From: Alan Derk <linux@alanderk.com>
To: Arnaldo Carvalho de Melo <acme@kernel.org>,
Alan Maguire <alan.maguire@oracle.com>
Cc: dwarves@vger.kernel.org, bpf@vger.kernel.org,
rust-for-linux@vger.kernel.org
Subject: [PATCH dwarves v2 2/2] dwarf_loader: Load types that kept CUs use from excluded CUs
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:52:27 +0000 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20261010005227.976-3-linux@alanderk.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20261010005227.976-1-linux@alanderk.com>
With clang LTO, LLVM emits a type such as int once, in the first CU
that uses it, and other CUs refer to it with DW_FORM_ref_addr. Since
commit b98565e7b17ec24d ("dwarf_loader: Honour --lang_exclude when
merging LTO built CUs") the DIEs of the CUs that --lang_exclude filters
out are skipped when merging, so a kept CU that uses a type from one of
them is left with a dangling reference. Members that use such a type
end up typed void: pahole crashes printing them, and -J encodes them
with type_id 0 and exits 0.
$ head zero.c first.cpp second.c
==> zero.c <==
char zero_c;
==> first.cpp <==
int cpp_int;
==> second.c <==
struct c_only { int b; } c_var;
$ clang -flto -g -c zero.c second.c; clang++ -flto -g -c first.cpp
$ clang -flto -fuse-ld=lld -shared -o three.so zero.o first.o second.o
$ pahole --lang_exclude=c++14 three.so
namespace__recode_dwarf_types: couldn't find 0x57 type for 0x8a (member)!
struct c_only {
<ERROR(__class__fprintf:1838): 0 not found!>
Segmentation fault
Remember the offsets of the CUs that the filter skips, and when a type
lookup misses an offset in one of them, load that DIE if it is a type.
The types it refers to are looked up when it is recoded, so they are
loaded too. As this adds types while recoding, cu__recode_dwarf_types()
now repeats its passes until no new tags show up.
After:
$ pahole --lang_exclude=c++14 three.so
struct c_only {
int b; /* 0 4 */
...
Only types are loaded. References to functions and variables in
excluded CUs, such as the abstract origin of a function inlined across
CUs or the function that a C++ using declaration names, still print
"couldn't find", as loading them would add functions in the excluded
language to the output. A nested C++ type that a kept CU refers to
directly is loaded as a top-level type.
Without --lang_exclude, or when no kept CU refers to an excluded one,
nothing is loaded and the output does not change.
Add tests/lang_exclude_lto_refs.sh for this.
Tested with clang 21 full LTO and ThinLTO builds of a C++/C program
in both link orders. Only base types (int, char, long) were loaded, and
apart from the order of the types the output matches that of the other
link order: text and BTF with C++ excluded, text with C excluded. Two
C++ objects built with -std=c++11 and -std=c++17 that include <cstdio>
give the same text with c++11 excluded in either order; there the C
library types they share, such as FILE, are loaded too. ASan reports no
errors on these apart from a leak with -J that predates this series.
gcc 16 LTO, Rust+C ThinLTO and Debian debuginfo processed by dwz load
nothing and do not change, and neither does the BTF of 7.2.9 x86_64 and
arm64 ThinLTO kernels with Rust enabled.
Fixes: b98565e7b17ec24d ("dwarf_loader: Honour --lang_exclude when merging LTO built CUs")
Assisted-by: LLM
Signed-off-by: Alan Derk <linux@alanderk.com>
---
dwarf_loader.c | 95 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++---
tests/lang_exclude_lto_refs.sh | 76 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2 files changed, 164 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)
create mode 100755 tests/lang_exclude_lto_refs.sh
diff --git a/dwarf_loader.c b/dwarf_loader.c
index fbed36e..10ab37a 100644
--- a/dwarf_loader.c
+++ b/dwarf_loader.c
@@ -169,6 +169,11 @@ struct alt_pu {
bool hit; /* referenced by main CUs? */
};
+struct excluded_cu {
+ Dwarf_Off start;
+ Dwarf_Off end;
+};
+
struct dwarf_cu {
struct hlist_head *hash_tags; /* tags (functions, etc.) keyed by DWARF offset */
struct hlist_head *hash_types; /* types keyed by DWARF offset */
@@ -183,6 +188,10 @@ struct dwarf_cu {
uint32_t nr_alt_pus;
uint32_t allocated_alt_pus;
bool processing_alt; /* true while processing alt-file DIEs */
+ struct excluded_cu *excluded_cus; /* skipped by early_cu_filter when merging */
+ uint32_t nr_excluded_cus;
+ Dwarf *dw;
+ struct conf_load *conf;
};
static int dwarf_cu__init(struct dwarf_cu *dcu, struct cu *cu)
@@ -215,6 +224,8 @@ static int dwarf_cu__init(struct dwarf_cu *dcu, struct cu *cu)
dcu->alt_pus = NULL;
dcu->nr_alt_pus = 0;
dcu->allocated_alt_pus = 0;
+ dcu->excluded_cus = NULL;
+ dcu->nr_excluded_cus = 0;
/*
* processing_alt is per-merged-CU state, not thread-safe.
