[PATCH v2] sched_ext/scx_flatcg: Fix cvtime_delta race and add hweight scaling to bypass charging

From: Wanwu Li

Date: Mon Jun 08 2026 - 03:26:27 EST


From: Wanwu Li <liwanwu@xxxxxxxxxx>

1. cgrp_cap_budget() used __sync_fetch_and_sub(&cgc->cvtime_delta,
cgc->cvtime_delta) to atomically read and clear cvtime_delta. However,
this is not a true atomic read-clear operation: the second argument
(cgc->cvtime_delta) is evaluated as a normal read before the atomic
fetch_and_sub executes. If a concurrent __sync_fetch_and_add() happens
between the read and the sub, the added value gets included in the
returned delta AND remains in cvtime_delta, causing double charging.

Example:
CPU 0 runs cgrp_cap_budget(), CPU 1 runs fcg_stopping().
Assume cvtime_delta = 100 initially.

T1 CPU 0: sub_val = cvtime_delta = 100 cvtime_delta = 100
T2 CPU 1: __sync_fetch_and_add(&cvtime_delta, 10) cvtime_delta = 110
T3 CPU 0: __sync_fetch_and_sub(&cvtime_delta, sub_val) cvtime_delta = 10
returns old=110

delta = 110 (includes the 10 from CPU 1), but cvtime_delta = 10
(the 10 also remains). The 10 is charged twice: once in delta
(applied to cgv_node->cvtime) and once in the residual cvtime_delta
(fetched again next time).

Fix by using __sync_fetch_and_and(&cgc->cvtime_delta, 0).
Disassembly comparison:
(1) delta = __sync_fetch_and_sub(&cgc->cvtime_delta, cgc->cvtime_delta);
228: (79) r7 = *(u64 *)(r9 +40)
229: (87) r7 = -r7
230: (db) r7 = atomic64_fetch_add((u64 *)(r9 +40), r7) //r9 may be changed

(2) delta = __sync_fetch_and_and(&cgc->cvtime_delta, 0);
228: (b7) r8 = 0
229: (db) r8 = atomic64_xchg((u64 *)(r9 +40), r8)

2. The bypass charging path in fcg_stopping() charges raw execution time
to cvtime_delta without scaling by the inverse of the cgroup hweight.
Since cvtime_delta is eventually applied to cgv_node->cvtime which is
in vtime space (weight-scaled), the bypass path should also scale by
FCG_HWEIGHT_ONE / hweight to match the units used by the dispatch path.

Fixes: a4103eacc2ab ("sched_ext: Add a cgroup scheduler which uses flattened hierarchy")
Signed-off-by: Wanwu Li <liwanwu@xxxxxxxxxx>
Reviewed-by: Andrea Righi <arighi@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
tools/sched_ext/scx_flatcg.bpf.c | 5 +++--
1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/sched_ext/scx_flatcg.bpf.c b/tools/sched_ext/scx_flatcg.bpf.c
index fec359581826..ffabf0d9f32e 100644
--- a/tools/sched_ext/scx_flatcg.bpf.c
+++ b/tools/sched_ext/scx_flatcg.bpf.c
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@ static void cgrp_cap_budget(struct cgv_node *cgv_node, struct fcg_cgrp_ctx *cgc)
* and thus can't be updated and repositioned. Instead, we collect the
* vtime deltas separately and apply it asynchronously here.
*/
- delta = __sync_fetch_and_sub(&cgc->cvtime_delta, cgc->cvtime_delta);
+ delta = __sync_fetch_and_and(&cgc->cvtime_delta, 0);
cvtime = cgv_node->cvtime + delta;

/*
@@ -570,7 +570,8 @@ void BPF_STRUCT_OPS(fcg_stopping, struct task_struct *p, bool runnable)
cgc = find_cgrp_ctx(cgrp);
if (cgc) {
__sync_fetch_and_add(&cgc->cvtime_delta,
- p->se.sum_exec_runtime - taskc->bypassed_at);
+ (p->se.sum_exec_runtime - taskc->bypassed_at) *
+ FCG_HWEIGHT_ONE / (cgc->hweight ?: 1));
taskc->bypassed_at = 0;
}
bpf_cgroup_release(cgrp);
--
2.25.1