[PATCH v2] selftests/bpf: Make x86 preempt_count access compatible across v6.14+

From: Changwoo Min

Date: Thu Jan 29 2026 - 21:19:32 EST


Recent x86 kernels export __preempt_count as a ksym, while some old kernels
between v6.1 and v6.14 expose the preemption counter via
pcpu_hot.preempt_count. The existing selftest helper unconditionally
dereferenced __preempt_count, which breaks BPF program loading on such old
kernels.

Make the x86 preemption count lookup version-agnostic by:
- Marking __preempt_count and pcpu_hot as weak ksyms.
- Introducing a BTF-described pcpu_hot___local layout with
preserve_access_index.
- Selecting the appropriate access path at runtime using ksym availability
and bpf_ksym_exists() and bpf_core_field_exists().

This allows a single BPF binary to run correctly across kernel versions
(e.g., v6.18 vs. v6.13) without relying on compile-time version checks.

Signed-off-by: Changwoo Min <changwoo@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
.../testing/selftests/bpf/bpf_experimental.h | 21 +++++++++++++++++--
1 file changed, 19 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/bpf_experimental.h b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/bpf_experimental.h
index a39576c8ba04..acabf869d2c4 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/bpf_experimental.h
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/bpf/bpf_experimental.h
@@ -614,7 +614,13 @@ extern int bpf_cgroup_read_xattr(struct cgroup *cgroup, const char *name__str,

extern bool CONFIG_PREEMPT_RT __kconfig __weak;
#ifdef bpf_target_x86
-extern const int __preempt_count __ksym;
+extern const int __preempt_count __ksym __weak;
+
+struct pcpu_hot___local {
+ int preempt_count;
+} __attribute__((preserve_access_index));
+
+extern struct pcpu_hot___local pcpu_hot __ksym __weak;
#endif

struct task_struct___preempt_rt {
@@ -624,7 +630,18 @@ struct task_struct___preempt_rt {
static inline int get_preempt_count(void)
{
#if defined(bpf_target_x86)
- return *(int *) bpf_this_cpu_ptr(&__preempt_count);
+ /* By default, read the per-CPU __preempt_count. */
+ if (bpf_ksym_exists(&__preempt_count))
+ return *(int *) bpf_this_cpu_ptr(&__preempt_count);
+
+ /* If __preempt_count does not exist, try to read preempt_count under
+ * struct pcpu_hot. Between v6.1 and v6.14 -- more specifically,
+ * [64701838bf057, 46e8fff6d45fe), preempt_count had been managed
+ * under struct pcpu_hot.
+ */
+ if (bpf_core_field_exists(pcpu_hot.preempt_count))
+ return ((struct pcpu_hot___local *)
+ bpf_this_cpu_ptr(&pcpu_hot))->preempt_count;
#elif defined(bpf_target_arm64)
return bpf_get_current_task_btf()->thread_info.preempt.count;
#endif
--
2.52.0