[PATCH 3/6] fs/proc/task_mmu: fix hugetlb self-deadlock in pagemap_scan_pte_hole()
From: Kiryl Shutsemau (Meta)
Date: Fri May 29 2026 - 13:31:04 EST
A PAGEMAP_SCAN ioctl requesting PM_SCAN_WP_MATCHING on a hugetlb VMA hangs
the calling thread, unkillably, as soon as the scan reaches an unpopulated
part of the range:
do_pagemap_scan()
walk_page_range()
walk_hugetlb_range()
hugetlb_vma_lock_read() # take the vma lock for read ...
pagemap_scan_pte_hole() # ... ->pte_hole() for a hole
uffd_wp_range()
change_protection()
hugetlb_change_protection()
hugetlb_vma_lock_write() # ... and block taking it for write
walk_hugetlb_range() holds the hugetlb vma lock for read across the whole
walk. A present entry goes to ->hugetlb_entry(); an unpopulated one goes
to ->pte_hole(), i.e. pagemap_scan_pte_hole(). To write-protect the hole
that handler calls uffd_wp_range(), which on a hugetlb VMA reaches
hugetlb_change_protection() and takes the same vma lock for write. The
thread then blocks in down_write() waiting for the read lock it is itself
holding.
The populated path avoids this: pagemap_scan_hugetlb_entry() write-protects
the entry inline under the page-table lock and never enters
hugetlb_change_protection().
Do the same for holes. Fault in the page table and install the uffd-wp
marker directly with make_uffd_wp_huge_pte() under the page-table lock,
rather than routing through uffd_wp_range(). That is the same sequence
hugetlb_change_protection() runs for an unpopulated entry, minus the vma
write lock -- which is safe to skip because PMD sharing is disabled on
uffd-wp VMAs (hugetlb_unshare_all_pmds() runs at registration), leaving
nothing for that lock to serialise against.
Fixes: 52526ca7fdb9 ("fs/proc/task_mmu: implement IOCTL to get and optionally clear info about PTEs")
Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Reported-by: Sashiko AI review <sashiko-bot@xxxxxxxxxx>
Signed-off-by: Kiryl Shutsemau <kas@xxxxxxxxxx>
Assisted-by: Claude:claude-opus-4-8
---
fs/proc/task_mmu.c | 59 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
1 file changed, 58 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
diff --git a/fs/proc/task_mmu.c b/fs/proc/task_mmu.c
index 1489c67e88f7..06fb94a965ff 100644
--- a/fs/proc/task_mmu.c
+++ b/fs/proc/task_mmu.c
@@ -2977,8 +2977,62 @@ static int pagemap_scan_hugetlb_entry(pte_t *ptep, unsigned long hmask,
return ret;
}
+
+/*
+ * Write-protect the unpopulated hugetlb entries covering [addr, end) by
+ * installing uffd-wp markers inline, exactly as pagemap_scan_hugetlb_entry()
+ * does for populated entries.
+ *
+ * walk_hugetlb_range() currently calls ->pte_hole() once per huge page, so the
+ * loop normally runs a single iteration; it is written to cover the full range
+ * in case the walker ever coalesces adjacent holes.
+ *
+ * The obvious route -- uffd_wp_range() -> hugetlb_change_protection() --
+ * cannot be used here: it takes hugetlb_vma_lock_write(), but the page-table
+ * walker (walk_hugetlb_range()) already holds hugetlb_vma_lock_read() on the
+ * same VMA, so the scanning thread would deadlock against itself. PMD sharing
+ * is disabled on uffd-wp VMAs (hugetlb_unshare_all_pmds() at registration), so
+ * the vma lock guards nothing that matters for these entries anyway.
+ */
+static int pagemap_scan_hugetlb_hole_wp(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
+ unsigned long addr, unsigned long end)
+{
+ struct hstate *h = hstate_vma(vma);
+ unsigned long psize = huge_page_size(h);
+ struct mm_struct *mm = vma->vm_mm;
+ spinlock_t *ptl;
+ pte_t *ptep;
+ pte_t pte;
+
+ for (addr = ALIGN_DOWN(addr, psize); addr < end; addr += psize) {
+ ptep = huge_pte_alloc(mm, vma, addr, psize);
+ if (!ptep)
+ return -ENOMEM;
+
+ i_mmap_lock_write(vma->vm_file->f_mapping);
+ ptl = huge_pte_lock(h, mm, ptep);
+ pte = huge_ptep_get(mm, addr, ptep);
+ make_uffd_wp_huge_pte(vma, addr, ptep, pte);
+ /*
+ * A none entry has no cached translation, so installing the
+ * marker needs no TLB flush. Flush only if a fault populated
+ * the entry between huge_pte_alloc() and the page table lock.
+ */
+ if (!huge_pte_none(pte))
+ flush_hugetlb_tlb_range(vma, addr, addr + psize);
+ spin_unlock(ptl);
+ i_mmap_unlock_write(vma->vm_file->f_mapping);
+ }
+
+ return 0;
+}
#else
#define pagemap_scan_hugetlb_entry NULL
+static int pagemap_scan_hugetlb_hole_wp(struct vm_area_struct *vma,
+ unsigned long addr, unsigned long end)
+{
+ return 0;
+}
#endif
static int pagemap_scan_pte_hole(unsigned long addr, unsigned long end,
@@ -2998,7 +3052,10 @@ static int pagemap_scan_pte_hole(unsigned long addr, unsigned long end,
if (~p->arg.flags & PM_SCAN_WP_MATCHING)
return ret;
- err = uffd_wp_range(vma, addr, end - addr, true);
+ if (is_vm_hugetlb_page(vma))
+ err = pagemap_scan_hugetlb_hole_wp(vma, addr, end);
+ else
+ err = uffd_wp_range(vma, addr, end - addr, true);
if (err < 0)
ret = err;
--
2.54.0