From: Christian Brauner <brauner@kernel.org>
To: Oleg Nesterov <oleg@redhat.com>, Chris Mason <mason@kernel.org>,
linux-fsdevel@vger.kernel.org
Cc: Jens Axboe <axboe@kernel.dk>,
Alexander Viro <viro@zeniv.linux.org.uk>,
Jan Kara <jack@suse.cz>, NeilBrown <neil@brown.name>,
Ingo Molnar <mingo@redhat.com>,
Peter Zijlstra <peterz@infradead.org>,
linux-mm@kvack.org, io-uring@vger.kernel.org,
"Christian Brauner (Amutable)" <brauner@kernel.org>,
stable@vger.kernel.org
Subject: [PATCH v3 14/17] fork: don't create io threads once PF_POSTCOREDUMP is set
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2026 15:45:03 +0200 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260921-work-coredump-fixes-v3-14-8e4adb1619e6@kernel.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260921-work-coredump-fixes-v3-0-8e4adb1619e6@kernel.org>
zap_process() skips every thread that already has PF_POSTCOREDUMP set.
Such a thread is past synchronize_group_exit(), so a coredump can't
catch it anymore. It isn't counted in core_state->threads_remaining and
it isn't sent SIGKILL.
do_exit() sets PF_POSTCOREDUMP in synchronize_group_exit() and calls
io_uring_files_cancel() right after that. The cancellation runs task
work and a create_worker_cb() that io-wq queued before the exit creates
a new io-wq worker from there. If another thread started a coredump in
the meantime that worker joins a thread-group which is already being
dumped. zap_process() never saw it so it was never counted. But when it
exits it sees signal->core_state in synchronize_group_exit() and
decrements threads_remaining like any other thread.
So the count reaches zero one thread early and the dumper leaves
coredump_wait_inactive() while a thread it counted is still running.
The task has no fatal signal pending because zap_process() deliberately
didn't send it one, and it never went through get_signal() so it doesn't
have PF_SIGNALED either.
Refuse to create an io thread when the creator has PF_POSTCOREDUMP.
That costs nothing. io_uring_files_cancel() raises IO_WQ_BIT_EXIT
before it runs any task work, so a worker created from there only ever
gets to exit again, and io_should_retry_thread() doesn't retry -EINTR.
Clearing PF_POSTCOREDUMP for the new thread in copy_process() was the
other option. It makes the worker a thread like any other, but it only
helps while the dump hasn't started. A worker born after zap_process()
has run is invisible to it whatever its flags say and still decrements
threads_remaining on the way out. Refusing to create it covers both, and
then no task is ever born with the flag, so there is nothing to clear.
Moving io_uring_files_cancel() ahead of synchronize_group_exit() closes
the same window. It runs the cancellation, and whatever that can block
on, before the thread announces itself to the dumper. A thread that
blocks there never reaches coredump_task_exit() at all, so the dumper
ends up waiting for a thread that never parks. Refusing the creation
leaves the cancellation where it is. But it's very ugly to run io_uring
work even before we did all the generic exit work.
Fixes: 92307383082d ("coredump: Don't perform any cleanups before dumping core")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner (Amutable) <brauner@kernel.org>
---
kernel/fork.c | 4 ++--
1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
diff --git a/kernel/fork.c b/kernel/fork.c
index ede9f02bef47..fd2829b0a8b6 100644
--- a/kernel/fork.c
+++ b/kernel/fork.c
@@ -2706,8 +2706,8 @@ struct task_struct *create_io_thread(int (*fn)(void *), void *arg, int node)
.user_worker = 1,
};
- /* A creator past its fatal signal gets no thread. */
- if (current->flags & PF_SIGNALED)
+ /* A creator past its fatal signal or its coredump point gets no thread. */
+ if (current->flags & (PF_SIGNALED | PF_POSTCOREDUMP))
return ERR_PTR(-EINTR);
return copy_process(NULL, 0, node, &args);
--
2.53.0
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-09-21 13:46 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 29+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-09-21 13:44 [PATCH v3 00/17] coredump & signals: an impossible affair Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 13:44 ` [PATCH v3 01/17] coredump: hold RCU while releasing parked threads Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 13:44 ` [PATCH v3 02/17] signal: only SIGKILL and the freezers interrupt a coredumping task Christian Brauner
2026-09-22 12:55 ` Oleg Nesterov
2026-09-22 14:33 ` Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 13:44 ` [PATCH v3 03/17] coredump: parse a snapshot of core_pattern Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 13:44 ` [PATCH v3 04/17] io-wq: order the exit bit against worker creation task work Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 13:44 ` [PATCH v3 05/17] signal: don't retarget shared signals in a dying thread group Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 13:44 ` [PATCH v3 06/17] selftests/coredump: test shared signal retargeting during a dump Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 13:44 ` [PATCH v3 07/17] fork: release the files of a failed fork after sched_cancel_fork() Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 13:44 ` [PATCH v3 08/17] exit: hang up the tty before closing the files Christian Brauner
2026-09-24 12:10 ` Oleg Nesterov
2026-09-21 13:44 ` [PATCH v3 09/17] ptrace: refuse to change the signal mask of a user worker Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 14:14 ` Oleg Nesterov
2026-09-21 13:44 ` [PATCH v3 10/17] selftests/coredump: test a user worker as the coredumping thread Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 13:45 ` [PATCH v3 11/17] selftests/coredump: expect PTRACE_SETSIGMASK to be refused on a user worker Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 13:45 ` [PATCH v3 12/17] exec: cancel io_uring requests before de_thread() Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 14:14 ` Oleg Nesterov
2026-09-24 14:19 ` Jens Axboe
2026-09-21 13:45 ` [PATCH v3 13/17] fork: move the coredump and exec checks into create_io_thread() Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 14:15 ` Oleg Nesterov
2026-09-21 13:45 ` Christian Brauner [this message]
2026-09-21 14:26 ` [PATCH v3 14/17] fork: don't create io threads once PF_POSTCOREDUMP is set Oleg Nesterov
2026-09-21 13:45 ` [PATCH v3 15/17] fork: use SIG_KERNEL_ONLY_MASK for the user worker signal mask Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 14:29 ` Oleg Nesterov
2026-09-21 13:45 ` [PATCH v3 16/17] signal: enforce the user worker signal mask in __set_task_blocked() Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 16:16 ` Oleg Nesterov
2026-09-21 20:05 ` Christian Brauner
2026-09-21 13:45 ` [PATCH v3 17/17] fs: close files from the highest descriptor down Christian Brauner
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