[PATCH v8 26/27] docs: add KStackWatch document

Jinchao Wang
2025-11-10T16:38:39Z

Add documentation for KStackWatch under Documentation/.

It provides an overview, main features, usage details, configuration
parameters, and example scenarios with test cases. The document also
explains how to locate function offsets and interpret logs.

Signed-off-by: Jinchao Wang <wangjinchao600@gmail.com>
---
Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst | 1 +
Documentation/dev-tools/kstackwatch.rst | 377 ++++++++++++++++++++++++
2 files changed, 378 insertions(+)
create mode 100644 Documentation/dev-tools/kstackwatch.rst

diff --git a/Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst b/Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst
index 4b8425e348ab..272ae9b76863 100644
--- a/Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst
+++ b/Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ Documentation/process/debugging/index.rst
lkmm/index
kfence
kselftest
+ kstackwatch
kunit/index
ktap
checkuapi
diff --git a/Documentation/dev-tools/kstackwatch.rst b/Documentation/dev-tools/kstackwatch.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..9b710b90e512
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/dev-tools/kstackwatch.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,377 @@
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+=================================
+Kernel Stack Watch (KStackWatch)
+=================================
+
+Overview
+========
+
+KStackWatch is a lightweight debugging tool designed to detect kernel stack
+corruption in real time. It installs a hardware breakpoint (watchpoint) at a
+function's specified offset using *kprobe.post_handler* and removes it in
+*fprobe.exit_handler*. This covers the full execution window and reports
+corruption immediately with time, location, and call stack.
+
+Main features:
+
+* Immediate and precise stack corruption detection
+* Support for multiple concurrent watchpoints with configurable limits
+* Lockless design, usable in any context
+* Depth filter for recursive calls
+* Low overhead of memory and CPU
+* Flexible debugfs configuration with key=val syntax
+* Architecture support: x86_64 and arm64
+* Auto-canary detection to simplify configuration
+
+Performance Impact
+==================
+
+Runtime overhead was measured on Intel Core Ultra 5 125H @ 3 GHz running
+kernel 6.17, using test4:
+
++------------------------+-------------+---------+
+| Type | Time (ns) | Cycles |
++========================+=============+=========+
+| entry with watch | 10892 | 32620 |
++------------------------+-------------+---------+
+| entry without watch | 159 | 466 |
++------------------------+-------------+---------+
+| exit with watch | 12541 | 37556 |
++------------------------+-------------+---------+
+| exit without watch | 124 | 369 |
++------------------------+-------------+---------+
+
+From a broader perspective, the overall comparison is as follows:
+
++----------------------------+----------------------+-------------------------+
+| Mode | CPU Overhead (add) | Memory Overhead (add) |
++============================+======================+=========================+
+| Compiled but not enabled | None | ~20 B per task |
++----------------------------+----------------------+-------------------------+
+| Enabled, no function hit | None | ~few hundred B |
++----------------------------+----------------------+-------------------------+
+| Func hit, HWBP not toggled | ~140 ns per call | None |
++----------------------------+----------------------+-------------------------+
+| Func hit, HWBP toggled | ~11–12 µs per call | None |
++----------------------------+----------------------+-------------------------+
+
+The overhead is minimal, making KStackWatch suitable for production
+environments where stack corruption is suspected but kernel rebuilds are not
+feasible.
+
+Kconfig Options
+===============
+
+The following configuration options control KStackWatch builds:
+
+- CONFIG_KSTACKWATCH
+
+ Builds the kernel with KStackWatch enabled.
+
+- CONFIG_KSTACKWATCH_PROFILING
+
+ Measures probe runtime overhead for performance analysis and tuning.
+
+- CONFIG_KSTACKWATCH_TEST
+
+ Builds a test module to validate KStackWatch functionality.
+
+Usage
+=====
+
+KStackWatch provides optional configurations for different use cases.
+CONFIG_KSTACKWATCH enables real-time stack corruption detection using hardware breakpoints and probes.
+CONFIG_KSTACKWATCH_PROFILING allows measurement of probe latency and overhead for performance analysis.
+CONFIG_KSTACKWATCH_TEST builds a test module for validating KStackWatch functionality under controlled conditions.
+
+KStackWatch is configured through */sys/kernel/debug/kstackwatch/config* using a
+key=value format. Both long and short forms are supported. Writing an empty
+string disables the watch.
