From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from smtp.kernel.org (aws-us-west-2-korg-mail-1.web.codeaurora.org [10.30.226.201]) (using TLSv1.2 with cipher ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by smtp.subspace.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 168AD2DF68; Fri, 1 May 2026 02:29:44 +0000 (UTC) Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; arc=none smtp.client-ip=10.30.226.201 ARC-Seal:i=1; a=rsa-sha256; d=subspace.kernel.org; s=arc-20240116; t=1777602585; cv=none; b=rKYDFNASldrq3oFnFr6x0O/Zrbgb9ZZr6PafmN1z6u37RVrvqhSyEaGSHkhataOv9Uu/BTQN3xFF2VLsabQXmPJjDXGGbLFNvdTO3dVUA/L9IZmvcfMLV00ZkiG76KB+EoUIHSPPyFfQ4/nhDibuiMpG+TKI4eEtgb3L7XWMkwo= ARC-Message-Signature:i=1; a=rsa-sha256; d=subspace.kernel.org; s=arc-20240116; t=1777602585; c=relaxed/simple; bh=NbwQhy35/GGHiQfhGtWqFMGJ0eXfEH0j7A2085wHP5I=; h=From:To:Cc:Subject:Date:Message-ID:In-Reply-To:References: MIME-Version; b=C9NtME/SBe+hq32cyjMDOugJi5OYh2KgLJ9BW8n2K/1oYOIKix7wdkByIXWGEzJm05exnbiq7OhiH1sLplqrtAOt5imay5K91n/qyYlHxkeGPRA80zoSznNONt43ERud20jifL0O6N43j0vDnu9G887fQ6M9Kg+XdPlEj8M0Gbo= ARC-Authentication-Results:i=1; smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=kernel.org header.i=@kernel.org header.b=TT6ZnyK7; arc=none smtp.client-ip=10.30.226.201 Authentication-Results: smtp.subspace.kernel.org; dkim=pass (2048-bit key) header.d=kernel.org header.i=@kernel.org header.b="TT6ZnyK7" Received: by smtp.kernel.org (Postfix) with ESMTPSA id 9514DC2BCB3; Fri, 1 May 2026 02:29:44 +0000 (UTC) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/simple; d=kernel.org; s=k20201202; t=1777602584; bh=NbwQhy35/GGHiQfhGtWqFMGJ0eXfEH0j7A2085wHP5I=; h=From:To:Cc:Subject:Date:In-Reply-To:References:From; b=TT6ZnyK7JrR90i8WCo1VM6t7XIdqBtGSG+94LQE+nkM83GxZAIY6Pip8sjo/x/eSh gkxm7DJP6BFf2c+8XGHktcdm/xT0wsDtuM/JbM1RG8x1AE4u3Al2nDdiWBA8WCS0uq qieQHkRqZXvo+64mPl6QAJeNPJrhnPYjVsbaM89a7ukAZxnwoe1TJPotzd5h+1UMNX p6tC+oklzQ50N9vSAMYQ5bnr9H5AGS4iRxolQ+0lTteZuEtoy+CrBf+CMM9ioX9qcU MBSIwLoN8JwO9g+sYQAfajVdtvaYwNTEn12WUBQjP0i9LG39t8wRGnA/wIAkq9cM7N ns4BihJALO2KQ== From: Tejun Heo To: Martin Pitt Cc: regressions@lists.linux.dev, cgroups@vger.kernel.org, lizefan.x@bytedance.com, hannes@cmpxchg.org, Sebastian Andrzej Siewior , linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, Tejun Heo Subject: [PATCH] cgroup: Defer css percpu_ref kill on rmdir until cgroup is depopulated Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:29:43 -1000 Message-ID: <20260501022943.3714461-1-tj@kernel.org> X-Mailer: git-send-email 2.54.0 In-Reply-To: References: Precedence: bulk X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org List-Id: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit A chain of commits going back to v7.0 reworked rmdir to satisfy the controller invariant that a subsystem's ->css_offline() must not run while tasks are still doing kernel-side work in the cgroup. [1] d245698d727a ("cgroup: Defer task cgroup unlink until after the task is done switching out") [2] a72f73c4dd9b ("cgroup: Don't expose dead tasks in cgroup") [3] 1b164b876c36 ("cgroup: Wait for dying tasks to leave on rmdir") [4] 4c56a8ac6869 ("cgroup: Fix cgroup_drain_dying() testing the wrong condition") [5] 13e786b64bd3 ("cgroup: Increment nr_dying_subsys_* from rmdir context") [1] moved task cset unlink from do_exit() to finish_task_switch() so a task's cset link drops only after the task has fully stopped scheduling. That made tasks past exit_signals() linger on cset->tasks until their final context switch, which led to a series of problems as what userspace expected to see after rmdir diverged from what the kernel needs to wait for. [2]-[5] tried to bridge that divergence: [2] filtered the exiting tasks from cgroup.procs; [3] had rmdir(2) sleep in TASK_UNINTERRUPTIBLE for them; [4] fixed the wait's condition; [5] made nr_dying_subsys_* visible synchronously. The cgroup_drain_dying() wait in [3] turned out to be a dead end. When the rmdir caller is also the reaper of a zombie that pins a pidns teardown (e.g. host PID 1 systemd reaping orphan