Re: [PATCH v2] mm/truncate: fix data loss when truncating straddling large folios
From: Jan Kara
Date: Wed Sep 09 2026 - 09:22:58 EST
On Wed 09-09-26 14:23:39, Zhang Yi wrote:
> From: Zhang Yi <yi.zhang@xxxxxxxxxx>
>
> truncate_inode_partial_folio() splits a large folio so that the caller's
> truncate loop can drop the in-range sub-folios while keeping the
> out-of-range tail. The first split at the punch start edge is
> non-uniform, which leaves the sub-folio at the truncation end edge as
> large as possible, this means it may still straddle the range, holding
> both zeroed in-range and valid out-of-range data. The function then
> attempts a second split at offset + length to isolate that tail.
>
> If the second split fails the straddling sub-folio stays merged. The
> function returned true unconditionally on all exit paths of the success
> block, telling the caller it was fully handled. The caller kept its
> default end and the truncate loop truncated every sub-folio below it,
> including the merged straddler, discarding the valid out-of-range tail.
>
> For example, a 4-page order-2 folio punched from offset 0 to the middle
> of the last page:
>
> truncate_inode_pages_range()
> truncate_inode_partial_folio() # same_folio == true
> 1st split at page0 -> [p0, p1, p2-3] # non-uniform, success
> folio2 = p2-3 # straddles: p2 zeroed, p3 tail valid
> 2nd split of folio2 fails / cannot lock
> return true # BUG: caller keeps default end
> end = 3
> loop truncates p0, p1, p2-3 # p3's valid tail is lost
>
> This became reachable after commit 7460b470a131 ("mm/truncate: use
> folio_split() in truncate operation") replaced the atomic split_folio()
> with folio_split(), whose non-uniform split can partially split a folio
> and leave the end edge merged.
>
> It has gone unnoticed because a dirty large folio normally carries the
> filesystem's private data, for example buffer_head, so
> filemap_release_folio() -> iomap_release_folio() returns false on a
> dirty folio and folio_split() aborts with -EBUSY before any split,
> leaving the straddler safely unsplit. The bug is only reachable on paths
> that produce dirty large folios without filesystem private data, and it
> was caught on the upcoming ext4 iomap buffered I/O path when no ifs is
> attached.
>
> In addition, even when both splits succeed, data can still be lost when
> the mapping's minimum folio order (min_order) is non-zero. folio_split()
> stops at min_order instead of order 0, so the sub-folio containing a
> split point stays aligned to 1 << min_order rather than to a page. The
> original success path left start at the page-aligned head of the range
> and set end to the exact page index of the end edge, neither of which is
> a folio boundary in general. Either one could land inside the large
> folio at its edge, and the truncate loop would drop that straddling
> folio together with its valid out-of-range tail.
>
> For example, a 64K (order-4) folio with min_order = 2 punched from
> offset 0 to 36K:
>
> truncate_inode_pages_range()
> truncate_inode_partial_folio() # same_folio == true
> 1st split at p0 -> [p0-p3, p4-p7, p8-p15] # non-uniform, min_order
> folio2 = p8-p15 # straddles: p8 in range, p9-p15 tail valid
> 2nd split of folio2 -> [p8-p11, p12-p15] # success
> end = p9 # BUG: p9 inside [p8-p11]
> loop truncates ... p8-p11 # p9-p11's valid tail is lost
>
> Rework the contract so the caller is told the page range to discard:
>
> - Return true only when a split occurred, false otherwise. This
> clarifies the existing confusing return value semantics.
>
> - Add pgoff_t *pstart and *pend out-parameters that receive the page
> range fully covered by [lstart, lend] after any split (or none),
> i.e. the pages wholly within the range and safe to discard. They are
> aligned up (pstart) and down (pend) to the mapping's minimum folio
> order so they always fall on a folio boundary.
>
> - Rename the byte-range parameters start/end to lstart/lend to avoid
> clashing with the new outputs and to separate byte offsets from
> folio indices.
>
> Callers in truncate_inode_pages_range() and shmem_undo_range() pass
> &pstart for the folio at the start edge and &pend for the folio at the
> end edge, so the truncate loop drops exactly the fully covered pages and
> never touches a straddling folio that still holds valid out-of-range
> data.
