[ndctl PATCH v3 0/2] daxctl, util/sysfs: fix builtin-driver false failure on enable

[ndctl PATCH v3 0/2] daxctl, util/sysfs: fix builtin-driver false failure on enable

[Chen Pei]

When a DAX / ndctl driver is builtin (not a loadable module),
daxctl_insert_kmod_for_mode() and __util_bind() still call
kmod_module_probe_insert_module() unconditionally. libkmod only
short-circuits builtin modules when it can find the modules.builtin
index; otherwise it falls through to init_module() and returns -ENOENT,
surfacing as a spurious "insert failure".

Pre-check kmod_module_get_initstate() and skip probe-insert when the
module is already BUILTIN or LIVE, matching the pattern used by ndctl's
own test/core.c.

Changes since v2 [3]:
  - Patch 2/2: Add a Reviewed-by tag.

Changes since v1 [1]:
  - Patch 1/2: unchanged; collected Reviewed-by from Dave and Alison.
  - Patch 2/2: factored the state check into a new helper
    util_kmod_skip_probe_insert() in util/sysfs.{c,h} so both
    daxctl_insert_kmod_for_mode() and __util_bind() share it. The
    helper also returns the observed libkmod state via an out
    parameter so the caller does not re-read /sys/module/<name>/
    initstate to distinguish LIVE from BUILTIN.
  - Patch 2/2: additionally treat KMOD_MODULE_COMING as builtin when
    /sys/module/<name>/ exists but the initstate file does not. This
    is the pattern libkmod's sysfs fallback emits for builtin drivers
    when the modules.builtin index is missing (e.g. a kernel installed
    without running modules_install). This was the case Jonathan hit
    on a builtin DAX VM setup; rather than rely on a libkmod fix, ndctl
    handles the corner case directly. Suggested by Alison [2].

[1]: https://lore.kernel.org/nvdimm/20260514063234.86439-1-cp0613@linux.alibaba.com/
[2]: https://lore.kernel.org/nvdimm/agtf5uwBJOaCDR6l@aschofie-mobl2.lan/
[3]: https://lore.kernel.org/nvdimm/20260526132251.254476-1-cp0613@linux.alibaba.com/

Chen Pei (2):
  daxctl: fix kmod reference leak on probe-insert failure
  daxctl, util/sysfs: skip module probe-insert when driver is builtin or
    live

 daxctl/lib/libdaxctl.c | 23 ++++++++++++++++++++--
 util/sysfs.c           | 44 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 util/sysfs.h           | 16 +++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 80 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

-- 
2.43.0

[ndctl PATCH v3 1/2] daxctl: fix kmod reference leak on probe-insert failure

[Chen Pei]

daxctl_insert_kmod_for_mode() obtains a kmod reference via
kmod_module_new_from_name() and only stores it in dev->module after a
successful kmod_module_probe_insert_module() call. On the failure path
the local reference was returned without being released, leaking one
reference per failed enable attempt.

Drop the reference before returning the error code.

Reviewed-by: Dave Jiang <dave.jiang@intel.com>
Reviewed-by: Alison Schofield <alison.schofield@intel.com>
Signed-off-by: Chen Pei <cp0613@linux.alibaba.com>
---
 daxctl/lib/libdaxctl.c | 1 +
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

diff --git a/daxctl/lib/libdaxctl.c b/daxctl/lib/libdaxctl.c
index 01b1915..8c3ac47 100644
--- a/daxctl/lib/libdaxctl.c
+++ b/daxctl/lib/libdaxctl.c
@@ -975,6 +975,7 @@ static int daxctl_insert_kmod_for_mode(struct daxctl_dev *dev,
 			NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL);
 	if (rc < 0) {
 		err(ctx, "%s: insert failure: %d\n", devname, rc);
+		kmod_module_unref(kmod);
 		return rc;
 	}
 	dev->module = kmod;
-- 
2.43.0

[ndctl PATCH v3 2/2] daxctl, util/sysfs: skip module probe-insert when driver is builtin or live

[Chen Pei]

kmod_module_probe_insert_module() is supposed to return 0 for builtin
modules, but only when libkmod can locate the modules.builtin index. If
the index is missing (e.g. a kernel built with the driver as builtin
but installed without running modules_install), libkmod falls through
to the real init_module() syscall and returns an error such as -ENOENT,
producing a spurious "insert failure" even though the driver is already
part of the running kernel.

Add a helper util_kmod_skip_probe_insert() that returns true when the
module state is KMOD_MODULE_BUILTIN or KMOD_MODULE_LIVE. As an
additional heuristic, treat KMOD_MODULE_COMING as builtin when
/sys/module/<name>/ exists but the initstate file does not - this is
the exact pattern libkmod's sysfs fallback emits for builtin drivers
when the modules.builtin index is unavailable. The pattern mirrors the
KMOD_MODULE_LIVE / KMOD_MODULE_BUILTIN check already used by ndctl's
own test/core.c (see test/core.c:218-236).

