Re: [PATCH v5 12/17] mm/huge_memory: move anon_vma handling into the anon split helper

From: David Hildenbrand (Arm)

Date: Fri Sep 18 2026 - 17:02:39 EST


On 9/14/26 19:14, Kairui Song via B4 Relay wrote:
> From: Kairui Song <kasong@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Only anon split needs the anon_vma, and it only needs it to unmap and
> remap. Move the folio_get_anon_vma()/anon_vma_lock_write() pair out of
> __folio_split() into the anon helper next to the folio_mapped()
> check that already gates unmap_folio().
>
> This makes the anon_vma conditional on folio_mapped(), which is a
> behaviour change but should be fine. folio_get_anon_vma() returns
> NULL whenever !folio_mapped(), so an anon folio with
> folio_mapcount() == 0 used to get -EBUSY from split_huge_page() and is
> now split instead. A realistic case is a THP that has been fully
> swapped out and is still in the swap cache: swap PTEs do not contribute
> mapcount, so it is !folio_mapped() but still alive.
>
> That should be safe and right to have because:
>
> - folio_ref_freeze() below still rejects a folio that picked up any
> reference, a mapping or a GUP pin, in the meantime.
>
> - A parallel split is excluded by the folio lock. The anon_vma
> write lock was added to serialize split in commit 062f1af2170a
> ("mm: thp: acquire the anon_vma rwsem for write during split"), when
> split_huge_page() did not hold the folio lock throughout. commit
> e9b61f19858a ("thp: reintroduce split_huge_page()") later made the
> folio lock a caller requirement and added the folio_ref_freeze()
> scheme, so that has been covered ever since.
>
> - Unmapped path is already exercised by folio_split_unmapped(),
> and the swap cache split already runs well for a partially
> swapped-out mapped THP.
>
> - A !folio_mapped() folio cannot become mapped meanwhile: mapping it
> requires the folio lock.
>
> For mapped folios the anon_vma write lock is now released before
> __folio_split() unlocks the after-split sub-folios, where previously it
> was held across that loop; that window is harmless as the sub-folios
> stay folio-locked and referenced until it.
>
> Reviewed-by: Zi Yan <ziy@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Signed-off-by: Kairui Song <kasong@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> ---
> mm/huge_memory.c | 58 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------------------
> 1 file changed, 31 insertions(+), 27 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/mm/huge_memory.c b/mm/huge_memory.c
> index 8fc1dd5b8354..a4c2e38f4a6d 100644
> --- a/mm/huge_memory.c
> +++ b/mm/huge_memory.c
> @@ -4029,16 +4029,38 @@ static int __folio_freeze_split_anon(struct folio *folio,
> struct swap_cluster_info *ci = NULL;
> int old_order = folio_order(folio);
> struct folio *new_folio, *next;
> + struct anon_vma *anon_vma = NULL;
> enum ttu_flags ttu_flags = 0;
> struct lruvec *lruvec;
> - bool need_remap = false;
> int ret = 0;
>
> + /*
> + * Unmap/remap needs the anon_vma, so we first take a reference on
> + * it to prevent it from disappearing, and lock it for write here,
> + * letting unmap_folio() walk the rmap with TTU_RMAP_LOCKED.
> + *
> + * folio_mapped() is not stable here, but it can only change in
> + * one direction while the folio is locked. The mapcount can drop
> + * to zero at any time, zap_pte_range() takes no folio lock. It
> + * cannot go up: swapin, migration and uffd move all lock the folio
> + * before mapping it, and fork only copies PTEs that already exist.
> + *
> + * So if we see the folio mapped, the worst case is an empty rmap
> + * walk. If we see it unmapped, it stays unmapped and needs neither
> + * the reference nor the lock. Anything else needs a reference
> + * first and folio_ref_freeze() below catches it.
> + *
> + * Note a swapped-out THP counts as unmapped here as swap PTEs do
> + * not contribute mapcount, and they are splittable.

Helpful, thanks. I'd rewrite the last part to

"Note that entirely swapped-out THPs are unmapped but can be split."

Acked-by: David Hildenbrand (Arm) <david@xxxxxxxxxx>

--
Cheers,

David