* The merged-CU path (cus__merge_and_process_cu) is
@@ -249,6 +260,7 @@ static void dwarf_cu__delete(struct cu *cu)
zfree(&dcu->imported_units);
zfree(&dcu->alt_pus);
+ zfree(&dcu->excluded_cus);
if (dcu->alt) {
cu__free(cu, dcu->alt->hash_tags);
cu__free(cu, dcu->alt->hash_types);
@@ -475,6 +487,8 @@ static struct dwarf_tag *__dwarf_cu__find_tag_by_ref(const struct dwarf_cu *cu,
dtag->from_types_section.field, \
dtag->from_alt.field)
+static struct dwarf_tag *dwarf_cu__load_excluded_type(struct dwarf_cu *dcu, Dwarf_Off ref);
+
/* Same as __dwarf_cu__find_tag_by_ref but for type lookups (hash_types). */
static struct dwarf_tag *__dwarf_cu__find_type_by_ref(struct dwarf_cu *dcu,
const Dwarf_Off ref,
@@ -497,6 +511,8 @@ static struct dwarf_tag *__dwarf_cu__find_type_by_ref(struct dwarf_cu *dcu,
struct dwarf_tag *dtag = hashtags__find(dcu->hash_types, ref);
+ if (dtag == NULL)
+ dtag = dwarf_cu__load_excluded_type(dcu, ref);
if (dtag)
dcu->last_type_lookup = dtag;
@@ -3693,6 +3709,62 @@ static int die__process_unit(Dwarf_Die *die, struct cu *cu, struct conf_load *co
return 0;
}
+static int dwarf_cu__add_excluded_cu(struct dwarf_cu *dcu, Dwarf_Off start, Dwarf_Off end)
+{
+ struct excluded_cu *cus = realloc(dcu->excluded_cus,
+ (dcu->nr_excluded_cus + 1) * sizeof(*cus));
+
+ if (cus == NULL)
+ return -ENOMEM;
+
+ cus[dcu->nr_excluded_cus++] = (struct excluded_cu){ .start = start, .end = end };
+ dcu->excluded_cus = cus;
+ return 0;
+}
+
+static bool dwarf_cu__in_excluded_cu(const struct dwarf_cu *dcu, Dwarf_Off offset)
+{
+ for (uint32_t i = 0; i < dcu->nr_excluded_cus; i++)
+ if (offset >= dcu->excluded_cus[i].start && offset < dcu->excluded_cus[i].end)
+ return true;
+ return false;
+}
+
+/*
+ * With LTO, LLVM emits a type such as int once, in the first CU that uses it,
+ * and other CUs refer to it with DW_FORM_ref_addr. So the CUs kept when merging
+ * can refer to types in CUs that early_cu_filter excluded. Load those types
+ * when they are looked up, and nothing else from the excluded CUs.
+ */
+static struct dwarf_tag *dwarf_cu__load_excluded_type(struct dwarf_cu *dcu, Dwarf_Off ref)
+{
+ struct tag *tag, die_tag = {};
+ uint32_t id = 0;
+ Dwarf_Die die;
+
+ if (!dwarf_cu__in_excluded_cu(dcu, ref) || dwarf_offdie(dcu->dw, ref, &die) == NULL)
+ return NULL;
+
+ /*
+ * A using declaration can name a function, and processing a function
+ * adds its parameters to the CU's tables, so check the tag first.
