[PATCH 1/3] cgroup: reduce cgroup_file_kn_lock hold time in cgroup_file_notify()

From: Shakeel Butt

Date: Sat Feb 28 2026 - 09:21:18 EST


cgroup_file_notify() calls kernfs_notify() while holding the global
cgroup_file_kn_lock. kernfs_notify() does non-trivial work including
wake_up_interruptible() and acquisition of a second global spinlock
(kernfs_notify_lock), inflating the hold time.

Take a kernfs_get() reference under the lock and call kernfs_notify()
after dropping it, following the pattern from cgroup_file_show().

Signed-off-by: Shakeel Butt <shakeel.butt@xxxxxxxxx>
Reported-by: Jakub Kicinski <kuba@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c | 9 ++++++++-
1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c b/kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c
index be1d71dda317..33282c7d71e4 100644
--- a/kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c
+++ b/kernel/cgroup/cgroup.c
@@ -4687,6 +4687,7 @@ int cgroup_add_legacy_cftypes(struct cgroup_subsys *ss, struct cftype *cfts)
void cgroup_file_notify(struct cgroup_file *cfile)
{
unsigned long flags;
+ struct kernfs_node *kn = NULL;

spin_lock_irqsave(&cgroup_file_kn_lock, flags);
if (cfile->kn) {
@@ -4696,11 +4697,17 @@ void cgroup_file_notify(struct cgroup_file *cfile)
if (time_in_range(jiffies, last, next)) {
timer_reduce(&cfile->notify_timer, next);
} else {
- kernfs_notify(cfile->kn);
+ kn = cfile->kn;
+ kernfs_get(kn);
cfile->notified_at = jiffies;
}
}
spin_unlock_irqrestore(&cgroup_file_kn_lock, flags);
+
+ if (kn) {
+ kernfs_notify(kn);
+ kernfs_put(kn);
+ }
}
EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(cgroup_file_notify);

--
2.47.3