pids that were re-parented to it during the same teardown), rmdir blocks in TASK_UNINTERRUPTIBLE waiting for those pids to free, the pids can't free because PID 1 is the reaper and it's stuck in rmdir, and the system A-A deadlocks. No internal lock ordering breaks this; the wait itself is the bug. The css killing side that drove the original reorder, however, can be made cleanly asynchronous: ->css_offline() is already async, run from css_killed_work_fn() driven by percpu_ref_kill_and_confirm(). The fix is to make that chain start only after all tasks have left the cgroup. rmdir's user-visible side then returns as soon as cgroup.procs and friends are empty, while ->css_offline() still runs only after the cgroup is fully drained. Verified by the original reproducer (pidns teardown + zombie reaper, runs under vng) which hangs vanilla and succeeds here, and by per-commit deterministic repros for [2], [3], [4], [5] with a boot parameter that widens the post-exit_signals() window so each state is reliably reachable. Some stress tests on top of that. This seems like the right approach and I don't see problems with it. The changes are somewhat invasive but not excessively so, so backporting to -stable should be okay. If something does turn out to be wrong, the fallback is to revert the entire chain ([1]-[5]) and rework in the development branch instead. Fixes: 1b164b876c36 ("cgroup: Wait for dying tasks to leave on rmdir") Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org # v7.0+ Reported-by: Martin Pitt Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/afHNg2VX2jy9bW7y@piware.de/ Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/35e0670adb4abeab13da2c321582af9f@kernel.org/ Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo Cc: Sebastian Andrzej Siewior --- Hello Martin, Could you give this a try? It defers the percpu_ref kill chain on rmdir until the cgroup is fully drained, which removes the TASK_UNINTERRUPTIBLE wait that deadlocked against PID 1 reaping. The patch description has the details. Thanks. include/linux/cgroup-defs.h | 4 +- kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c | 241 ++++++++++++++++-------------------- 2 files changed, 110 insertions(+), 135 deletions(-) diff --git a/include/linux/cgroup-defs.h b/include/linux/cgroup-defs.h index f42563739d2e..50a784da7a81 100644 --- a/include/linux/cgroup-defs.h +++ b/include/linux/cgroup-defs.h @@ -611,8 +611,8 @@ struct cgroup { /* used to wait for offlining of csses */ wait_queue_head_t offline_waitq; - /* used by cgroup_rmdir() to wait for dying tasks to leave */ - wait_queue_head_t dying_populated_waitq; + /* defers killing csses after removal until cgroup is depopulated */ + struct work_struct finish_destroy_work; /* used to schedule release agent */ struct work_struct release_agent_work; diff --git a/kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c b/kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c index c928dea9dea6..5634bac9cb9c 100644 --- a/kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c +++ b/kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c @@ -264,10 +264,10 @@ static void cgroup_finalize_control(struct cgroup *cgrp, int ret); static void css_task_iter_skip(struct css_task_iter *it, struct task_struct *task); static int cgroup_destroy_locked(struct cgroup *cgrp); +static void cgroup_finish_destroy(struct cgroup *cgrp); static struct cgroup_subsys_state *css_create(struct cgroup *cgrp, struct cgroup_subsys *ss); static void css_release(struct percpu_ref *ref); -static void kill_css(struct cgroup_subsys_state *css); static int cgroup_addrm_files(struct cgroup_subsys_state *css, struct cgroup *cgrp, struct cftype cfts[], bool is_add); @@ -797,6 +797,10 @@ static void cgroup_update_populated(struct cgroup *cgrp, bool populated) if (was_populated == cgroup_is_populated(cgrp)) break; + /* subtree just emptied below an offlined cgrp; fire deferred destroy */ + if (was_populated && !css_is_online(&cgrp->self)) + queue_work(cgroup_offline_wq, &cgrp->finish_destroy_work); + cgroup1_check_for_release(cgrp); TRACE_CGROUP_PATH(notify_populated, cgrp, cgroup_is_populated(cgrp)); @@ -2039,6 +2043,15 @@ static int cgroup_reconfigure(struct fs_context *fc) return 0; } +static void cgroup_finish_destroy_work_fn(struct work_struct *work) +{ + struct cgroup *cgrp = container_of(work, struct cgroup, finish_destroy_work); + + cgroup_lock(); + cgroup_finish_destroy(cgrp); + cgroup_unlock(); +} + static void init_cgroup_housekeeping(struct cgroup *cgrp) { struct cgroup_subsys *ss; @@ -2065,7 +2078,7 @@ static void init_cgroup_housekeeping(struct cgroup *cgrp) #endif init_waitqueue_head(&cgrp->offline_waitq); - init_waitqueue_head(&cgrp->dying_populated_waitq); + INIT_WORK(&cgrp->finish_destroy_work, cgroup_finish_destroy_work_fn); INIT_WORK(&cgrp->release_agent_work, cgroup1_release_agent); } @@ -3375,7 +3388,8 @@ static void cgroup_apply_control_disable(struct cgroup *cgrp) if (css->parent && !(cgroup_ss_mask(dsct) & (1 << ss->id))) { - kill_css(css); + kill_css_sync(css); + kill_css_finish(css); } else if (!css_visible(css)) { css_clear_dir(css); if (ss->css_reset) @@ -5514,7 +5528,7 @@ static struct cftype cgroup_psi_files[] = { * css destruction is four-stage process. * * 1. Destruction starts. Killing of the percpu_ref is initiated. - * Implemented in kill_css(). + * Implemented in kill_css_finish(). * * 2. When the percpu_ref is confirmed to be visible as killed on all CPUs * and thus css_tryget_online() is guaranteed to fail, the css can be @@ -5993,7 +6007,7 @@ int cgroup_mkdir(struct kernfs_node *parent_kn, const char *name, umode_t mode) /* * This is called when the refcnt of a css is confirmed to be killed. * css_tryget_online() is now guaranteed to fail. Tell the subsystem to - * initiate destruction and put the css ref from kill_css(). + * initiate destruction and put the css ref from kill_css_finish(). */ static void css_killed_work_fn(struct work_struct *work) { @@ -6025,15 +6039,12 @@ static void css_killed_ref_fn(struct percpu_ref *ref) } /** - * kill_css - destroy a css - * @css: css to destroy + * kill_css_sync - synchronous half of css teardown + * @css: css being killed * - * This function initiates destruction of @css by removing cgroup interface - * files and putting its base reference. ->css_offline() will be invoked - * asynchronously once css_tryget_online() is guaranteed to fail and when - * the reference count reaches zero, @css will be released. + * See cgroup_destroy_locked(). */ -static void kill_css(struct cgroup_subsys_state *css) +static void kill_css_sync(struct cgroup_subsys_state *css) { struct cgroup_subsys *ss = css->ss; @@ -6056,24 +6067,6 @@ static void kill_css(struct cgroup_subsys_state *css) */ css_clear_dir(css); - /* - * Killing would put the base ref, but we need to keep it alive - * until after ->css_offline(). - */ - css_get(css); - - /* - * cgroup core guarantees that, by the time ->css_offline() is - * invoked, no new css reference will be given out via - * css_tryget_online(). We can't simply call percpu_ref_kill() and - * proceed to offlining css's because percpu_ref_kill() doesn't - * guarantee that the ref is seen as killed on all CPUs on return. - * - * Use percpu_ref_kill_and_confirm() to get notifications as each - * css is confirmed to be seen as killed on all CPUs. - */ - percpu_ref_kill_and_confirm(&css->refcnt, css_killed_ref_fn); - css->cgroup->nr_dying_subsys[ss->id]++; /* * Parent css and cgroup cannot be freed until after the freeing @@ -6086,44 +6079,88 @@ static void kill_css(struct cgroup_subsys_state *css) } /** - * cgroup_destroy_locked - the first stage of cgroup destruction + * kill_css_finish - deferred half of css teardown + * @css: css being killed + * + * See cgroup_destroy_locked(). + */ +static void kill_css_finish(struct cgroup_subsys_state *css) +{ + lockdep_assert_held(&cgroup_mutex); + + /* + * Skip on re-entry: cgroup_apply_control_disable() may have killed @css + * earlier. cgroup_destroy_locked() can still walk it because + * offline_css() (which NULLs cgrp->subsys[ssid]) runs async. + */ + if (percpu_ref_is_dying(&css->refcnt)) + return; + + /* + * Killing