+ */
+ die_tag.tag = dwarf_tag(&die);
+ if (!tag__is_tag_type(&die_tag))
+ return NULL;
+
+ tag = die__process_tag(&die, dcu->cu, 1, dcu->conf);
+ if (tag == NULL || tag == &unsupported_tag)
+ return NULL;
+
+ /* As in die__process_unit(). */
+ if (tag->tag != DW_TAG_unspecified_type)
+ cu__add_tag(dcu->cu, tag, &id);
+ cu__hash(dcu->cu, tag);
+ tag__dwarf(tag)->small_id = id;
+ return tag__dwarf(tag);
+}
+
static void ftype__recode_dwarf_types(struct tag *tag, struct cu *cu);
static int namespace__recode_dwarf_types(struct tag *tag, struct cu *cu)
@@ -4497,10 +4569,10 @@ static int cu__resolve_func_ret_types_optimized(struct cu *cu, struct conf_load
static int cu__recode_dwarf_types_table(struct cu *cu,
struct ptr_table *pt,
- uint32_t i)
+ uint32_t *i)
{
- for (; i < pt->nr_entries; ++i) {
- struct tag *tag = pt->entries[i];
+ for (; *i < pt->nr_entries; ++*i) {
+ struct tag *tag = pt->entries[*i];
if (tag != NULL) /* void, see cu__new */
if (tag__recode_dwarf_type(tag, cu))
@@ -4512,10 +4584,15 @@ static int cu__recode_dwarf_types_table(struct cu *cu,
static int cu__recode_dwarf_types(struct cu *cu)
{
- if (cu__recode_dwarf_types_table(cu, &cu->types_table, 1) ||
- cu__recode_dwarf_types_table(cu, &cu->tags_table, 0) ||
- cu__recode_dwarf_types_table(cu, &cu->functions_table, 0))
- return -1;
+ uint32_t types = 1, tags = 0, functions = 0;
+
+ /* Recoding can add tags, see dwarf_cu__load_excluded_type(). */
+ do {
+ if (cu__recode_dwarf_types_table(cu, &cu->types_table, &types) ||
+ cu__recode_dwarf_types_table(cu, &cu->tags_table, &tags) ||
+ cu__recode_dwarf_types_table(cu, &cu->functions_table, &functions))
+ return -1;
+ } while (types < cu->types_table.nr_entries || tags < cu->tags_table.nr_entries);
return 0;
}
@@ -5366,6 +5443,8 @@ static int cus__merge_and_process_cu(struct cus *cus, struct conf_load *conf,
dcu->cu = cu;
dcu->type_unit = type_dcu;
+ dcu->dw = dw;
+ dcu->conf = conf;
cu->priv = dcu;
cu->dfops = &dwarf__ops;
@@ -5451,6 +5530,8 @@ static int cus__merge_and_process_cu(struct cus *cus, struct conf_load *conf,
};
filtered = conf->early_cu_filter(&unmerged_cu) == NULL;
+ if (filtered && dwarf_cu__add_excluded_cu(dcu, off, noff))
+ goto out_abort;
}
/*
diff --git a/tests/lang_exclude_lto_refs.sh b/tests/lang_exclude_lto_refs.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..56bcb7b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/lang_exclude_lto_refs.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only
+#
+# Test --lang_exclude on clang LTO objects, where a kept CU refers to a type
+# in an excluded CU: LLVM emits int once, in the first CU that uses it.
+
+. "$(dirname "$0")/test_lib.sh"
+outdir=$(make_tmpdir)
+
+trap cleanup EXIT
+
+title_log "Language filtering of LTO CUs that refer to excluded CUs."
+
+for tool in clang clang++ ld.lld; do
+ if ! command -v $tool > /dev/null 2>&1; then
+ info_log "skip: $tool not available"
+ test_skip
+ fi
+done
+
+echo 'char zero_c;' > "$outdir/zero.c"
+
+cat > "$outdir/first.cpp" << 'EOF'
+struct cpp_only {
+ int a;
+};
+
+struct cpp_only cpp_var;
+EOF
+
+cat > "$outdir/second.c" << 'EOF'
+struct c_only {
+ int b;
+};
+
+struct c_only c_var;
+EOF
+
+obj="$outdir/lto.so"
+
+if ! clang -flto -g -c -o "$outdir/zero.o" "$outdir/zero.c" 2>/dev/null ||
+ ! clang++ -flto -g -c -o "$outdir/first.o" "$outdir/first.cpp" 2>/dev/null ||
+ ! clang -flto -g -c -o "$outdir/second.o" "$outdir/second.c" 2>/dev/null ||
+ ! clang -flto -fuse-ld=lld -shared -o "$obj" "$outdir/zero.o" \
+ "$outdir/first.o" "$outdir/second.o" 2>/dev/null; then
+ error_log "FAIL: compilation failed"
+ test_fail
+fi
+
+lang_exclude=c++,c++03,c++11,c++14
+btf="$outdir/lto.btf"
+
+check()
+{
+ if [ $1 -ne 0 ]; then
+ error_log "FAIL: $2: pahole failed"
+ test_fail
+ fi
+ if echo "$3" | grep -q "struct cpp_only"; then
+ error_log "FAIL: $2: --lang_exclude=c++ kept the C++ CU"
+ test_fail
+ fi
+ if ! echo "$3" | grep -Eq "^[[:space:]]+int[[:space:]]+b;"; then
+ error_log "FAIL: $2: c_only.b lost its type, int from the C++ CU"
+ test_fail
+ fi
+}
+
+output=$(pahole -F dwarf --lang_exclude=$lang_exclude "$obj" 2>/dev/null)
+check $? "DWARF" "$output"
+
+pahole -J --btf_encode_detached="$btf" --lang_exclude=$lang_exclude "$obj" > /dev/null 2>&1
+output=$(pahole -F btf "$btf" 2>/dev/null)
+check $? "BTF" "$output"
+
+test_pass
--
2.55.0
prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-10-10 0:52 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 3+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-10-10 0:52 [PATCH dwarves v2 0/2] dwarf_loader: Fix --lang_exclude on merged CUs Alan Derk
2026-10-10 0:52 ` [PATCH dwarves v2 1/2] dwarf_loader: Take the merged CU language from a CU that is kept Alan Derk
2026-10-10 0:52 ` Alan Derk [this message]
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