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From: Cole Leavitt <cole@unwrap.rs>
To: linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org
Cc: johannes@sipsolutions.net, miriam.rachel.korenblit@intel.com,
	greearb@candelatech.com, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org,
	Cole Leavitt <cole@unwrap.rs>
Subject: [PATCH v2] wifi: iwlwifi: mld: skip TX when firmware is dead
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2026 07:17:58 -0700	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260218141758.25929-1-cole@unwrap.rs> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260214060716.16394-1-cole@unwrap.rs>

When firmware encounters an error, STATUS_FW_ERROR is set but the
mac80211 TX path continues pulling frames from TXQs. Each frame
fails at iwl_trans_tx() which checks STATUS_FW_ERROR and returns
-EIO, but iwl_mld_tx_from_txq() keeps looping over every queued
frame. This burns CPU in a tight loop on dead firmware and can
cause soft lockups during firmware error recovery.

Add a STATUS_FW_ERROR check at the top of iwl_mld_tx_from_txq()
to stop pulling frames from mac80211 TXQs when firmware is dead.
Also guard iwl_mld_mac80211_tx() which bypasses the TXQ path
entirely and would otherwise continue feeding frames to dead
firmware.

Once STATUS_FW_ERROR is cleared during firmware restart, TX
resumes naturally with no explicit wake needed.

Fixes: d1e879ec600f ("wifi: iwlwifi: add iwlmld sub-driver")
Signed-off-by: Cole Leavitt <cole@unwrap.rs>
---
v2:
 - Replace ieee80211_stop_queues()/wake_queues() with STATUS_FW_ERROR
   checks in the TX pull path, per Johannes Berg's feedback that
   stop/wake_queues doesn't interact well with TXQ-based APIs.
 - Guard both iwl_mld_tx_from_txq() (TXQ pull path) and
   iwl_mld_mac80211_tx() (direct mac80211 TX path).
 - Drop all changes to mld.c (no stop/wake in error/restart flows).

 drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/mld/mac80211.c | 5 +++++
 drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/mld/tx.c       | 8 ++++++++
 2 files changed, 13 insertions(+)

diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/mld/mac80211.c b/drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/mld/mac80211.c
index 3414b04a6953..1bd8411965f5 100644
--- a/drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/mld/mac80211.c
+++ b/drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/mld/mac80211.c
@@ -519,6 +519,11 @@ iwl_mld_mac80211_tx(struct ieee80211_hw *hw,
 	u32 link_id = u32_get_bits(info->control.flags,
 				   IEEE80211_TX_CTRL_MLO_LINK);
 
+	if (unlikely(test_bit(STATUS_FW_ERROR, &mld->trans->status))) {
+		ieee80211_free_txskb(hw, skb);
+		return;
+	}
+
 	/* In AP mode, mgmt frames are sent on the bcast station,
 	 * so the FW can't translate the MLD addr to the link addr. Do it here
 	 */
diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/mld/tx.c b/drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/mld/tx.c
index 7c6a4b4e5523..fbb672f4d8c7 100644
--- a/drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/mld/tx.c
+++ b/drivers/net/wireless/intel/iwlwifi/mld/tx.c
@@ -970,6 +970,14 @@ void iwl_mld_tx_from_txq(struct iwl_mld *mld, struct ieee80211_txq *txq)
 	struct sk_buff *skb = NULL;
 	u8 zero_addr[ETH_ALEN] = {};
 
+	/* Firmware is dead - don't pull frames from mac80211 TXQs.
+	 * Packets dequeued here would fail at iwl_trans_tx() anyway,
+	 * but looping over every queued frame burns CPU and causes
+	 * soft lockups during firmware error recovery.
+	 */
+	if (unlikely(test_bit(STATUS_FW_ERROR, &mld->trans->status)))
+		return;
+
 	/*
 	 * No need for threads to be pending here, they can leave the first
 	 * taker all the work.
-- 
2.52.0


      parent reply	other threads:[~2026-02-18 14:18 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 3+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2026-02-14  6:07 [PATCH] wifi: iwlwifi: mld: stop mac80211 TX queues on firmware error Cole Leavitt
2026-02-16 11:29 ` Johannes Berg
2026-02-18 14:17 ` Cole Leavitt [this message]

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