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+ # long form
+ echo func_name=? func_offset=? ... > /sys/kernel/debug/kstackwatch/config
+
+ # short form
+ echo fn=? fo=? ... > /sys/kernel/debug/kstackwatch/config
+
+ # disable
+ echo > /sys/kernel/debug/kstackwatch/config
+
+The func_name and the func_offset where the watchpoint should be placed must be
+known. This information can be obtained from *objdump* or other tools.
+
+Required parameters
+--------------------
+
++--------------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
+| Parameter | Short | Description |
++==============+========+=========================================+
+| func_name | fn | Name of the target function |
++--------------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
+| func_offset | fo | Instruction pointer offset |
++--------------+--------+-----------------------------------------+
+
+Optional parameters
+--------------------
+
+Default 0 and can be omitted.
+Both decimal and hexadecimal are supported.
+
++--------------+--------+------------------------------------------------+
+| Parameter | Short | Description |
++==============+========+================================================+
+| auto_canary | ac | Automatically calculated canary sp_offset |
++--------------+--------+------------------------------------------------+
+| depth | dp | Recursion depth filter |
++--------------+--------+------------------------------------------------+
+| | | Maximum number of concurrent watchpoints |
+| max_watch | mw | (default 0, capped by available hardware |
+| | | breakpoints) |
++--------------+--------+------------------------------------------------+
+| panic_hit | ph | Panic system on watchpoint hit (default 0) |
++--------------+--------+------------------------------------------------+
+| sp_offset | so | Watching addr offset from stack pointer |
++--------------+--------+------------------------------------------------+
+| watch_len | wl | Watch length in bytes (1, 2, 4, 8 onX86_64) |
++--------------+--------+------------------------------------------------+
+
+
+Workflow Example
+================
+
+Silent corruption
+-----------------
+
+Consider *test3* in *kstackwatch_test.sh*. Run it directly:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+ echo test3 >/sys/kernel/debug/kstackwatch/test
+
+Sometimes, *test_mthread_victim()* may report as unhappy:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+ [ 7.807082] kstackwatch_test: victim[0][11]: unhappy buf[8]=0xabcdabcd
+
+Its source code is:
+
+.. code-block:: c
+
+ static void test_mthread_victim(int thread_id, int seq_id, u64 start_ns)
+ {
+ ulong buf[BUFFER_SIZE];
+
+ for (int j = 0; j < BUFFER_SIZE; j++)
+ buf[j] = 0xdeadbeef + seq_id;
+
+ if (start_ns)
+ silent_wait_us(start_ns, VICTIM_MINIOR_WAIT_NS);
+
+ for (int j = 0; j < BUFFER_SIZE; j++) {
+ if (buf[j] != (0xdeadbeef + seq_id)) {
+ pr_warn("victim[%d][%d]: unhappy buf[%d]=0x%lx\n",
+ thread_id, seq_id, j, buf[j]);
+ return;
+ }
+ }
+
+ pr_info("victim[%d][%d]: happy\n", thread_id, seq_id);
+ }
+
+From the source code, the report indicates buf[8] was unexpectedly modified,
+a case of silent corruption.
+
+Configuration
+-------------
+
+Since buf[8] is the corrupted variable, the following configuration shows
+how to use KStackWatch to detect its corruption.
+
+func_name
+~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+As seen, buf[8] is initialized and modified in *test_mthread_victim*\(\) ,
+which sets *func_name*.
+
+func_offset & sp_offset
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+The watchpoint should be set after the assignment and as close as
+possible, which sets *func_offset*.
+
+The watchpoint should be set to watch buf[8], which sets *sp_offset*.