would put the base ref, but we need to keep it alive until + * after ->css_offline(). + */ + css_get(css); + + /* + * cgroup core guarantees that, by the time ->css_offline() is invoked, + * no new css reference will be given out via css_tryget_online(). We + * can't simply call percpu_ref_kill() and proceed to offlining css's + * because percpu_ref_kill() doesn't guarantee that the ref is seen as + * killed on all CPUs on return. + * + * Use percpu_ref_kill_and_confirm() to get notifications as each css is + * confirmed to be seen as killed on all CPUs. + */ + percpu_ref_kill_and_confirm(&css->refcnt, css_killed_ref_fn); +} + +/** + * cgroup_destroy_locked - destroy @cgrp (called on rmdir) * @cgrp: cgroup to be destroyed * - * css's make use of percpu refcnts whose killing latency shouldn't be - * exposed to userland and are RCU protected. Also, cgroup core needs to - * guarantee that css_tryget_online() won't succeed by the time - * ->css_offline() is invoked. To satisfy all the requirements, - * destruction is implemented in the following two steps. - * - * s1. Verify @cgrp can be destroyed and mark it dying. Remove all - * userland visible parts and start killing the percpu refcnts of - * css's. Set up so that the next stage will be kicked off once all - * the percpu refcnts are confirmed to be killed. - * - * s2. Invoke ->css_offline(), mark the cgroup dead and proceed with the - * rest of destruction. Once all cgroup references are gone, the - * cgroup is RCU-freed. - * - * This function implements s1. After this step, @cgrp is gone as far as - * the userland is concerned and a new cgroup with the same name may be - * created. As cgroup doesn't care about the names internally, this - * doesn't cause any problem. + * Tear down @cgrp on behalf of rmdir. Constraints: + * + * - Userspace: rmdir must succeed when cgroup.procs and friends are empty. + * + * - Kernel: subsystem ->css_offline() must not run while any task in @cgrp's + * subtree is still doing kernel work. A task hidden from cgroup.procs (past + * exit_signals() with signal->live cleared) can still schedule, allocate, and + * consume resources until its final context switch. Dying descendants in the + * subtree can host such tasks too. + * + * - Kernel: css_tryget_online() must fail by the time ->css_offline() runs. + * + * The destruction runs in three parts: + * + * - This function: synchronous user-visible state teardown plus kill_css_sync() + * on each subsystem css. + * + * - cgroup_finish_destroy(): kicks the percpu_ref kill via kill_css_finish() on + * each subsystem css. Fires once @cgrp's subtree is fully drained, either + * inline here or from cgroup_update_populated(). + * + * - The percpu_ref kill chain: css_killed_ref_fn -> css_killed_work_fn -> + * ->css_offline() -> release/free. + * + * Return 0 on success, -EBUSY if a userspace-visible task or an online child + * remains. */ static int cgroup_destroy_locked(struct cgroup *cgrp) - __releases(&cgroup_mutex) __acquires(&cgroup_mutex) { struct cgroup *tcgrp, *parent = cgroup_parent(cgrp); struct cgroup_subsys_state *css; struct cgrp_cset_link *link; + struct css_task_iter it; + struct task_struct *task; int ssid, ret; lockdep_assert_held(&cgroup_mutex); - /* - * Only migration can raise populated from zero and we're already - * holding cgroup_mutex. - */ - if (cgroup_is_populated(cgrp)) + css_task_iter_start(&cgrp->self, 0, &it); + task = css_task_iter_next(&it); + css_task_iter_end(&it); + if (task) return -EBUSY; /* @@ -6147,9 +6184,8 @@ static int cgroup_destroy_locked(struct cgroup *cgrp) link->cset->dead = true; spin_unlock_irq(&css_set_lock); - /* initiate massacre of all css's */ for_each_css(css, ssid, cgrp) - kill_css(css); + kill_css_sync(css); /* clear and remove @cgrp dir, @cgrp has an extra ref on its kn */ css_clear_dir(&cgrp->self); @@ -6180,79 +6216,27 @@ static int cgroup_destroy_locked(struct cgroup *cgrp) /* put the base reference */ percpu_ref_kill(&cgrp->self.refcnt); + if (!cgroup_is_populated(cgrp)) + cgroup_finish_destroy(cgrp); + return 