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From: Sungho Bae <baver.bae@gmail.com>
To: amit@kernel.org, arnd@arndb.de, gregkh@linuxfoundation.org
Cc: virtualization@lists.linux.dev, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org,
	Sungho Bae <baver.bae@gmail.com>
Subject: [PATCH v3 0/4] virtio_console: fix suspend/resume and hot-unplug races
Date: Thu,  4 Jun 2026 03:37:53 +0900	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260603183757.21587-1-baver.bae@gmail.com> (raw)

Hi all,

This patchset addresses several critical race conditions and memory
lifecycle bugs in the virtio_console driver, primarily surrounding
the TX path(`__send_to_port`, `put_chars`), device hot-unplug, and
PM freeze/restore.

The initial motivation for this series was to fix a race where
`hvc_console` writes (which can remain active during suspend
if `no_console_suspend` is enabled) could enqueue buffers while
`virtcons_freeze` was tearing down virtqueues, leading to a `BUG_ON` in
`virtqueue_detach_unused_buf_split()`.

During the investigation and testing of the freeze race, several related
vulnerabilities were uncovered in how TX paths handled buffer ownership and
stale `portdev` pointers during concurrent hot-unplugs. Because these fixes
structurally overlap in `__send_to_port()` and `put_chars()`, they are
submitted together as a single patchset to avoid merge conflicts.


Patch Summary
=============

 1. virtio_console: refactor __send_to_port() buffer ownership

    Refactors buffer ownership in `__send_to_port()`. Previously,
    `put_chars()` would allocate a raw buffer, pass it down, and `kfree()`
    it immediately upon return. If `virtqueue_get_buf()` returned an older
    completed buffer from a previous non-blocking write, the newly queued
    buffer could be freed while the host was still DMA-ing from it.
    By transferring ownership of a `struct port_buffer` to
    `__send_to_port()`, we guarantee only the exact buffer returned by
    the host is freed.

 2. virtio_console: fix hot-unplug races in TX paths

    Hardens the TX paths against concurrent hot-unplugs. It adds
    `READ_ONCE(port->portdev)` checks, bails out cleanly (returning `count`
    to prevent `hvc` infinite retries), and synchronizes `portdev = NULL`
    in `unplug_port()` using the `outvq_lock`.

 3. virtio_console: fix control queue race during restore

    Fixes a race during `virtcons_restore()` where filling the control
    receive queue (c_ivq) immediately after `DRIVER_OK` could trigger the
    control workqueue before the driver finished restoring port states,
    leading to list corruption.

 4. virtio_console: fix race between hvc put_chars and virtqueue teardown

    Addresses the original PM freeze race by introducing a `pm_freezing`
    state. TX paths now safely drop output while freezing.
    A synchronization loop in `virtcons_freeze()` ensures all active TX
    threads have drained before `virtio_reset_device()` is called.


Testing
=======

Runtime-tested on arm64 systems with `no_console_suspend` enabled
during S4 cycles.


Changes
=======

v3:
  Split the original monolithic patch into a 4-part patchset for better
  logical grouping and bisectability.


Sungho Bae (4):
  virtio_console: refactor __send_to_port() buffer ownership
  virtio_console: fix hot-unplug races in TX paths
  virtio_console: fix control queue race during restore
  virtio_console: fix race between hvc put_chars and virtqueue teardown
    on freeze

 drivers/char/virtio_console.c | 177 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------
 1 file changed, 137 insertions(+), 40 deletions(-)

-- 
2.34.1


             reply	other threads:[~2026-06-03 18:39 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 5+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2026-06-03 18:37 Sungho Bae [this message]
2026-06-03 18:37 ` [PATCH v3 1/4] virtio_console: refactor __send_to_port() buffer ownership Sungho Bae
2026-06-03 18:37 ` [PATCH v3 2/4] virtio_console: fix hot-unplug races in TX paths Sungho Bae
2026-06-03 18:37 ` [PATCH v3 3/4] virtio_console: fix control queue race during restore Sungho Bae
2026-06-03 18:37 ` [PATCH v3 4/4] virtio_console: fix race between hvc put_chars and virtqueue teardown on freeze Sungho Bae

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