From: sashiko-bot@kernel.org
To: "Leon Romanovsky" <leon@kernel.org>
Cc: linux-input@vger.kernel.org, linux-usb@vger.kernel.org,
linux-pci@vger.kernel.org, dmitry.torokhov@gmail.com
Subject: Re: [PATCH 03/17] net: phy: Attach generic PHY drivers through the driver core
Date: Fri, 06 Nov 2026 11:43:39 +0000 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <sashiko-outbox-201336@kernel.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20261105-device-trust-core-v1-3-1e536825b4eb@nvidia.com>
Thank you for your contribution! Sashiko AI review found 4 potential
issues to consider:
- [High] net: phy: -EBUSY conflation and phydev->irq race in
phy_attach_direct()
- [High] net: phy: unlocked d->driver check in phy_attach_direct()
bypasses trylock
- [High] net: phy: pinctrl_bind_pins() fails with -EINVAL on fixed-link
PHYs
- [Medium] net: phy: phy_attach_direct() leaks -EPROBE_DEFER to
non-probe callers
--
commit 041c1bf498be3c0bd71084280b91acccb80528b3
Author: Leon Romanovsky <leon@kernel.org>
net: phy: Attach generic PHY drivers through the driver core
This commit introduces device_driver_try_attach() in the driver core and
updates phy_attach_direct() to attach the generic PHY fallback drivers
through the driver core rather than calling probe() and device_bind_driver()
directly.
> diff --git a/drivers/net/phy/phy_device.c b/drivers/net/phy/phy_device.c
> index 5d4508bcfbe99..8cc0de755bd08 100644
> --- a/drivers/net/phy/phy_device.c
> +++ b/drivers/net/phy/phy_device.c
> @@ -1912,7 +1912,9 @@ int phy_attach_direct(struct net_device *dev, struct phy_device *phydev,
> struct device *d = &phydev->mdio.dev;
> struct module *ndev_owner = NULL;
> struct module *drv_owner;
> + struct device_driver *drv;
> int irq = phydev->irq;
> + bool bind_genphy;
> int err;
>
> /* For Ethernet device drivers that register their own MDIO bus, we
> @@ -1939,16 +1941,16 @@ int phy_attach_direct(struct net_device *dev, struct phy_device *phydev,
> /* Assume that if there is no driver, that it doesn't
> * exist, and we should use the genphy driver.
> */
> - if (!d->driver) {
> + drv = d->driver;
> + bind_genphy = !drv;
> + if (bind_genphy) {
> if (phydev->is_c45)
> - d->driver = &genphy_c45_driver.mdiodrv.driver;
> + drv = &genphy_c45_driver.mdiodrv.driver;
> else
> - d->driver = &genphy_driver.mdiodrv.driver;
> -
> - phydev->is_genphy_driven = 1;
> + drv = &genphy_driver.mdiodrv.driver;
> }
[Severity: High]
Does checking d->driver without holding device_lock(d) or checking
device_is_bound(d) bypass device_driver_try_attach() when a specific PHY
driver is concurrently probing?
In drivers/base/dd.c, really_probe() sets dev->driver at the very start of
probing via device_set_driver(), before running pinctrl_bind_pins(),
driver_sysfs_add(), and call_driver_probe() -> phy_probe():
drivers/base/dd.c:really_probe() {
re_probe:
device_set_driver(dev, drv);
/* If using pinctrl, bind pins now before probing */
ret = pinctrl_bind_pins(dev);
...
ret = call_driver_probe(dev, drv);
}
Because d->driver is already non-NULL throughout the entire execution of
really_probe() and phy_probe() (including when phy_probe() ->
phy_setup_ports() -> phy_sfp_add_upstream() -> sfp_bus_add_upstream()
blocks waiting for RTNL with device_lock(d) held), a concurrent call to
phy_attach_direct() under RTNL sees drv != NULL, sets bind_genphy to false,
and skips device_driver_try_attach() altogether.
