[PATCH] net: qed: Remove redundant NULL checks after list_first_entry()

[PATCH] net: qed: Remove redundant NULL checks after list_first_entry()

[Zhen Ni]

list_first_entry() never returns NULL — if the list is empty, it still
returns a pointer to an invalid object, leading to potential invalid
memory access when dereferenced.
The calls to list_first_entry() are always guarded by !list_empty(),
which guarantees a valid entry is returned. Therefore, the additional
`if (!p_buffer) break;` checks in qed_ooo_release_connection_isles(),
qed_ooo_release_all_isles(), and qed_ooo_free() are redundant and
unreachable.

Remove the dead code for clarity and consistency with common list
handling patterns in the kernel. No functional change intended.

Signed-off-by: Zhen Ni <zhen.ni@easystack.cn>
---
 drivers/net/ethernet/qlogic/qed/qed_ooo.c | 9 ---------
 1 file changed, 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/drivers/net/ethernet/qlogic/qed/qed_ooo.c b/drivers/net/ethernet/qlogic/qed/qed_ooo.c
index 5d725f59db24..8be567a6ad44 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ethernet/qlogic/qed/qed_ooo.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ethernet/qlogic/qed/qed_ooo.c
@@ -183,9 +183,6 @@ void qed_ooo_release_connection_isles(struct qed_hwfn *p_hwfn,
 						    struct qed_ooo_buffer,
 						    list_entry);
 
-			if (!p_buffer)
-				break;
-
 			list_move_tail(&p_buffer->list_entry,
 				       &p_ooo_info->free_buffers_list);
 		}
@@ -218,9 +215,6 @@ void qed_ooo_release_all_isles(struct qed_hwfn *p_hwfn,
 						     struct qed_ooo_buffer,
 						     list_entry);
 
-				if (!p_buffer)
-					break;
-
 				list_move_tail(&p_buffer->list_entry,
 					       &p_ooo_info->free_buffers_list);
 			}
@@ -255,9 +249,6 @@ void qed_ooo_free(struct qed_hwfn *p_hwfn)
 		p_buffer = list_first_entry(&p_ooo_info->free_buffers_list,
 					    struct qed_ooo_buffer, list_entry);
 
-		if (!p_buffer)
-			break;
-
 		list_del(&p_buffer->list_entry);
 		dma_free_coherent(&p_hwfn->cdev->pdev->dev,
 				  p_buffer->rx_buffer_size,
-- 
2.20.1

Re: [PATCH] net: qed: Remove redundant NULL checks after list_first_entry()

[patchwork-bot+netdevbpf]

Hello:

This patch was applied to netdev/net-next.git (main)
by Jakub Kicinski <kuba@kernel.org>:

On Wed, 24 Sep 2025 11:02:19 +0800 you wrote:
> list_first_entry() never returns NULL — if the list is empty, it still
> returns a pointer to an invalid object, leading to potential invalid
> memory access when dereferenced.
> The calls to list_first_entry() are always guarded by !list_empty(),
> which guarantees a valid entry is returned. Therefore, the additional
> `if (!p_buffer) break;` checks in qed_ooo_release_connection_isles(),
> qed_ooo_release_all_isles(), and qed_ooo_free() are redundant and
> unreachable.
> 
> [...]

Here is the summary with links:
  - net: qed: Remove redundant NULL checks after list_first_entry()
    https://git.kernel.org/netdev/net-next/c/fbb8bc408027

You are awesome, thank you!
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