Re: [PATCH v2 09/24] file: Replace fcheck_files with files_lookup_fd_rcu

From: Paul E. McKenney
Date: Wed Dec 09 2020 - 12:45:42 EST


On Wed, Dec 09, 2020 at 04:54:11PM +0000, Al Viro wrote:
> [paulmck Cc'd]
>
> On Mon, Dec 07, 2020 at 10:49:04PM +0000, Al Viro wrote:
> > On Mon, Dec 07, 2020 at 10:46:57PM +0000, Al Viro wrote:
> > > On Fri, Nov 20, 2020 at 05:14:26PM -0600, Eric W. Biederman wrote:
> > >
> > > > /*
> > > > * Check whether the specified fd has an open file.
> > > > */
> > > > -#define fcheck(fd) fcheck_files(current->files, fd)
> > > > +#define fcheck(fd) files_lookup_fd_rcu(current->files, fd)
> > >
> > > Huh?
> > > fs/file.c:1113: file = fcheck(oldfd);
> > > dup3(), under ->file_lock, no rcu_read_lock() in sight
> > >
> > > fs/locks.c:2548: f = fcheck(fd);
> > > fcntl_setlk(), ditto
> > >
> > > fs/locks.c:2679: f = fcheck(fd);
> > > fcntl_setlk64(), ditto
> > >
> > > fs/notify/dnotify/dnotify.c:330: f = fcheck(fd);
> > > fcntl_dirnotify(); this one _is_ under rcu_read_lock().
> > >
> > >
> > > IOW, unless I've missed something earlier in the series, this is wrong.
> >
> > I have missed something, all right. Ignore that comment...
>
> Actually, I take that back - the use of fcheck() in dnotify _is_ interesting.
> At the very least it needs to be commented upon; what that code is trying
> to prevent is a race between fcntl_dirnotify() and close(2)/dup2(2) closing
> the descriptor in question. The problem is, dnotify marks are removed
> when we detach from descriptor table; that's done by filp_close() calling
> dnotify_flush().
>
> Suppose fcntl(fd, F_NOTIFY, 0) in one thread races with close(fd) in another
> (both sharing the same descriptor table). If the former had created and
> inserted a mark *after* the latter has gotten past dnotify_flush(), there
> would be nothing to evict that mark.
>
> That's the reason that fcheck() is there. rcu_read_lock() used to be
> sufficient, but the locking has changed since then and even if it is
> still enough, that's not at all obvious.
>
> Exclusion is not an issue; barriers, OTOH... Back then we had
> ->i_lock taken both by dnotify_flush() before any checks and
> by fcntl_dirnotify() around the fcheck+insertion. So on close
> side we had
> store NULL into descriptor table
> acquire ->i_lock
> fetch ->i_dnotify
> ...
> release ->i_lock
> while on fcntl() side we had
> acquire ->i_lock
> fetch from descriptor table, sod off if not our file
> ...
> store ->i_dnotify
> ...
> release ->i_lock
> Storing NULL into descriptor table could get reordered into
> ->i_lock-protected area in dnotify_flush(), but it could not
> get reordered past releasing ->i_lock. So fcntl_dirnotify()
> either grabbed ->i_lock before dnotify_flush() (in which case
> missing the store of NULL into descriptor table wouldn't
> matter, since dnotify_flush() would've observed the mark
> we'd inserted) or it would've seen that store to descriptor
> table.
>
> Nowadays it's nowhere near as straightforward; in fcntl_dirnotify()
> we have
> /* this is needed to prevent the fcntl/close race described below */
> mutex_lock(&dnotify_group->mark_mutex);
> and it would appear to be similar to the original situation, with
> ->mark_mutex serving in place of ->i_lock. However, dnotify_flush()
> might not take that mutex at all - it has
> fsn_mark = fsnotify_find_mark(&inode->i_fsnotify_marks, dnotify_group);
> if (!fsn_mark)
> return;
> before grabbing that thing. So the things are trickier - we actually
> rely upon the barriers in fsnotify_find_mark(). And those are complicated.
> The case when it returns non-NULL is not a problem - there we have that
> mutex providing the barriers we need. NULL can be returned in two cases:
> a) ->i_fsnotify_marks is not empty, but it contains no
> dnotify marks. In that case we have ->i_fsnotify_marks.lock acquired
> and released. By the time it gets around to fcheck(), fcntl_dirnotify() has
> either found or created and inserted a dnotify mark into that list, with
> ->i_fsnotify_marks.lock acquired/released around the insertion, so we
> are fine - either fcntl_dirnotify() gets there first (in which case
> dnotify_flush() will observe it), or release of that lock by
> fsnotify_find_mark() called by dnotify_flush() will serve as a barrier,
> making sure that store to descriptor table will be observed.
> b) fsnotify_find_mark() (fsnotify_grab_connector() it calls,
> actually) finds ->i_fsnotify_marks empty. That's where the things
> get interesting; we have
> idx = srcu_read_lock(&fsnotify_mark_srcu);
> conn = srcu_dereference(*connp, &fsnotify_mark_srcu);
> if (!conn)
> goto out;
> on dnotify_flush() side. The matching store of fcntl_dirnotify()
> side would be in fsnotify_attach_connector_to_object(), where
> we have
> /*
> * cmpxchg() provides the barrier so that readers of *connp can see
> * only initialized structure
> */
> if (cmpxchg(connp, NULL, conn)) {
> /* Someone else created list structure for us */
>
> So we have
> A:
> store NULL to descriptor table
> srcu_read_lock
> srcu_dereference fetches NULL from ->i_fsnotify_marks
> vs.
> B:
> cmpxchg replaces NULL with non-NULL in ->i_fsnotify_marks
> fetch from descriptor table, can't miss the store done by A
>
> Which might be safe, but the whole thing *RELLY* needs to be discussed
> in fcntl_dirnotify() in more details. fs/notify/* guts are convoluted
> enough to confuse anyone unfamiliar with them.

This ordering relies on the full barrier in srcu_read_lock(). There was
a time when srcu_read_lock() did not have a full barrier, and there
might well be a time in the future when srcu_read_lock() no longer has a
full barrier. So please add smp_mb__after_srcu_read_unlock() immediately
after the srcu_read_lock() if you are relying on that full barrier.

Thanx, Paul