When that happens, phy_attach_direct() races with the in-progress probe (or
an in-progress unbind in __device_release_driver()):
1. If the concurrent thread is in really_probe() after device_set_driver()
but before phy_probe() assigns phydev->drv = phydrv, or in
__device_release_driver() after phy_remove() clears phydev->drv = NULL
before device_unbind_cleanup() clears d->driver, phy_attach_direct()
passes a NULL phydev->drv to phy_drv_supports_irq(phydev->drv) and
dereferences NULL.
2. If phy_probe() is blocked waiting for RTNL in sfp_bus_add_upstream(),
phy_attach_direct() runs phy_init_hw() and phy_resume() on a half-probed
PHY before phy_probe() has finished setting up SFP ports,
phy_advertise_supported(), EEE, pause bits, LEDs, or phydev->state =
PHY_READY. Once RTNL is released, phy_probe() overwrites
phydev->advertising and resets phydev->state to PHY_READY.
3. If the concurrent really_probe() or phy_probe() later fails, it asserts
hardware reset via phy_device_reset(phydev, 1) and runs
device_unbind_cleanup() -> devres_release_all(), freeing devm-allocated
phydev->priv while the net_device remains attached to phydev.
Conversely, if d->driver is NULL when read into drv, and a concurrent
specific-driver probe finishes and releases device_lock(d) before
device_driver_try_attach(drv, d) runs, __driver_probe_device() sees
dev->driver != NULL and returns -EBUSY, causing phy_attach_direct() to fail
with -EPROBE_DEFER instead of using the newly bound specific driver.
>
> - drv_owner = d->driver->owner;
> + drv_owner = drv->owner;
> if (!try_module_get(drv_owner)) {
> phydev_err(phydev, "failed to get the device driver module\n");
> err = -EIO;
> @@ -1956,11 +1958,20 @@ int phy_attach_direct(struct net_device *dev, struct phy_device *phydev,
> }
> phydev->drv_owner = drv_owner;
>
> - if (phydev->is_genphy_driven) {
> - err = d->driver->probe(d);
> - if (err >= 0)
> - err = device_bind_driver(d);
> -
> + if (bind_genphy) {
> + /*
> + * RTNL is held, and a concurrent bind of a specific driver may
> + * wait for it with the device lock held. Never wait for that
> + * lock, and let the caller retry.
> + */
> + err = device_driver_try_attach(drv, d);
[Severity: High]
What happens on Device Tree platforms with fixed-link PHYs when
device_driver_try_attach() routes generic PHY attachment through
really_probe() -> pinctrl_bind_pins()?
When a MAC driver registers a fixed-link PHY via
of_phy_register_fixed_link(np) or of_phy_get_and_connect(),
fixed_phy_register() in drivers/net/phy/fixed_phy.c assigns the MAC
controller's DT node to phy->mdio.dev.of_node without setting
dev_set_of_node_reused(&phy->mdio.dev):
drivers/net/phy/fixed_phy.c:fixed_phy_register() {
of_node_get(np);
phy->mdio.dev.of_node = np;
phy->is_pseudo_fixed_link = true;
}
Because a fixed PHY has phy_id == 0, it does not match any driver during
phy_device_register() and always attaches to genphy_driver in
phy_attach_direct(). Previously, phy_attach_direct() called
d->driver->probe(d) and device_bind_driver(d), bypassing really_probe() and
pinctrl_bind_pins().
With device_driver_try_attach() calling __driver_probe_device() ->
really_probe() -> pinctrl_bind_pins(d), dev_of_node_reused(d) is false in
drivers/base/pinctrl.c:pinctrl_bind_pins(), so pinctrl attempts to claim the
MAC's pinctrl-0 pins a second time under the fixed PHY device. When the MAC
device has already claimed its pins, pin_request() in
drivers/pinctrl/pinmux.c rejects the duplicate mux claim with -EINVAL, which
pinctrl_bind_pins() propagates, causing phy_attach_direct() to fail with
-EINVAL on fixed-link interfaces whose MAC node defines pinctrl-0.
