From: Bradley Morgan <include@grrlz.net>
To: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
Cc: Petr Mladek <pmladek@suse.com>,
Jinchao Wang <wangjinchao600@gmail.com>,
Feng Tang <feng.tang@linux.alibaba.com>,
Rio <rioo.tsukatsukii@gmail.com>,
Pnina Feder <pnina.feder@mobileye.com>,
Petr Pavlu <petr.pavlu@suse.com>,
Sergey Senozhatsky <senozhatsky@chromium.org>,
linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, Bradley Morgan <include@grrlz.net>,
Sashiko <sashiko-bot@kernel.org>,
stable@vger.kernel.org
Subject: [PATCH v6 6/6] panic: kill the "buffer unavailable" redirect fallback
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:38:06 +0000 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260818163806.17460-7-include@grrlz.net> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260818163806.17460-1-include@grrlz.net>
The redirect buffer is a disgusting terrible hack. panic_force_buf is
kmalloc'ed in a late_initcall, the return value is not even checked,
and until then the redirect delivers this as the panic message:
Redirected panic (buffer unavailable)
The whole point of the redirect is to hand the panic message to the
target CPU, so the crash kernel boots knowing it panicked and not why.
And that window is the entire boot, from the early_param to the
late_initcall, which is exactly when you most want the message. A
failed kmalloc just keeps it broken forever, silently.
Make it a static 1KB buffer and kill the initcall. The cost is 1KB of
.bss in SMP crash dump builds, and it is only ever touched when
panic_force_cpu= is set anyway.
Fixes: 2e171ab29f91 ("panic: add panic_force_cpu= parameter to redirect panic to a specific CPU")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Bradley Morgan <include@grrlz.net>
---
kernel/panic.c | 32 +++++++-------------------------
1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 25 deletions(-)
diff --git a/kernel/panic.c b/kernel/panic.c
index 356c03f2361c..b41a7efc0931 100644
--- a/kernel/panic.c
+++ b/kernel/panic.c
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@ atomic_t panic_cpu = ATOMIC_INIT(PANIC_CPU_INVALID);
atomic_t panic_redirect_cpu = ATOMIC_INIT(PANIC_CPU_INVALID);
#if defined(CONFIG_SMP) && defined(CONFIG_CRASH_DUMP)
-static char *panic_force_buf;
+static char panic_force_buf[PANIC_MSG_BUFSZ];
static int __init panic_force_cpu_setup(char *str)
{
@@ -326,17 +326,6 @@ static int __init panic_force_cpu_setup(char *str)
}
early_param("panic_force_cpu", panic_force_cpu_setup);
-static int __init panic_force_cpu_late_init(void)
-{
- if (panic_force_cpu < 0)
- return 0;
-
- panic_force_buf = kmalloc(PANIC_MSG_BUFSZ, GFP_KERNEL);
-
- return 0;
-}
-late_initcall(panic_force_cpu_late_init);
-
static void do_panic_on_target_cpu(void *info)
{
panic("%s", (char *)info);
@@ -381,6 +370,7 @@ static bool panic_try_force_cpu(const char *fmt, va_list args)
int this_cpu = raw_smp_processor_id();
int old_cpu = PANIC_CPU_INVALID;
const char *msg;
+ va_list ap;
/* Feature not enabled via boot parameter */
if (panic_force_cpu < 0)
@@ -413,20 +403,12 @@ static bool panic_try_force_cpu(const char *fmt, va_list args)
return old_cpu != this_cpu;
/*
- * Use dynamically allocated buffer if available, otherwise
- * fall back to static message for early boot panics or allocation failure.
+ * Do not consume args, the caller reuses them if we fail.
*/
- if (panic_force_buf) {
- va_list ap;
-
- /* Do not consume args, the caller reuses it if we fail */
- va_copy(ap, args);
- vsnprintf(panic_force_buf, PANIC_MSG_BUFSZ, fmt, ap);
- va_end(ap);
- msg = panic_force_buf;
- } else {
- msg = "Redirected panic (buffer unavailable)";
- }
+ va_copy(ap, args);
+ vsnprintf(panic_force_buf, PANIC_MSG_BUFSZ, fmt, ap);
+ va_end(ap);
+ msg = panic_force_buf;
console_verbose();
bust_spinlocks(1);
--
2.47.3
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-08-18 16:43 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 9+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-08-18 16:38 [PATCH v6 0/6] panic: fix panic_force_cpu= redirect races and NMI bypass Bradley Morgan
2026-08-18 16:38 ` [PATCH v6 1/6] panic: fix redirect CPU race in panic_try_force_cpu() Bradley Morgan
2026-08-18 16:38 ` [PATCH v6 2/6] panic: flatten nmi_panic control flow Bradley Morgan
2026-08-18 16:38 ` [PATCH v6 3/6] panic: fix va_list reuse in panic_try_force_cpu() Bradley Morgan
2026-08-18 16:38 ` [PATCH v6 4/6] panic: restore variable arguments to nmi_panic() Bradley Morgan
2026-08-18 16:38 ` [PATCH v6 5/6] panic: allow force_cpu redirect from an NMI Bradley Morgan
2026-08-18 16:38 ` Bradley Morgan [this message]
2026-08-18 18:41 ` [PATCH v6 0/6] panic: fix panic_force_cpu= redirect races and NMI bypass Andrew Morton
2026-08-18 18:45 ` Bradley Morgan
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