[PATCH v6 1/2] x86/delay: Fix the wrong asm constraint in `delay_loop()`

From: Ammar Faizi
Date: Tue Mar 29 2022 - 06:47:31 EST


The asm constraint does not reflect that the asm statement can modify
the value of @loops. But the asm statement in delay_loop() does modify
the @loops.

Specifiying the wrong constraint may lead to undefined behavior, it may
clobber random stuff (e.g. local variable, important temporary value in
regs, etc.). This is especially dangerous when the compiler decides to
inline the function and since it doesn't know that the value gets
modified, it might decide to use it from a register directly without
reloading it.

Fix this by changing the constraint from "a" (as an input) to "+a" (as
an input and output).

Cc: David Laight <David.Laight@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Jiri Hladky <hladky.jiri@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Alviro Iskandar Setiawan <alviro.iskandar@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Fixes: e01b70ef3eb3 ("x86: fix bug in arch/i386/lib/delay.c file, delay_loop function")
Signed-off-by: Ammar Faizi <ammarfaizi2@xxxxxxxxxxx>
---

v6:
- Remove unnecessary Cc tags.
- Update commit message, emphasize the danger when the
compiler decides to inline the function.
- Fix the Fixes tag sha1.
- Remove stable Cc.

---
arch/x86/lib/delay.c | 4 ++--
1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/arch/x86/lib/delay.c b/arch/x86/lib/delay.c
index 65d15df6212d..0e65d00e2339 100644
--- a/arch/x86/lib/delay.c
+++ b/arch/x86/lib/delay.c
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@ static void delay_loop(u64 __loops)
" jnz 2b \n"
"3: dec %0 \n"

- : /* we don't need output */
- :"a" (loops)
+ : "+a" (loops)
+ :
);
}

--
Ammar Faizi