
before leaving wb_shutdown(). This means that someone was calling
wb_shutdown() on this wb object. And bdi->dev == NULL means that
bdi_unregister() already did bdi->dev = NULL while someone was still
inside wb_shutdown().

Since we call wb_shutdown() from bdi_unregister() for each wb object
on this bdi object, this should not happen. But since "INFO: task hung
in wb_shutdown (2)" found that it is possible that wb_shutdown() is
concurrently called on the same wb object, there might be something
complicated concurrency.

Well, is it really true that "we call wb_shutdown() from bdi_unregister()
for each wb object on this bdi object"? It seems it is not always true...

While cgwb_bdi_unregister() from bdi_unregister() calls wb_shutdown() on
each wb object reachable from bdi->wb_list, wb_shutdown() firstly calls
list_del_rcu(&wb->bdi_node) (which was added by
list_add_tail_rcu(&wb->bdi_node, &bdi->wb_list) from cgwb_create()) and
then starts waiting for that wb object by calling
mod_delayed_work()/flush_delayed_work() and then clears WB_shutting_down.

Then, it is possible that cgwb_bdi_unregister() from calls wb_shutdown()
fails to find a wb object which already passed list_del_rcu() from
wb_shutdown(), and cgwb_bdi_unregister() can return without waiting for
somebody who is waiting inside wb_shutdown(). Hence, allows doing
bdi->dev = NULL before a wb object which somebody is waiting inside
wb_shutdown() completes wb_workfn(), and NULL pointer dereference...