+
+Use the objdump output to disassemble the function:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+ objdump -S --disassemble=test_mthread_victim vmlinux
+
+A shortened output is:
+
+.. code-block:: text
+
+ static void test_mthread_victim(int thread_id, int seq_id, u64 start_ns)
+ {
+ ffffffff815cb4e0: e8 5b 9b ca ff call ffffffff81275040 <__fentry__>
+ ffffffff815cb4e5: 55 push %rbp
+ ffffffff815cb4e6: 53 push %rbx
+ ffffffff815cb4e7: 48 81 ec 08 01 00 00 sub $0x108,%rsp
+ ffffffff815cb4ee: 89 fd mov %edi,%ebp
+ ffffffff815cb4f0: 89 f3 mov %esi,%ebx
+ ffffffff815cb4f2: 49 89 d0 mov %rdx,%r8
+ ffffffff815cb4f5: 65 48 8b 05 0b cb 80 mov %gs:0x280cb0b(%rip),%rax # ffffffff83dd8008 <__stack_chk_guard>
+ ffffffff815cb4fc: 02
+ ffffffff815cb4fd: 48 89 84 24 00 01 00 mov %rax,0x100(%rsp)
+ ffffffff815cb504: 00
+ ffffffff815cb505: 31 c0 xor %eax,%eax
+ ulong buf[BUFFER_SIZE];
+ ffffffff815cb507: 48 89 e2 mov %rsp,%rdx
+ ffffffff815cb50a: b9 20 00 00 00 mov $0x20,%ecx
+ ffffffff815cb50f: 48 89 d7 mov %rdx,%rdi
+ ffffffff815cb512: f3 48 ab rep stos %rax,%es:(%rdi)
+
+ for (int j = 0; j < BUFFER_SIZE; j++)
+ ffffffff815cb515: eb 10 jmp ffffffff815cb527 <test_mthread_victim+0x47>
+ buf[j] = 0xdeadbeef + seq_id;
+ ffffffff815cb517: 8d 93 ef be ad de lea -0x21524111(%rbx),%edx
+ ffffffff815cb51d: 48 63 c8 movslq %eax,%rcx
+ ffffffff815cb520: 48 89 14 cc mov %rdx,(%rsp,%rcx,8)
+ ffffffff815cb524: 83 c0 01 add $0x1,%eax
+ ffffffff815cb527: 83 f8 1f cmp $0x1f,%eax
+ ffffffff815cb52a: 7e eb jle ffffffff815cb517 <test_mthread_victim+0x37>
+ if (start_ns)
+ ffffffff815cb52c: 4d 85 c0 test %r8,%r8
+ ffffffff815cb52f: 75 21 jne ffffffff815cb552 <test_mthread_victim+0x72>
+ silent_wait_us(start_ns, VICTIM_MINIOR_WAIT_NS);
+ ...
+ ffffffff815cb571: 48 8b 84 24 00 01 00 mov 0x100(%rsp),%rax
+ ffffffff815cb579: 65 48 2b 05 87 ca 80 sub %gs:0x280ca87(%rip),%rax # ffffffff83dd8008 <__stack_chk_guard>
+ ...
+ ffffffff815cb5a1: eb ce jmp ffffffff815cb571 <test_mthread_victim+0x91>
+ }
+ ffffffff815cb5a3: e8 d8 86 f1 00 call ffffffff824e3c80 <__stack_chk_fail>
+
+
+func_offset
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The function begins at ffffffff815cb4e0. The *buf* array is initialized in a loop.
+The instruction storing values into the array is at ffffffff815cb520, and the
+first instruction after the loop is at ffffffff815cb52c.
+
+Because KStackWatch uses *kprobe.post_handler*, the watchpoint can be
+set right after ffffffff815cb520. However, this will cause false positive
+because the watchpoint is active before buf[8] is assigned.
+
+An alternative is to place the watchpoint at ffffffff815cb52c, right
+after the loop. This avoids false positives but leaves a small window
+for false negatives.
+
+In this document, ffffffff815cb52c is chosen for cleaner logs. If false
+negatives are suspected, repeat the test to catch the corruption.
+
+The required offset is calculated from the function start:
+
+*func_offset* is 0x4c (ffffffff815cb52c - ffffffff815cb4e0).
+
+sp_offset
+^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+From the disassembly, the buf array is at the top of the stack,
+meaning buf == rsp. Therefore, buf[8] sits at rsp + 8 * sizeof(ulong) =
+rsp + 64. Thus, *sp_offset* is 64.
+
+Other parameters
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+* *depth* is 0, as test_mthread_victim is not recursive
+* *max_watch* is 0 to use all available hwbps
+* *watch_len* is 8, the size of a ulong on x86_64
+
+Parameters with a value of 0 can be omitted as defaults.
