Re: [PATCH net-next v5 0/5] net: pse-pd: decouple controller lookup from MDIO probe
From: Paolo Abeni
Date: Thu Aug 27 2026 - 04:22:26 EST
On 8/27/26 12:03 AM, Carlo Szelinsky wrote:
> This is v5 of Corey's series [1]. It takes the PSE controller lookup out
> of the MDIO probe path, so a modular PSE driver no longer makes the
> PHY/DSA probe spin on -EPROBE_DEFER until the PSE module loads.
>
> Patches 1-3 are the same three notifier patches as v4 [4], unchanged,
> with Jonas's Tested-by. Patches 4 and 5 are new and fix two problems the
> v4 review surfaced.
>
> Patch 4: Aleksander reported [5] that v4 deadlocks on probe for an MDIO
> bus registered from ndo_init (lantiq_etop, sni_ave, netsec): those
> already hold rtnl via register_netdevice(), and v4's phy attach took
> rtnl again underneath. Patch 4 swaps that rtnl for a dedicated mutex, so
> the register path no longer recurses. The ethtool PSE paths take the
> same mutex, so the use-after-free that rtnl used to close stays closed.
> Aleksander confirmed it fixes his deadlock.
>
> Patch 5: Paolo's review [6] pointed out that patch 3 defers the
> pse_control_put() to phy_device_release(). A phy that is device_del()'d
> but still pinned (an attached netdev) is off the mdio_bus_type klist, so
> the PSE_UNREGISTERED notifier walk never clears its phydev->psec, and the
> deferred put later touches a pcdev->pi[] the controller has already
> freed. Patch 5 puts phydev->psec back in phy_device_remove(), which the
> mutex from patch 4 now makes safe (the rtnl recursion that motivated the
> deferral is gone), so the detach is synchronous and cannot outlive the
> controller.
>
> How it works: pse_core gets a notifier chain (REGISTERED / UNREGISTERED).
> The phy layer subscribes, owns phydev->psec, and attaches the PSE handle
> when the controller shows up instead of during probe. fwnode_mdio loses
> its PSE awareness, so no -EPROBE_DEFER leaves it and the probe-retry loop
> is gone.
>
> Tested on a Realtek rtl93xx PoE switch with two HS104 PSE controllers on
> i2c:
>
> - clean boot, no probe-retry loop, no watchdog reset
> - 10G SFP+ port: module hotplug works, no deadlock
> - ethtool --set-pse enable/disable cuts and restores power to a PD
> - i2c unbind -> rmmod -> modprobe: PSE detaches on unbind and re-attaches
> on reload with power restored, no reboot. No lockdep splats.
>
> Jonas confirmed the RTL8214FC deadlock he reported is gone. Aleksander
> confirmed the lantiq_etop probe deadlock is gone.
>
> Tested-by: Carlo Szelinsky <github@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
## Form letter - net-next-closed
net-next pull request for v7.3 has already been merged, and therefore
the net-next tree is closed for new drivers, features, code refactoring
and optimizations. We are currently accepting bug fixes only.
Please repost when net-next reopens after Aug 31st.
RFC patches sent for review only are obviously welcome at any time.
See:
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/next/process/maintainer-netdev.html#development-cycle
--
pw-bot: defer
pv-bot: closed