> + if (err == -EBUSY) {
> + /* Another bind owns the PHY, so nothing was probed here. */
> + irq = phydev->irq;
> + err = -EPROBE_DEFER;
> + } else if (err == -EAGAIN) {
> + err = -EPROBE_DEFER;
> + }
> if (err)
> goto error_module_put;
> }
[Severity: Medium]
Can returning -EPROBE_DEFER from phy_attach_direct() leak to userspace or
cause permanent probe failures for callers that do not handle deferral?
Most Ethernet drivers that call phy_attach_direct() with RTNL held (via
phylink_of_phy_connect(), phylink_fwnode_phy_connect(),
phylink_connect_phy(), phy_connect(), or phy_connect_direct()) do so from
their net_device_ops->ndo_open() callback during __dev_open() (triggered by
SIOCSIFFLAGS or RTM_NEWLINK), rather than from a driver-core probe callback.
__dev_open() does not retry on -EPROBE_DEFER; it aborts opening the interface
and returns -EPROBE_DEFER (-517) directly to userspace.
Additionally, drivers that attach PHYs during .probe() via of_phy_connect()
in drivers/net/mdio/of_mdio.c only receive NULL when phy_connect_direct()
returns an error, losing the -EPROBE_DEFER errno. And because
__device_driver_attach() calls __driver_probe_device() instead of
driver_probe_device(), a supplier deferral (-EPROBE_DEFER converted to
-EAGAIN) does not add &phydev->mdio.dev to deferred_probe_pending_list.
> @@ -2071,8 +2082,6 @@ int phy_attach_direct(struct net_device *dev, struct phy_device *phydev,
> module_put(phydev->drv_owner);
> phydev->drv_owner = NULL;
> phydev->irq = irq;
[Severity: High]
Could conflating all -EBUSY returns from device_driver_try_attach() with
lock contention corrupt phydev->irq in phy_attach_direct()?
In drivers/base/dd.c, __device_driver_attach() can return -EBUSY in four
different cases, not only when __device_driver_trylock() fails before
probing (which also makes the kernel-doc comment on
device_driver_try_attach() inaccurate):
1. __device_driver_trylock() fails because device_lock(dev) or
device_lock(dev->parent) is contended.
2. __driver_probe_device() returns -EBUSY because dev->driver is already
set.
3. really_probe() fails with -EBUSY when !list_empty(&dev->devres_head).
4. call_driver_probe() -> phy_probe() fails with -EBUSY (for example,
phy_setup_ports() -> of_phy_ports() -> phy_add_port() returning -EBUSY,
or an MDIO read in genphy_read_abilities(),
genphy_c45_pma_read_abilities(), or genphy_c45_read_eee_adv() returning
-EBUSY), because really_probe() negates negative probe errors to +EBUSY
and __device_driver_attach() negates ret > 0 back to -EBUSY:
drivers/base/dd.c:__device_driver_attach() {
ret = __driver_probe_device(drv, dev);
__device_driver_unlock(dev, dev->parent);
/* also return probe errors as normal negative errnos */
if (ret > 0)
ret = -ret;
}
When phy_probe() runs for genphy_driver or genphy_c45_driver and then fails
with -EBUSY, phy_probe() has already overwritten phydev->irq with PHY_POLL:
drivers/net/phy/phy_device.c:phy_probe() {
if (!phy_drv_supports_irq(phydrv) && phy_interrupt_is_valid(phydev))
phydev->irq = PHY_POLL;
}
In phy_attach_direct(), the err == -EBUSY branch assumes nothing was probed,
reads irq = phydev->irq (which is now PHY_POLL), converts the error to
-EPROBE_DEFER, and writes phydev->irq = irq (PHY_POLL) at error_module_put,
permanently losing the PHY's original hardware interrupt number.