0; }; /** - * cgroup_drain_dying - wait for dying tasks to leave before rmdir - * @cgrp: the cgroup being removed - * - * cgroup.procs and cgroup.threads use css_task_iter which filters out - * PF_EXITING tasks so that userspace doesn't see tasks that have already been - * reaped via waitpid(). However, cgroup_has_tasks() - which tests whether the - * cgroup has non-empty css_sets - is only updated when dying tasks pass through - * cgroup_task_dead() in finish_task_switch(). This creates a window where - * cgroup.procs reads empty but cgroup_has_tasks() is still true, making rmdir - * fail with -EBUSY from cgroup_destroy_locked() even though userspace sees no - * tasks. + * cgroup_finish_destroy - deferred half of @cgrp destruction + * @cgrp: cgroup whose subtree just became empty * - * This function aligns cgroup_has_tasks() with what userspace can observe. If - * cgroup_has_tasks() but the task iterator sees nothing (all remaining tasks are - * PF_EXITING), we wait for cgroup_task_dead() to finish processing them. As the - * window between PF_EXITING and cgroup_task_dead() is short, the wait is brief. - * - * This function only concerns itself with this cgroup's own dying tasks. - * Whether the cgroup has children is cgroup_destroy_locked()'s problem. - * - * Each cgroup_task_dead() kicks the waitqueue via cset->cgrp_links, and we - * retry the full check from scratch. - * - * Must be called with cgroup_mutex held. + * See cgroup_destroy_locked() for the rationale. */ -static int cgroup_drain_dying(struct cgroup *cgrp) - __releases(&cgroup_mutex) __acquires(&cgroup_mutex) +static void cgroup_finish_destroy(struct cgroup *cgrp) { - struct css_task_iter it; - struct task_struct *task; - DEFINE_WAIT(wait); + struct cgroup_subsys_state *css; + int ssid; lockdep_assert_held(&cgroup_mutex); -retry: - if (!cgroup_has_tasks(cgrp)) - return 0; - - /* Same iterator as cgroup.threads - if any task is visible, it's busy */ - css_task_iter_start(&cgrp->self, 0, &it); - task = css_task_iter_next(&it); - css_task_iter_end(&it); - - if (task) - return -EBUSY; - /* - * All remaining tasks are PF_EXITING and will pass through - * cgroup_task_dead() shortly. Wait for a kick and retry. - * - * cgroup_has_tasks() can't transition from false to true while we're - * holding cgroup_mutex, but the true to false transition happens - * under css_set_lock (via cgroup_task_dead()). We must retest and - * prepare_to_wait() under css_set_lock. Otherwise, the transition - * can happen between our first test and prepare_to_wait(), and we - * sleep with no one to wake us. - */ - spin_lock_irq(&css_set_lock); - if (!cgroup_has_tasks(cgrp)) { - spin_unlock_irq(&css_set_lock); - return 0; - } - prepare_to_wait(&cgrp->dying_populated_waitq, &wait, - TASK_UNINTERRUPTIBLE); - spin_unlock_irq(&css_set_lock); - mutex_unlock(&cgroup_mutex); - schedule(); - finish_wait(&cgrp->dying_populated_waitq, &wait); - mutex_lock(&cgroup_mutex); - goto retry; + for_each_css(css, ssid, cgrp) + kill_css_finish(css); } int cgroup_rmdir(struct kernfs_node *kn) @@ -6264,12 +6248,9 @@ int cgroup_rmdir(struct kernfs_node *kn) if (!cgrp) return 0; - ret = cgroup_drain_dying(cgrp); - if (!ret) { - ret = cgroup_destroy_locked(cgrp); - if (!ret) - TRACE_CGROUP_PATH(rmdir, cgrp); - } + ret = cgroup_destroy_locked(cgrp); + if (!ret) + TRACE_CGROUP_PATH(rmdir, cgrp); cgroup_kn_unlock(kn); return ret; @@ -7029,7 +7010,6 @@ void cgroup_task_exit(struct task_struct *tsk) static void do_cgroup_task_dead(struct task_struct *tsk) { - struct cgrp_cset_link *link; struct css_set *cset; unsigned long flags; @@ -7043,11 +7023,6 @@ static void do_cgroup_task_dead(struct task_struct *tsk) if (thread_group_leader(tsk) && atomic_read(&tsk->signal->live)) list_add_tail(&tsk->cg_list, &cset->dying_tasks); - /* kick cgroup_drain_dying() waiters, see cgroup_rmdir() */ - list_for_each_entry(link, &cset->cgrp_links, cgrp_link) - if (waitqueue_active(&link->cgrp->dying_populated_waitq)) - wake_up(&link->cgrp->dying_populated_waitq); - if (dl_task(tsk)) dec_dl_tasks_cs(tsk); -- 2.54.0