Re: [PATCH v2 01/16] docs: deprecated.rst: Add uninitialized_var()

Nick Desaulniers
2020-06-22T17:00:09Z

On Fri, Jun 19, 2020 at 8:30 PM Kees Cook <keescook@chromium.org> wrote:
>
> Nothing should be using this macro, and the entire idea of tricking the
> compiler into silencing such warnings is a mistake.
>
> Signed-off-by: Kees Cook <keescook@chromium.org>

Reviewed-by: Nick Desaulniers <ndesaulniers@google.com>

> ---
> Documentation/process/deprecated.rst | 18 ++++++++++++++++++
> 1 file changed, 18 insertions(+)
>
> diff --git a/Documentation/process/deprecated.rst b/Documentation/process/deprecated.rst
> index 652e2aa02a66..943a926ecbbb 100644
> --- a/Documentation/process/deprecated.rst
> +++ b/Documentation/process/deprecated.rst
> @@ -51,6 +51,24 @@ to make sure their systems do not continue running in the face of
> "unreachable" conditions. (For example, see commits like `this one
> <https://git.kernel.org/linus/d4689846881d160a4d12a514e991a740bcb5d65a>`_.)
>
> +uninitialized_var()
> +-------------------
> +For any compiler warnings about uninitialized variables, just add
> +an initializer. Using the uninitialized_var() macro (or similar
> +warning-silencing tricks) is dangerous as it papers over `real bugs
> +<https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20200603174714.192027-1-glider@google.com/>`_
> +(or can in the future), and suppresses unrelated compiler warnings
> +(e.g. "unused variable"). If the compiler thinks it is uninitialized,
> +either simply initialize the variable or make compiler changes. Keep in
> +mind that in most cases, if an initialization is obviously redundant,
> +the compiler's dead-store elimination pass will make sure there are no
> +needless variable writes.
> +
> +As Linus has said, this macro
> +`must <https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/CA+55aFw+Vbj0i=1TGqCR5vQkCzWJ0QxK6CernOU6eedsudAixw@mail.gmail.com/>`_
> +`be <https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/CA+55aFwgbgqhbp1fkxvRKEpzyR5J8n1vKT1VZdz9knmPuXhOeg@mail.gmail.com/>`_
> +`removed <https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/CA+55aFz2500WfbKXAx8s67wrm9=yVJu65TpLgN_ybYNv0VEOKA@mail.gmail.com/>`_.
> +
> open-coded arithmetic in allocator arguments
> --------------------------------------------
> Dynamic size calculations (especially multiplication) should not be
> --
> 2.25.1
>
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--
Thanks,
~Nick Desaulniers