>
> Suggested-by: Brian Foster <bfoster@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Link: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-fsdevel/anH-WKA1coW6wtfG@bfoster/
> Fixes: 7460b470a131 ("mm/truncate: use folio_split() in truncate operation")
> Signed-off-by: Zhang Yi <yi.zhang@xxxxxxxxxx>
Looks good to me. Thanks! Feel free to add:
Reviewed-by: Jan Kara <jack@xxxxxxx>
Honza
> ---
> v1->v2:
> - Export pstart as a new parameter so that the generic and shmem
> truncate paths don't need to recompute the start value from the
> return value. (Brian)
> - When min_order is nonzero, align [pstart, pend] to the inner
> boundaries of the folio to ensure they do not point into the middle
> of a large folio, which could otherwise cause valid data within the
> folio to be incorrectly cleared. (Joanne)
>
> v1: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-mm/20260903115018.2034541-1-yi.zhang@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/
>
> mm/internal.h | 4 +--
> mm/shmem.c | 13 +++-----
> mm/truncate.c | 88 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++----------------
> 3 files changed, 67 insertions(+), 38 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/mm/internal.h b/mm/internal.h
> index 68db5abd0a4c..6e6ad3187378 100644
> --- a/mm/internal.h
> +++ b/mm/internal.h
> @@ -627,8 +627,8 @@ unsigned find_lock_entries(struct address_space *mapping, pgoff_t *start,
> unsigned find_get_entries(struct address_space *mapping, pgoff_t *start,
> pgoff_t end, struct folio_batch *fbatch, pgoff_t *indices);
> int truncate_inode_folio(struct address_space *mapping, struct folio *folio);
> -bool truncate_inode_partial_folio(struct folio *folio, loff_t start,
> - loff_t end);
> +bool truncate_inode_partial_folio(struct folio *folio, loff_t lstart,
> + loff_t lend, pgoff_t *pstart, pgoff_t *pend);
> long mapping_evict_folio(struct address_space *mapping, struct folio *folio);
> unsigned long mapping_try_invalidate(struct address_space *mapping,
> pgoff_t start, pgoff_t end, unsigned long *nr_failed);
> diff --git a/mm/shmem.c b/mm/shmem.c
> index 89a1495e55f7..4efbbbba5da5 100644
> --- a/mm/shmem.c
> +++ b/mm/shmem.c
> @@ -1175,11 +1175,8 @@ static void shmem_undo_range(struct inode *inode, loff_t lstart, uoff_t lend,
> if (folio) {
> same_folio = lend < folio_next_pos(folio);
> folio_mark_dirty(folio);
> - if (!truncate_inode_partial_folio(folio, lstart, lend)) {
> - start = folio_next_index(folio);
> - if (same_folio)
> - end = folio->index;
> - }
> + truncate_inode_partial_folio(folio, lstart, lend, &start,
> + same_folio ? &end : NULL);
> folio_unlock(folio);
> folio_put(folio);
> folio = NULL;
> @@ -1189,8 +1186,7 @@ static void shmem_undo_range(struct inode *inode, loff_t lstart, uoff_t lend,
> folio = shmem_get_partial_folio(inode, lend >> PAGE_SHIFT);
> if (folio) {
> folio_mark_dirty(folio);
> - if (!truncate_inode_partial_folio(folio, lstart, lend))
> - end = folio->index;
> + truncate_inode_partial_folio(folio, lstart, lend, NULL, &end);
> folio_unlock(folio);
> folio_put(folio);
> }
> @@ -1258,7 +1254,8 @@ static void shmem_undo_range(struct inode *inode, loff_t lstart, uoff_t lend,
>
> if (!folio_test_large(folio)) {
> truncate_inode_folio(mapping, folio);
> - } else if (truncate_inode_partial_folio(folio, lstart, lend)) {
> + } else if (truncate_inode_partial_folio(folio,
> + lstart, lend, NULL, NULL)) {
> /*
> * If we split a page, reset the loop so
> * that we pick up the new sub pages.
> diff --git a/mm/truncate.c b/mm/truncate.c
> index b58ba940be47..d88a1b159084 100644
> --- a/mm/truncate.c
> +++ b/mm/truncate.c
> @@ -206,35 +206,41 @@ static int folio_split_or_unmap(struct folio *folio, struct page *split_at,
> /*
> * Handle partial folios. The folio may be entirely within the
> * range if a split has raced with us. If not, we zero the part of the
> - * folio that's within the [start, end] range, and then split the folio if
> + * folio that's within the [lstart, lend] range, and then split the folio if
> * it's large. split_page_range() will discard pages which now lie beyond
> * i_size, and we rely on the caller to discard pages which lie within a
> * newly created hole.
> *
> - * Returns false if splitting failed so the caller can avoid
> - * discarding the entire folio which is stubbornly unsplit.
> + * When @pstart and/or @pend are non-NULL they receive the indexes of the
> + * page range fully covered by [lstart, lend] after any split (or none),
> + * i.e. the range of pages that are wholly within [lstart, lend] and so safe
> + * to discard.
> + *
> + * Return %true if the folio was split, %false otherwise.