+
+Configure the watch:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+ echo "fn=test_mthread_victim fo=0x4c so=64 wl=8" > /sys/kernel/debug/kstackwatch/config
+
+Now rerun the test:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+ echo test3 >/sys/kernel/debug/kstackwatch/test
+
+The dmesg log shows:
+
+.. code-block:: text
+
+ [ 7.607074] kstackwatch: ========== KStackWatch: Caught stack corruption =======
+ [ 7.607077] kstackwatch: config fn=test_mthread_victim fo=0x4c so=64 wl=8
+ [ 7.607080] CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 347 Comm: corrupting Not tainted 6.17.0-rc7-00022-g90270f3db80a-dirty #509 PREEMPT(voluntary)
+ [ 7.607083] Call Trace:
+ [ 7.607084] <#DB>
+ [ 7.607085] dump_stack_lvl+0x66/0xa0
+ [ 7.607091] ksw_watch_handler.part.0+0x2b/0x60
+ [ 7.607094] ksw_watch_handler+0xba/0xd0
+ [ 7.607095] ? test_mthread_corrupting+0x48/0xd0
+ [ 7.607097] ? kthread+0x10d/0x210
+ [ 7.607099] ? ret_from_fork+0x187/0x1e0
+ [ 7.607102] ? ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30
+ [ 7.607105] __perf_event_overflow+0x154/0x570
+ [ 7.607108] perf_bp_event+0xb4/0xc0
+ [ 7.607112] ? look_up_lock_class+0x59/0x150
+ [ 7.607115] hw_breakpoint_exceptions_notify+0xf7/0x110
+ [ 7.607117] notifier_call_chain+0x44/0x110
+ [ 7.607119] atomic_notifier_call_chain+0x5f/0x110
+ [ 7.607121] notify_die+0x4c/0xb0
+ [ 7.607123] exc_debug_kernel+0xaf/0x170
+ [ 7.607126] asm_exc_debug+0x1e/0x40
+ [ 7.607127] RIP: 0010:test_mthread_corrupting+0x48/0xd0
+ [ 7.607129] Code: c7 80 0a 24 83 e8 48 f1 f1 00 48 85 c0 74 dd eb 30 bb 00 00 00 00 eb 59 48 63 c2 48 c1 e0 03 48 03 03 be cd ab cd ab 48 89 30 <83> c2 01 b8 20 00 00 00 29 c8 39 d0 7f e0 48 8d 7b 10 e8 d1 86 d4
+ [ 7.607130] RSP: 0018:ffffc90000acfee0 EFLAGS: 00000286
+ [ 7.607132] RAX: ffffc90000a13de8 RBX: ffff888102d57580 RCX: 0000000000000008
+ [ 7.607132] RDX: 0000000000000008 RSI: 00000000abcdabcd RDI: ffffc90000acfe00
+ [ 7.607133] RBP: ffff8881085bc800 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: 0000000000000000
+ [ 7.607133] R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff888105398000
+ [ 7.607134] R13: ffff8881085bc800 R14: ffffffff815cb660 R15: 0000000000000000
+ [ 7.607134] ? __pfx_test_mthread_corrupting+0x10/0x10
+ [ 7.607137] </#DB>
+ [ 7.607138] <TASK>
+ [ 7.607138] kthread+0x10d/0x210
+ [ 7.607140] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10
+ [ 7.607141] ret_from_fork+0x187/0x1e0
+ [ 7.607143] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10
+ [ 7.607144] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30
+ [ 7.607147] </TASK>
+ [ 7.607147] kstackwatch: =================== KStackWatch End ===================
+ [ 7.807082] kstackwatch_test: victim[0][11]: unhappy buf[8]=0xabcdabcd
+
+The line ``RIP: 0010:test_mthread_corrupting+0x48/0xd0`` shows the exact
+location where the corruption occurred. Now that the ``corrupting()`` function has
+been identified, it is straightforward to trace back to ``buggy()`` and fix the bug.
+
+
+More usage examples and corruption scenarios are provided in
+``kstackwatch_test.sh`` and ``mm/kstackwatch/test.c``.
+
+Limitations
+===========
+
+* Limited by available hardware breakpoints
+* Only one function can be watched at a time
+* Canary search limited to 128 * sizeof(ulong) from the current stack
+ pointer. This is sufficient for most cases, but has three limitations:
+
+ - If the stack frame is larger, the search may fail.
+ - If the function does not have a canary, the search may fail.
+ - If stack memory occasionally contains the same value as the canary,
+ it may be incorrectly matched.
+
+ In these cases, the user can provide the canary location using
+ ``sp_offset``, or treat any memory in the function prologue
+ as the canary.
--
2.43.0