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* [PATCH 00/17] mm/ksw: Introduce real-time Kernel Stack Watch debugging tool
@ 2025-08-28  7:32 Jinchao Wang
  2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 01/17] mm/ksw: add build system support Jinchao Wang
                   ` (16 more replies)
  0 siblings, 17 replies; 18+ messages in thread
From: Jinchao Wang @ 2025-08-28  7:32 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: Andrew Morton, Masami Hiramatsu, Naveen N . Rao, linux-mm,
	linux-trace-kernel
  Cc: linux-kernel, Jinchao Wang

This patch series introduces **KStackWatch**, a lightweight kernel debugging tool 
for detecting kernel stack corruption in real time.

The motivation comes from scenarios where corruption occurs silently in one function 
but manifests later as a crash in another. Using KASAN may not reproduce the issue due
to its heavy overhead. with no direct call trace linking the two. Such bugs are often
extremely hard to debug with existing tools.
I demonstrate this scenario in **test2 (silent corruption test)**.

KStackWatch works by combining a hardware breakpoint with kprobe and fprobe.
It can watch a stack canary or a selected local variable and detects the moment the 
corruption actually occurs. This allows developers to pinpoint the real source rather 
than only observing the final crash.

Key features include:

  - Lightweight overhead with minimal impact on bug reproducibility  
  - Real-time detection of stack corruption  
  - Simple configuration through `/proc/kstackwatch`  
  - Support for recursive depth filter  

To validate the approach, the patch includes a test module and a test script.

---
This series builds on the previously proposed RFC[1] and incorporates feedback. The
changes are as follows:

Core Implementation

  *   Replaced kretprobe with fprobe for function exit hooking, as suggested
      by Masami Hiramatsu.
  *   Introduced per-task depth logic to track recursion across scheduling
  *   Removed the use of workqueue for a more efficient corruption check
  *   Reordered patches for better logical flow
  *   Simplified and improved commit messages throughout the series
  *   Removed initial archcheck which should be improved later


Testing and Architecture

  *   Replaced the multiple-thread test with silent corruption test
  *   Split self-tests into a separate patch to improve clarity.

Maintenance
  *   Added a new entry for KStackWatch to the MAINTAINERS file.

[1] https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20250818122720.434981-1-wangjinchao600@gmail.com/
---

The series is structured as follows:
Jinchao Wang (17):
  mm/ksw: add build system support
  mm/ksw: add ksw_config struct and parser
  mm/ksw: add /proc/kstackwatch interface
  mm/ksw: add HWBP pre-allocation support
  x86/HWBP: introduce arch_reinstall_hw_breakpoint() for atomic context
  mm/ksw: add atomic watch on/off operations
  mm/ksw: add stack probe support
  mm/ksw: implement stack canary and local var resolution logic
  mm/ksw: add per-task recursion depth tracking
  mm/ksw: coordinate watch and stack for full functionality
  mm/ksw: add self-debug functions for kstackwatch watch
  mm/ksw: add test module
  mm/ksw: add stack overflow test
  mm/ksw: add simplified silent corruption test
  mm/ksw: add recursive corruption test
  tools/kstackwatch: add interactive test script for KStackWatch
  MAINTAINERS: add entry for KStackWatch (Kernel Stack Watch)

 MAINTAINERS                           |   6 +
 arch/x86/include/asm/hw_breakpoint.h  |   1 +
 arch/x86/kernel/hw_breakpoint.c       |  50 +++++
 mm/Kconfig.debug                      |  20 ++
 mm/Makefile                           |   1 +
 mm/kstackwatch/Makefile               |   8 +
 mm/kstackwatch/kernel.c               | 260 +++++++++++++++++++++++
 mm/kstackwatch/kstackwatch.h          |  53 +++++
 mm/kstackwatch/kstackwatch_test.c     | 261 +++++++++++++++++++++++
 mm/kstackwatch/stack.c                | 289 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 mm/kstackwatch/watch.c                | 177 ++++++++++++++++
 tools/kstackwatch/kstackwatch_test.sh | 118 +++++++++++
 12 files changed, 1244 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 mm/kstackwatch/Makefile
 create mode 100644 mm/kstackwatch/kernel.c
 create mode 100644 mm/kstackwatch/kstackwatch.h
 create mode 100644 mm/kstackwatch/kstackwatch_test.c
 create mode 100644 mm/kstackwatch/stack.c
 create mode 100644 mm/kstackwatch/watch.c
 create mode 100644 tools/kstackwatch/kstackwatch_test.sh

-- 
2.43.0


^ permalink raw reply	[flat|nested] 18+ messages in thread

end of thread, other threads:[~2025-08-28  7:35 UTC | newest]

Thread overview: 18+ messages (download: mbox.gz follow: Atom feed
-- links below jump to the message on this page --
2025-08-28  7:32 [PATCH 00/17] mm/ksw: Introduce real-time Kernel Stack Watch debugging tool Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 01/17] mm/ksw: add build system support Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 02/17] mm/ksw: add ksw_config struct and parser Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 03/17] mm/ksw: add /proc/kstackwatch interface Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 04/17] mm/ksw: add HWBP pre-allocation support Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 05/17] x86/HWBP: introduce arch_reinstall_hw_breakpoint() for atomic context Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 06/17] mm/ksw: add atomic watch on/off operations Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 07/17] mm/ksw: add stack probe support Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 08/17] mm/ksw: implement stack canary and local var resolution logic Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 09/17] mm/ksw: add per-task recursion depth tracking Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 10/17] mm/ksw: coordinate watch and stack for full functionality Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 11/17] mm/ksw: add self-debug functions for kstackwatch watch Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 12/17] mm/ksw: add test module Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 13/17] mm/ksw: add stack overflow test Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 14/17] mm/ksw: add simplified silent corruption test Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 15/17] mm/ksw: add recursive " Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 16/17] tools/kstackwatch: add interactive test script for KStackWatch Jinchao Wang
2025-08-28  7:32 ` [PATCH 17/17] MAINTAINERS: add entry for KStackWatch (Kernel Stack Watch) Jinchao Wang

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