The helper also returns the observed libkmod state via an out parameter
so daxctl_insert_kmod_for_mode() can distinguish LIVE (retain the kmod
reference in dev->module) from BUILTIN (drop it, since builtin drivers
cannot be unloaded) without re-reading /sys/module/<name>/initstate.
__util_bind() passes NULL since it does not need the state.

Reported-by: Jonathan Cameron <jic23@kernel.org>
Suggested-by: Alison Schofield <alison.schofield@intel.com>
Reviewed-by: Dave Jiang <dave.jiang@intel.com>
Signed-off-by: Chen Pei <cp0613@linux.alibaba.com>
---
 daxctl/lib/libdaxctl.c | 22 +++++++++++++++++++--
 util/sysfs.c           | 44 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 util/sysfs.h           | 16 +++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 79 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/daxctl/lib/libdaxctl.c b/daxctl/lib/libdaxctl.c
index 8c3ac47..5b47c77 100644
--- a/daxctl/lib/libdaxctl.c
+++ b/daxctl/lib/libdaxctl.c
@@ -958,7 +958,7 @@ static int daxctl_insert_kmod_for_mode(struct daxctl_dev *dev,
 	const char *devname = daxctl_dev_get_devname(dev);
 	struct daxctl_ctx *ctx = daxctl_dev_get_ctx(dev);
 	struct kmod_module *kmod;
-	int rc;
+	int state, rc;
 
 	rc = kmod_module_new_from_name(ctx->kmod_ctx, mod_name, &kmod);
 	if (rc < 0) {
@@ -967,7 +967,25 @@ static int daxctl_insert_kmod_for_mode(struct daxctl_dev *dev,
 		return rc;
 	}
 
-	/* if the driver is builtin, this Just Works */
+	/*
+	 * If the driver is builtin or already live, skip probe-insert.
+	 * For live modules retain the local reference in dev->module so
+	 * the module can be unreffed alongside the device; for builtin
+	 * drivers drop it because builtin modules cannot be unloaded.
+	 */
+	if (util_kmod_skip_probe_insert(kmod, ctx, &state)) {
+		if (state == KMOD_MODULE_LIVE) {
+			dbg(ctx, "%s: module %s already loaded\n", devname,
+				kmod_module_get_name(kmod));
+			dev->module = kmod;
+		} else {
+			dbg(ctx, "%s: module %s is builtin\n", devname,
+				kmod_module_get_name(kmod));
+			kmod_module_unref(kmod);
+		}
+		return 0;
+	}
+
 	dbg(ctx, "%s inserting module: %s\n", devname,
 		kmod_module_get_name(kmod));
 	rc = kmod_module_probe_insert_module(kmod,
diff --git a/util/sysfs.c b/util/sysfs.c
index e027e38..eaf4b60 100644
--- a/util/sysfs.c
+++ b/util/sysfs.c
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 #include <stdarg.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
 #include <errno.h>
+#include <limits.h>
 #include <string.h>
 #include <ctype.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
@@ -168,6 +169,47 @@ struct kmod_module *__util_modalias_to_module(struct kmod_ctx *kmod_ctx,
 	return mod;
 }
 
+bool __util_kmod_skip_probe_insert(struct kmod_module *module,
+				   struct log_ctx *ctx, int *state_out)
+{
+	const char *name = kmod_module_get_name(module);
+	int state = kmod_module_get_initstate(module);
+	char path[PATH_MAX];
+	struct stat st;
+
+	if (state_out)
+		*state_out = state;
+
+	if (state == KMOD_MODULE_BUILTIN || state == KMOD_MODULE_LIVE)
+		return true;
+
+	/*
+	 * When modules.builtin is missing (e.g. a kernel installed
+	 * without modules_install), libkmod's sysfs fallback returns
+	 * KMOD_MODULE_COMING for builtin drivers because /sys/module/<name>/
+	 * exists but the initstate file does not. Treat that pattern as
+	 * builtin to avoid a spurious "insert failure" message.
+	 */
+	if (state != KMOD_MODULE_COMING)
+		return false;
+
+	if (snprintf(path, sizeof(path), "/sys/module/%s/initstate", name)
+			>= (int)sizeof(path))
+		return false;
+	if (stat(path, &st) == 0 || errno != ENOENT)
+		return false;
+
+	if (snprintf(path, sizeof(path), "/sys/module/%s", name)
+			>= (int)sizeof(path))
+		return false;
+	if (stat(path, &st) != 0 || !S_ISDIR(st.st_mode))
+		return false;
+
+	log_dbg(ctx, "module %s appears builtin (no modules.builtin index)\n",
+			name);
+	return true;
+}
+
 int __util_bind(const char *devname, struct kmod_module *module,
 		const char *bus, struct log_ctx *ctx)
 {
@@ -182,7 +224,7 @@ int __util_bind(const char *devname, struct kmod_module *module,
 		return -EINVAL;
 	}
 
