Re: [PATCH] ocfs2: fix circular locking dependency in ocfs2_dio_end_io_write
From: Heming Zhao
Date: Mon Jun 15 2026 - 03:35:37 EST
On Fri, Jun 12, 2026 at 11:50:20AM +0000, syzbot wrote:
> From: Aleksandr Nogikh <nogikh@xxxxxxxxxx>
>
> A circular locking dependency involves INODE_ALLOC_SYSTEM_INODE,
> EXTENT_ALLOC_SYSTEM_INODE, and ORPHAN_DIR_SYSTEM_INODE.
>
> 1. ocfs2_mknod() acquires INODE_ALLOC then EXTENT_ALLOC.
> 2. ocfs2_dio_end_io_write() acquires EXTENT_ALLOC for unwritten extents,
> then ORPHAN_DIR via ocfs2_del_inode_from_orphan() while still holding
> EXTENT_ALLOC.
> 3. ocfs2_wipe_inode() acquires ORPHAN_DIR then INODE_ALLOC via
> ocfs2_remove_inode.
>
> Break the cycle in ocfs2_dio_end_io_write() by freeing the allocation
> contexts (releasing EXTENT_ALLOC) before acquiring ORPHAN_DIR.
>
> WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected
> ------------------------------------------------------
> is trying to acquire lock:
> ffff8881e78b33a0
> (&ocfs2_sysfile_lock_key[INODE_ALLOC_SYSTEM_INODE]){+.+.}-{4:4}, at:
> ocfs2_evict_inode+0x1539/0x43b0 fs/ocfs2/inode.c:1299
>
> but task is already holding lock:
> ffff8881e78b4fa0
> (&ocfs2_sysfile_lock_key[ORPHAN_DIR_SYSTEM_INODE]){+.+.}-{4:4}, at:
> ocfs2_evict_inode+0xe97/0x43b0 fs/ocfs2/inode.c:1299
>
> the existing dependency chain (in reverse order) is:
>
> -> #2 (&ocfs2_sysfile_lock_key[ORPHAN_DIR_SYSTEM_INODE]){+.+.}-{4:4}:
> inode_lock include/linux/fs.h:1029 [inline]
> ocfs2_del_inode_from_orphan+0x12e/0x7a0 fs/ocfs2/namei.c:2728
> ocfs2_dio_end_io+0xf9c/0x1370 fs/ocfs2/aops.c:2418
> dio_complete+0x25b/0x790 fs/direct-io.c:281
>
> -> #1 (&ocfs2_sysfile_lock_key[EXTENT_ALLOC_SYSTEM_INODE]){+.+.}-{4:4}:
> inode_lock include/linux/fs.h:1029 [inline]
> ocfs2_reserve_suballoc_bits+0x16d/0x4840 fs/ocfs2/suballoc.c:882
> ocfs2_reserve_new_metadata_blocks+0x415/0x9a0
> fs/ocfs2/suballoc.c:1078
> ocfs2_mknod+0x10f3/0x2260 fs/ocfs2/namei.c:351
>
> -> #0 (&ocfs2_sysfile_lock_key[INODE_ALLOC_SYSTEM_INODE]){+.+.}-{4:4}:
> __lock_acquire+0x15a5/0x2cf0 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5237
> lock_acquire+0x106/0x350 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5868
> down_write+0x96/0x200 kernel/locking/rwsem.c:1625
> inode_lock include/linux/fs.h:1029 [inline]
> ocfs2_remove_inode fs/ocfs2/inode.c:733 [inline]
> ocfs2_wipe_inode fs/ocfs2/inode.c:896 [inline]
> ocfs2_delete_inode fs/ocfs2/inode.c:1157 [inline]
> ocfs2_evict_inode+0x1539/0x43b0 fs/ocfs2/inode.c:1299
>
> Chain exists of:
> &ocfs2_sysfile_lock_key[INODE_ALLOC_SYSTEM_INODE] -->
> &ocfs2_sysfile_lock_key[EXTENT_ALLOC_SYSTEM_INODE] -->
> &ocfs2_sysfile_lock_key[ORPHAN_DIR_SYSTEM_INODE]
>
> Possible unsafe locking scenario:
>
> CPU0 CPU1
> ---- ----
> lock(&ocfs2_sysfile_lock_key[ORPHAN_DIR_SYSTEM_INODE]);
> lock(&ocfs2_sysfile_lock_key[EXTENT_ALLOC_SYSTEM_INODE]);
> lock(&ocfs2_sysfile_lock_key[ORPHAN_DIR_SYSTEM_INODE]);
> lock(&ocfs2_sysfile_lock_key[INODE_ALLOC_SYSTEM_INODE]);
>
> *** DEADLOCK ***
>
> Fixes: d647c5b2fbf8 ("ocfs2: split transactions in dio completion to avoid credit exhaustion")
> Assisted-by: Gemini:gemini-3.1-pro-preview Gemini:gemini-3-flash-preview syzbot
> Reported-by: syzbot+b225d4dfce6219600c42@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Closes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=b225d4dfce6219600c42
> Link: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/ai_job?id=0b53ce1e-2972-4192-aa85-8097a702762c
> Signed-off-by: Aleksandr Nogikh <nogikh@xxxxxxxxxx>
LGTM.
After d647c5b2fbf8, ocfs2_dio_end_io_write() spends a significant amount of time
looping through the unwritten extent list before it finally acquires the
ORPHAN_DIR lock. This gives other functions (such as ocfs2_wipe_inode() mentioned
in this patch) a chance to preemptively grab the ORPHAN_DIR lock, thereby
triggering the circular locking.
What d647c5b2fbf8 actually did was widen the race window, turning a pre-existing,
low-probability issue into an easily reproducible one.
Reviewed-by: Heming Zhao <heming.zhao@xxxxxxxx>
>
> ---
> diff --git a/fs/ocfs2/aops.c b/fs/ocfs2/aops.c
> index 6ec198bda..4acdbb708 100644
> --- a/fs/ocfs2/aops.c
> +++ b/fs/ocfs2/aops.c
> @@ -2372,6 +2372,15 @@ static int ocfs2_dio_end_io_write(struct inode *inode,
> unlock:
> up_write(&oi->ip_alloc_sem);
>
> + if (data_ac) {
> + ocfs2_free_alloc_context(data_ac);
> + data_ac = NULL;
> + }
> + if (meta_ac) {
> + ocfs2_free_alloc_context(meta_ac);
> + meta_ac = NULL;
> + }
> +
> /* everything looks good, let's start the cleanup */
> if (!ret && dwc->dw_orphaned) {
> BUG_ON(dwc->dw_writer_pid != task_pid_nr(current));
> @@ -2383,10 +2392,6 @@ static int ocfs2_dio_end_io_write(struct inode *inode,
> ocfs2_inode_unlock(inode, 1);
> brelse(di_bh);
> out:
> - if (data_ac)
> - ocfs2_free_alloc_context(data_ac);
> - if (meta_ac)
> - ocfs2_free_alloc_context(meta_ac);
> ocfs2_run_deallocs(osb, &dealloc);
> ocfs2_dio_free_write_ctx(inode, dwc);
>
>
>
> base-commit: e7ae89a0c97ce2b68b0983cd01eda67cf373517d
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