> */
> -bool truncate_inode_partial_folio(struct folio *folio, loff_t start, loff_t end)
> +bool truncate_inode_partial_folio(struct folio *folio, loff_t lstart,
> + loff_t lend, pgoff_t *pstart, pgoff_t *pend)
> {
> loff_t pos = folio_pos(folio);
> size_t size = folio_size(folio);
> unsigned int offset, length;
> struct page *split_at, *split_at2;
> + unsigned long min_nrbytes;
> unsigned int min_order;
>
> - if (pos < start)
> - offset = start - pos;
> + if (pos < lstart)
> + offset = lstart - pos;
> else
> offset = 0;
> - if (pos + size <= (u64)end)
> + if (pos + size <= (u64)lend)
> length = size - offset;
> else
> - length = end + 1 - pos - offset;
> + length = lend + 1 - pos - offset;
>
> folio_wait_writeback(folio);
> if (length == size) {
> truncate_inode_folio(folio->mapping, folio);
> - return true;
> + goto no_split;
> }
>
> /*
> @@ -248,9 +254,10 @@ bool truncate_inode_partial_folio(struct folio *folio, loff_t start, loff_t end)
> if (folio_needs_release(folio))
> folio_invalidate(folio, offset, length);
> if (!folio_test_large(folio))
> - return true;
> + goto no_split;
>
> min_order = mapping_min_folio_order(folio->mapping);
> + min_nrbytes = mapping_min_folio_nrbytes(folio->mapping);
> split_at = folio_page(folio, PAGE_ALIGN_DOWN(offset) / PAGE_SIZE);
> if (!folio_split_or_unmap(folio, split_at, min_order)) {
> /*
> @@ -259,38 +266,67 @@ bool truncate_inode_partial_folio(struct folio *folio, loff_t start, loff_t end)
> * for shmem truncate
> */
> struct folio *folio2;
> + bool tail_isolated = true;
> +
> + if (pend)
> + *pend = round_down(pos + offset + length,
> + min_nrbytes) >> PAGE_SHIFT;
>
> if (offset + length == size)
> - goto no_split;
> -
> + goto split;
> +retry:
> split_at2 = folio_page(folio,
> PAGE_ALIGN_DOWN(offset + length) / PAGE_SIZE);
> folio2 = page_folio(split_at2);
>
> if (!folio_try_get(folio2))
> - goto no_split;
> + goto split;
>
> if (!folio_test_large(folio2))
> goto out;
>
> - if (!folio_trylock(folio2))
> + if (!folio_trylock(folio2)) {
> + tail_isolated = false;
> goto out;
> + }
> +
> + /*
> + * split_at2 may no longer belong to folio2 due to concurrent
> + * split. Retry to find the correct folio in case it's still
> + * large.
> + */
> + if (page_folio(split_at2) != folio2) {
> + folio_unlock(folio2);
> + folio_put(folio2);
> + goto retry;
> + }
>
> /* make sure folio2 is large and does not change its mapping */
> if (folio_test_large(folio2) &&
> - folio2->mapping == folio->mapping)
> - folio_split_or_unmap(folio2, split_at2, min_order);
> + folio2->mapping == folio->mapping &&
> + folio_split_or_unmap(folio2, split_at2, min_order))
> + tail_isolated = false;
>
> folio_unlock(folio2);
> out:
> + if (!tail_isolated && pend)
> + *pend = folio2->index;
> folio_put(folio2);
> -no_split:
> +split:
> + if (pstart)
> + *pstart = round_up(pos + offset,
> + min_nrbytes) >> PAGE_SHIFT;
> return true;
> }
> - if (folio_test_dirty(folio))
> - return false;
> - truncate_inode_folio(folio->mapping, folio);
> - return true;
> + if (!folio_test_dirty(folio))
> + truncate_inode_folio(folio->mapping, folio);
> +no_split:
> + if (pstart)
> + *pstart = offset ? folio_next_index(folio) : folio->index;
> + if (pend)
> + *pend = (pos + size > (u64)lend) ? folio->index :
> + folio_next_index(folio);
> + return false;
> }
>
> /*
> @@ -413,11 +449,8 @@ void truncate_inode_pages_range(struct address_space *mapping,
> folio = __filemap_get_folio(mapping, lstart >> PAGE_SHIFT, FGP_LOCK, 0);
> if (!IS_ERR(folio)) {
> same_folio = lend < folio_next_pos(folio);
> - if (!truncate_inode_partial_folio(folio, lstart, lend)) {
> - start = folio_next_index(folio);
> - if (same_folio)
> - end = folio->index;
> - }
> + truncate_inode_partial_folio(folio, lstart, lend, &start,
> + same_folio ? &end : NULL);
> folio_unlock(folio);
> folio_put(folio);
> folio = NULL;
> @@ -427,8 +460,7 @@ void truncate_inode_pages_range(struct address_space *mapping,
> folio = __filemap_get_folio(mapping, lend >> PAGE_SHIFT,
> FGP_LOCK, 0);
> if (!IS_ERR(folio)) {
> - if (!truncate_inode_partial_folio(folio, lstart, lend))
> - end = folio->index;
> + truncate_inode_partial_folio(folio, lstart, lend, NULL, &end);
> folio_unlock(folio);
> folio_put(folio);
> }
> --
> 2.52.0
>
--
Jan Kara <jack@xxxxxxxx>
SUSE Labs, CR