-	if (module) {
+	if (module && !__util_kmod_skip_probe_insert(module, ctx, NULL)) {
 		rc = kmod_module_probe_insert_module(module,
 						     KMOD_PROBE_APPLY_BLACKLIST,
 						     NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL);
diff --git a/util/sysfs.h b/util/sysfs.h
index 4c95c70..e4f6115 100644
--- a/util/sysfs.h
+++ b/util/sysfs.h
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #ifndef __UTIL_SYSFS_H__
 #define __UTIL_SYSFS_H__
 
+#include <stdbool.h>
 #include <string.h>
 
 typedef void *(*add_dev_fn)(void *parent, int id, const char *dev_path);
@@ -36,6 +37,21 @@ struct kmod_module *__util_modalias_to_module(struct kmod_ctx *kmod_ctx,
 #define util_modalias_to_module(ctx, buf)                                      \
 	__util_modalias_to_module((ctx)->kmod_ctx, buf, &(ctx)->ctx)
 
+/*
+ * __util_kmod_skip_probe_insert - true when kmod_module_probe_insert_module()
+ * should be skipped because @module is already part of the running kernel:
+ * KMOD_MODULE_BUILTIN, KMOD_MODULE_LIVE, or KMOD_MODULE_COMING with
+ * /sys/module/<name>/ existing but no initstate file (the fingerprint
+ * libkmod's sysfs fallback emits for builtin drivers when the
+ * modules.builtin index is missing). If @state_out is non-NULL, the
+ * libkmod state actually observed is stored there so callers can avoid
+ * an extra kmod_module_get_initstate() call.
+ */
+bool __util_kmod_skip_probe_insert(struct kmod_module *module,
+				   struct log_ctx *ctx, int *state_out);
+#define util_kmod_skip_probe_insert(m, c, s)                                   \
+	__util_kmod_skip_probe_insert((m), &(c)->ctx, (s))
+
 int __util_bind(const char *devname, struct kmod_module *module, const char *bus,
 	      struct log_ctx *ctx);
 #define util_bind(n, m, b, c) __util_bind(n, m, b, &(c)->ctx)
-- 
2.43.0

Re: [ndctl PATCH v3 2/2] daxctl, util/sysfs: skip module probe-insert when driver is builtin or live

[Jonathan Cameron]

On Thu, 18 Jun 2026 17:06:53 +0800
Chen Pei <cp0613@linux.alibaba.com> wrote:

> kmod_module_probe_insert_module() is supposed to return 0 for builtin
> modules, but only when libkmod can locate the modules.builtin index. If
> the index is missing (e.g. a kernel built with the driver as builtin
> but installed without running modules_install), libkmod falls through
> to the real init_module() syscall and returns an error such as -ENOENT,
> producing a spurious "insert failure" even though the driver is already
> part of the running kernel.
> 
> Add a helper util_kmod_skip_probe_insert() that returns true when the
> module state is KMOD_MODULE_BUILTIN or KMOD_MODULE_LIVE. As an
> additional heuristic, treat KMOD_MODULE_COMING as builtin when
> /sys/module/<name>/ exists but the initstate file does not - this is
> the exact pattern libkmod's sysfs fallback emits for builtin drivers
> when the modules.builtin index is unavailable. The pattern mirrors the
> KMOD_MODULE_LIVE / KMOD_MODULE_BUILTIN check already used by ndctl's
> own test/core.c (see test/core.c:218-236).
> 
> The helper also returns the observed libkmod state via an out parameter
> so daxctl_insert_kmod_for_mode() can distinguish LIVE (retain the kmod
> reference in dev->module) from BUILTIN (drop it, since builtin drivers
> cannot be unloaded) without re-reading /sys/module/<name>/initstate.
> __util_bind() passes NULL since it does not need the state.
> 
> Reported-by: Jonathan Cameron <jic23@kernel.org>
> Suggested-by: Alison Schofield <alison.schofield@intel.com>
> Reviewed-by: Dave Jiang <dave.jiang@intel.com>
> Signed-off-by: Chen Pei <cp0613@linux.alibaba.com>

I'm not set up to test this right now but fix looks good to me.
So a tentative
Reviewed-by: Jonathan Cameron <jonathan.cameron@oss.qualcomm.com>