Conversely, when device_driver_try_attach() returns -EBUSY because another
thread holds device_lock(d) inside phy_probe(), phy_attach_direct() reads
irq = phydev->irq and writes phydev->irq = irq at error_module_put without
holding device_lock(d). If irq = phydev->irq is read before the concurrent
phy_probe() sets phydev->irq = PHY_POLL, and phydev->irq = irq is written at
error_module_put after phy_probe() sets PHY_POLL, phy_attach_direct()
overwrites the concurrent driver's PHY_POLL setting with the stale IRQ
number. Similarly, if device_driver_try_attach() fails with -EAGAIN before
phy_probe() runs, error_module_put writes phydev->irq = irq after
__device_driver_unlock() has already released device_lock(d).
--
Sashiko AI review · https://sashiko.dev/#/patchset/20261105-device-trust-core-v1-0-1e536825b4eb@nvidia.com?part=3
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-11-06 11:43 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 68+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-11-05 11:42 [PATCH 00/17] driver core: Authorize device trust before driver binding Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 01/17] Input: gameport - attach manual drivers through the driver core Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 02/17] Input: serio " Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-05 17:05 ` Dmitry Torokhov
2026-11-05 19:19 ` Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-05 20:34 ` Dmitry Torokhov
2026-11-06 14:33 ` Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 03/17] net: phy: Attach generic PHY " Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-05 14:50 ` Andrew Lunn
2026-11-05 18:35 ` Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-05 15:33 ` Andrew Lunn
2026-11-05 18:45 ` Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot [this message]
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 04/17] wifi: mac80211_hwsim: lock device for manual driver binding Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 05/17] USB: Lock registered interfaces during " Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-05 17:24 ` Alan Stern
2026-11-05 18:44 ` Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-05 20:04 ` Alan Stern
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 06/17] PNP: Attach card devices through the driver core Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 07/17] cdx: Propagate DMA configuration errors Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 08/17] driver core: Allow userspace to detect EPROBE_DEFER when using sysfs drivers_probe Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 09/17] driver core: Introduce a generic device trust level Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 10/17] driver core: Expose device trust authorization through sysfs Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-05 13:10 ` Greg Kroah-Hartman
2026-11-05 13:27 ` Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-05 13:40 ` Greg Kroah-Hartman
2026-11-05 13:59 ` Robin Murphy
2026-11-05 14:03 ` Greg Kroah-Hartman
2026-11-05 14:17 ` Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-05 14:26 ` Robin Murphy
2026-11-05 15:45 ` Greg Kroah-Hartman
2026-11-05 14:06 ` Jason Gunthorpe
2026-11-05 14:43 ` Andrew Lunn
2026-11-05 14:59 ` Jason Gunthorpe
2026-11-05 15:09 ` Robin Murphy
2026-11-05 13:42 ` Robin Murphy
2026-11-05 17:02 ` Jason Gunthorpe
2026-11-05 19:06 ` Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 11/17] driver core: Accept device trust policy on the kernel command line Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 12/17] driver core: Accept device trust policy by driver name Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 13/17] driver core: Preserve trust commitment beyond driver binding Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 14/17] driver core: Add a global initial device trust policy Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 15/17] driver core: Cover trust authorization and binding with KUnit Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 16/17] driver core: Document trust admission and initrd authorization Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
2026-11-05 11:42 ` [PATCH 17/17] PCI: Replace untrusted state with device trust Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-05 13:12 ` Greg Kroah-Hartman
2026-11-05 13:18 ` Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-05 13:26 ` Greg Kroah-Hartman
2026-11-05 14:03 ` Jason Gunthorpe
2026-11-05 15:43 ` Greg Kroah-Hartman
2026-11-05 16:26 ` Jason Gunthorpe
2026-11-05 18:26 ` Leon Romanovsky
2026-11-06 11:43 ` sashiko-bot
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