Re: [PATCH locking/Documentation 1/2] Add note of release-acquire store vulnerability

Peter Zijlstra
2016-09-30T09:57:48Z

On Thu, Sep 29, 2016 at 12:18:58PM -0700, Paul E. McKenney wrote:
> On Thu, Sep 29, 2016 at 08:44:39PM +0200, Peter Zijlstra wrote:

> > How about something like so on PPC?
> >
> > P0(int *x, int *y)
> > {
> > WRITE_ONCE(*x, 1);
> > smp_store_release(y, 1);
> > }
> >
> > P1(int *x, int *y)
> > {
> > WRITE_ONCE(x, 2);
>
> Need "WRITE_ONCE(*x, 2)" here.
>
> > smp_store_release(y, 2);
> > }
> >
> > P2(int *x, int *y)
> > {
> > r1 = smp_load_acquire(y);
> > r2 = READ_ONCE(*x);
> > }
> >
> > (((x==1 && y==2) | (x==2 && y==1)) && (r1==1 || r1==2) && r2==0)
>
> That exists-clause is quite dazzling... So if each of P0 and P1
> win, but on different stores, and if P2 follows one or the other
> of P0 or P1, can r2 get the pre-initialization value for x?
>
> > If you execute P0 and P1 concurrently and one store of each 'wins' the
> > LWSYNC of either is null and void, and therefore P2 is unordered and can
> > observe r2==0.
>
> That vaguely resembles the infamous Z6.3, but only vaguely. The Linux-kernel
> memory model says "forbidden" to this:

https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~pes20/ppc-supplemental/ppc710.html

That one, right?

Hmm, I seem to remember something else.. /me goes poke through history
and comes up with:

https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20160115215853.GC3818@linux.vnet.ibm.com

So what was that about then? I remember it being a completely
nonsensical case, but a weird one.

> So let's try PPCMEM. If PPCMEM allows it, then the kernel model is
> clearly broken.
>
> PPC PeterZijlstra+o-r+o-r+a-o-SB.litmus
> {
> 0:r1=1; 0:r2=2; 0:r3=x; 0:r4=y;
> 1:r1=1; 1:r2=2; 1:r3=x; 1:r4=y;
> 2:r3=x; 2:r4=y;
> }
> P0 | P1 | P2 ;
> stw r1,0(r3) | stw r2,0(r3) | lwz r1,0(r4) ;
> lwsync | lwsync | lwsync ;
> stw r1,0(r4) | stw r2,0(r4) | lwz r2,0(r3) ;
> exists
> (((x=1 /\ y=2) \/ (x=2 /\ y=1)) /\ (2:r1=1 \/ 2:r1=2) /\ 2:r2=0)

> Or did I incorrectly translate your litmus test?

Looks about right.

Still not seeing how that is prohibited though. My reasoning is as
follows:

- P0 and P1 both store to x, one looses (say P0). Effectively only P1
does a store.

- P0 and P1 both store to y, one looses (say P1). Effectively only P0
does a store.

- P2 reads y, sees the value from P0.

- P2 does lwsync, which constraints P2 to not issue the load of x
before this. It also forms a (local) sync-point with P0 for having
seen its store or y.

- P2 reads x, sees the initial value because the store from P1 hasn't
been propagated yet.

It will not see the store P0 did to x, since that didn't happen.

Assuming I'm wrong on that last part, is then the following possible?

(x=2 /\ y=1 /\ 2:r1=1 /\ 2:r2=1)

Where we see a store that didn't happen?