[PATCH v3 0/4] sched/debug: Introduce per-CPU debugfs files
From: Aaron Tomlin
Date: Sat Aug 08 2026 - 19:55:41 EST
Hi Peter, Juri, Ingo, Vincent,
This patch series addresses a few pre-existing memory safety and list
traversal concurrency issues in scheduler debugfs handlers, and introduces
per-CPU debugfs files under /sys/kernel/debug/sched/cpu/cpu<N>/debug.
Patch 1 fixes a potential use-after-free in print_cpu() where rq->curr is
dereferenced locklessly to output the running task's PID. If the task exits
concurrently and its reference count drops to zero, put_task_struct()
schedules __put_task_struct_rcu_cb() via call_rcu(). Without holding an RCU
read lock, an RCU grace period can elapse concurrently and free the task
structure via free_task(), leading to a use-after-free race condition. This
patch protects the rq->curr access using READ_ONCE() inside an RCU
read-side critical section, delaying callback execution and guaranteeing
memory safety.
Patch 2 fixes a use-after-free in print_dl_rq() where cpu_rq(cpu)->rd is
dereferenced locklessly to display deadline bandwidth statistics. During
CPU hot-unplug or cgroup cpuset repartitioning events,
partition_sched_domains() calls rq_attach_root() to detach the CPU from its
root_domain and schedules free_rootdomain() via call_rcu(). Without an RCU
read lock, an RCU grace period can resolve concurrently while debugfs reads
the file, allowing free_rootdomain() to execute kfree() and causing a UAF
when reading dl_bw->bw. This patch fetches rq->rd using READ_ONCE() inside
an RCU read-side critical section to guarantee memory safety.
Patch 3 fixes an RCU traversal violation in print_cfs_stats() where
rq->leaf_cfs_rq_list is traversed locklessly using
for_each_leaf_cfs_rq_safe(), which expands to list_for_each_entry_safe().
Although leaf_cfs_rq_list is modified using list_add_rcu(),
list_for_each_entry_safe() lacks READ_ONCE(), allowing compiler instruction
reordering or re-fetching that can cause readers to observe newly inserted
cfs_rq nodes before their internal fields are fully visible. This patch
introduces for_each_leaf_cfs_rq_rcu() using list_for_each_entry_rcu().
Patch 4 introduces per-CPU debugfs entries under
/sys/kernel/debug/sched/cpu/, allowing targeted inspection of an individual
CPU's runqueue on demand. If the target CPU is currently offline, reading
its file returns -ENODEV.
Changes since v2:
- Protected lockless rq->curr dereferencing in print_cpu() with
rcu_read_lock() and READ_ONCE()
- Protected lockless rq->rd dereferencing in print_dl_rq() against CPU
hot-unplug and cgroup cpuset repartitioning races
- Introduced for_each_leaf_cfs_rq_rcu() using list_for_each_entry_rcu()
for lockless leaf_cfs_rq_list iteration
- Linked to v2: https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20260728205238.18447-1-atomlin@xxxxxxxxxxx/
Changes since v1:
- Reframed commit message motivation around targeted interactive
debugging on large SMP topologies (Peter Zijlstra and Zhan Xusheng)
- Gated sched_debug_cpu_show() with a cpu_online(cpu) check
returning -ENODEV when target CPU is offline (Zhan Xusheng)
- Linked to v1: https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20260728020309.6169-1-atomlin@xxxxxxxxxxx/
Aaron Tomlin (4):
sched/debug: Protect lockless rq->curr access in print_cpu()
sched/debug: Protect lockless rq->rd access in print_dl_rq()
sched/fair: Use list_for_each_entry_rcu() in print_cfs_stats()
sched/debug: Introduce per-CPU debugfs files
kernel/sched/debug.c | 60 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++---
kernel/sched/fair.c | 11 ++++++--
2 files changed, 65 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)
--
2.55.0