Re: [PATCH v2] rmap: fix theoretical race between do_wp_page and shrink_active_list

[Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>]

On Tue, 12 May 2015 13:18:39 +0300 Vladimir Davydov <vdavydov@parallels.com> wrote:

> As noted by Paul the compiler is free to store a temporary result in a
> variable on stack, heap or global unless it is explicitly marked as
> volatile, see:
> 
>   http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2015/n4455.html#sample-optimizations
> 
> This can result in a race between do_wp_page() and shrink_active_list()
> as follows.
> 
> In do_wp_page() we can call page_move_anon_rmap(), which sets
> page->mapping as follows:
> 
>   anon_vma = (void *) anon_vma + PAGE_MAPPING_ANON;
>   page->mapping = (struct address_space *) anon_vma;
> 
> The page in question may be on an LRU list, because nowhere in
> do_wp_page() we remove it from the list, neither do we take any LRU
> related locks. Although the page is locked, shrink_active_list() can
> still call page_referenced() on it concurrently, because the latter does
> not require an anonymous page to be locked:
> 
>   CPU0                          CPU1
>   ----                          ----
>   do_wp_page                    shrink_active_list
>    lock_page                     page_referenced
>                                   PageAnon->yes, so skip trylock_page
>    page_move_anon_rmap
>     page->mapping = anon_vma
>                                   rmap_walk
>                                    PageAnon->no
>                                    rmap_walk_file
>                                     BUG
>     page->mapping += PAGE_MAPPING_ANON
> 
> This patch fixes this race by explicitly forbidding the compiler to
> split page->mapping store in page_move_anon_rmap() with the aid of
> WRITE_ONCE.
> 
> ...
>
> --- a/mm/rmap.c
> +++ b/mm/rmap.c
> @@ -950,7 +950,7 @@ void page_move_anon_rmap(struct page *page,
>  	VM_BUG_ON_PAGE(page->index != linear_page_index(vma, address), page);
>  
>  	anon_vma = (void *) anon_vma + PAGE_MAPPING_ANON;
> -	page->mapping = (struct address_space *) anon_vma;
> +	WRITE_ONCE(page->mapping, (struct address_space *) anon_vma);

Please let's not put things like WRITE_ONCE() in there without
documenting them - otherwise it's terribly hard for readers to work out
why it was added.

How's this look?

--- a/mm/rmap.c~rmap-fix-theoretical-race-between-do_wp_page-and-shrink_active_list-fix
+++ a/mm/rmap.c
@@ -950,6 +950,11 @@ void page_move_anon_rmap(struct page *pa
 	VM_BUG_ON_PAGE(page->index != linear_page_index(vma, address), page);
 
 	anon_vma = (void *) anon_vma + PAGE_MAPPING_ANON;
+	/*
+	 * Ensure that anon_vma and the PAGE_MAPPING_ANON bit are written
+	 * simultaneously, so a concurrent reader (eg shrink_active_list) will
+	 * not see one without the other.
+	 */
 	WRITE_ONCE(page->mapping, (struct address_space *) anon_vma);
 }
 
_

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