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From: Nguyen Ngoc Thang <ngocthang2710.1999@gmail.com>
To: Jens Axboe <axboe@kernel.dk>
Cc: Damien Le Moal <dlemoal@kernel.org>,
	linux-block@vger.kernel.org, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org,
	Nguyen Ngoc Thang <ngocthang2710.1999@gmail.com>,
	syzbot+feeb9b5352b9ff89618a@syzkaller.appspotmail.com
Subject: [PATCH v3] block: annotate lockless task ioprio accesses
Date: Tue, 20 Oct 2026 19:52:33 +0700	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <20261020125233.9820-1-ngocthang2710.1999@gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20261019125811.21666-1-ngocthang2710.1999@gmail.com>

__get_task_ioprio() reads task->io_context and ioc->ioprio without
task_lock() when called on current, e.g. from init_sync_kiocb() on every
write.  set_task_ioprio() can update both for another task at any time,
including the first publication of a new io_context.  KCSAN reports it:

  BUG: KCSAN: data-race in __kernel_write_iter / set_task_ioprio
  value changed: 0x0000000000000000 -> 0xffff888109813730

A stale or torn value is harmless, a task simply gets the old or new
priority, but the compiler may tear or refetch the accesses and the
io_context fields must be visible before the pointer is.

The io_context itself needs no extra protection: only the owning task
drops it, in exit_io_context(), so it cannot be freed under a lockless
reader running as current.

Publish the pointer with smp_store_release(), read it with READ_ONCE()
(address dependency orders the ioprio load), and mark the ioprio
accesses.

Reported-by: syzbot+feeb9b5352b9ff89618a@syzkaller.appspotmail.com
Closes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=feeb9b5352b9ff89618a
Signed-off-by: Nguyen Ngoc Thang <ngocthang2710.1999@gmail.com>
---
v3:
- Move the comment out of the declarations and reword it (Damien).
  No code change.

v2:
- Document why no RCU is needed: only the owning task drops its io_context
  (Damien).  Comment in __get_task_ioprio() and a paragraph in the commit
  message.  No code change.
- v1: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20261018071636.79198-1-ngocthang2710.1999@gmail.com
- v2: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20261019125811.21666-1-ngocthang2710.1999@gmail.com

Tested with a KCSAN kernel in QEMU: 26 data-race reports per run before, 0
in two runs after (v1 code, later versions differ only in comments).
 block/blk-ioc.c        |  5 +++--
 include/linux/ioprio.h | 11 +++++++++--
 2 files changed, 12 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

diff --git a/block/blk-ioc.c b/block/blk-ioc.c
index d15918d7fabb..12ddc672f41d 100644
--- a/block/blk-ioc.c
+++ b/block/blk-ioc.c
@@ -277,9 +277,10 @@ int set_task_ioprio(struct task_struct *task, int ioprio)
 		if (task->io_context)
 			kmem_cache_free(iocontext_cachep, ioc);
 		else
-			task->io_context = ioc;
+			/* Pairs with READ_ONCE() in __get_task_ioprio() */
+			smp_store_release(&task->io_context, ioc);
 	}
-	task->io_context->ioprio = ioprio;
+	WRITE_ONCE(task->io_context->ioprio, ioprio);
 out:
 	task_unlock(task);
 	return 0;
diff --git a/include/linux/ioprio.h b/include/linux/ioprio.h
index 5210e8371238..be999cbe7c91 100644
--- a/include/linux/ioprio.h
+++ b/include/linux/ioprio.h
@@ -56,9 +56,16 @@ static inline int task_nice_ioclass(struct task_struct *task)
  */
 static inline int __get_task_ioprio(struct task_struct *p)
 {
-	struct io_context *ioc = p->io_context;
+	struct io_context *ioc;
 	int prio;
 
+	/*
+	 * Only the current task itself drops its io_context, in
+	 * exit_io_context(), so a non-NULL ioc is always valid.  However,
+	 * another task may change ->io_context or ioc->ioprio, so make sure
+	 * to get the latest value with READ_ONCE().
+	 */
+	ioc = READ_ONCE(p->io_context);
 	if (!ioc)
 		return IOPRIO_PRIO_VALUE(task_nice_ioclass(p),
 					 task_nice_ioprio(p));
@@ -66,7 +73,7 @@ static inline int __get_task_ioprio(struct task_struct *p)
 	if (p != current)
 		lockdep_assert_held(&p->alloc_lock);
 
-	prio = ioc->ioprio;
+	prio = READ_ONCE(ioc->ioprio);
 	if (IOPRIO_PRIO_CLASS(prio) == IOPRIO_CLASS_NONE)
 		prio = IOPRIO_PRIO_VALUE(task_nice_ioclass(p),
 					 task_nice_ioprio(p));
-- 
2.43.0


      parent reply	other threads:[~2026-10-20 12:52 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 7+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2026-10-18  7:16 [PATCH] block: annotate lockless task ioprio accesses Nguyen Ngoc Thang
2026-10-19 11:59 ` Damien Le Moal
2026-10-19 12:18 ` Nguyen Ngoc Thang
2026-10-19 12:28   ` Damien Le Moal
2026-10-19 12:58 ` [PATCH v2] " Nguyen Ngoc Thang
2026-10-19 15:47   ` Damien Le Moal
2026-10-20 12:52   ` Nguyen Ngoc Thang [this message]

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