[PATCH v29 6/9] sched: Add is_blocked task flag
From: John Stultz
Date: Mon May 11 2026 - 22:57:26 EST
Add a new is_blocked flag to the task struct. This flag is set
by try_to_block_task() and cleared by ttwu_do_wakeup() and
tracks if the task is blocked.
Traditionally this would mirror !p->on_rq, however due things
like DELAY_DEQUEUE and PROXY_EXEC, this can diverge, so its
useful to manage separately.
Additionally with this, we might be able to get rid of the
p->se.sched_delayed (ab)use in the core code (eventually).
Taken whole cloth from Peter's email:
https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20260501132143.GC1026330@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/
With a few additional p->is_blocked = 0 in a few cases where
we return current if blocked_on gets zeroed or there is
no owner. This may hint that these current special cases
might be dropped eventually.
This change also helps resolve wait-queue stalls seen with
proxy-execution. See previous patch attempts for details:
https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20260430215103.2978955-2-jstultz@xxxxxxxxxx/
Reported-by: Vineeth Pillai <vineethrp@xxxxxxxxxx>
Suggested-by: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Signed-off-by: John Stultz <jstultz@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
Cc: Joel Fernandes <joelagnelf@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Qais Yousef <qyousef@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Ingo Molnar <mingo@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Juri Lelli <juri.lelli@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Vincent Guittot <vincent.guittot@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Dietmar Eggemann <dietmar.eggemann@xxxxxxx>
Cc: Valentin Schneider <vschneid@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Steven Rostedt <rostedt@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Ben Segall <bsegall@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Zimuzo Ezeozue <zezeozue@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Will Deacon <will@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Waiman Long <longman@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Boqun Feng <boqun.feng@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "Paul E. McKenney" <paulmck@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Metin Kaya <Metin.Kaya@xxxxxxx>
Cc: Xuewen Yan <xuewen.yan94@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: K Prateek Nayak <kprateek.nayak@xxxxxxx>
Cc: Thomas Gleixner <tglx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Daniel Lezcano <daniel.lezcano@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Suleiman Souhlal <suleiman@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: kuyo chang <kuyo.chang@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: hupu <hupu.gm@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: kernel-team@xxxxxxxxxxx
---
include/linux/sched.h | 7 +++++--
kernel/sched/core.c | 16 +++++++++++++++-
2 files changed, 20 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
diff --git a/include/linux/sched.h b/include/linux/sched.h
index 5b68a1c9eedcf..bbb183233855a 100644
--- a/include/linux/sched.h
+++ b/include/linux/sched.h
@@ -846,7 +846,11 @@ struct task_struct {
struct alloc_tag *alloc_tag;
#endif
- int on_cpu;
+ u8 on_cpu;
+ u8 on_rq;
+ u8 is_blocked;
+ u8 __pad;
+
struct __call_single_node wake_entry;
unsigned int wakee_flips;
unsigned long wakee_flip_decay_ts;
@@ -861,7 +865,6 @@ struct task_struct {
*/
int recent_used_cpu;
int wake_cpu;
- int on_rq;
int prio;
int static_prio;
diff --git a/kernel/sched/core.c b/kernel/sched/core.c
index 633dd5b8428e5..8a223555be2e9 100644
--- a/kernel/sched/core.c
+++ b/kernel/sched/core.c
@@ -615,6 +615,12 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(__trace_set_current_state);
* [ The astute reader will observe that it is possible for two tasks on one
* CPU to have ->on_cpu = 1 at the same time. ]
*
+ * p->is_blocked <- { 0, 1 }:
+ *
+ * is set by try_to_block_task() and cleared by ttwu_do_wakeup() and tracks
+ * if the task is blocked. Traditionally this would mirror p->on_rq, however
+ * due things like DELAY_DEQUEUE and PROXY_EXEC, this can diverge.
+ *
* task_cpu(p): is changed by set_task_cpu(), the rules are:
*
* - Don't call set_task_cpu() on a blocked task:
@@ -3706,6 +3712,7 @@ ttwu_stat(struct task_struct *p, int cpu, int wake_flags)
*/
static inline void ttwu_do_wakeup(struct task_struct *p)
{
+ p->is_blocked = 0;
WRITE_ONCE(p->__state, TASK_RUNNING);
trace_sched_wakeup(p);
}
@@ -4239,6 +4246,7 @@ int try_to_wake_up(struct task_struct *p, unsigned int state, int wake_flags)
* it disabling IRQs (this allows not taking ->pi_lock).
*/
WARN_ON_ONCE(p->se.sched_delayed);
+ WARN_ON_ONCE(p->is_blocked);
/* If p is current, we know we can run here, so clear blocked_on */
clear_task_blocked_on(p, NULL);
if (!ttwu_state_match(p, state, &success))
@@ -4550,6 +4558,7 @@ static void __sched_fork(u64 clone_flags, struct task_struct *p)
/* A delayed task cannot be in clone(). */
WARN_ON_ONCE(p->se.sched_delayed);
+ WARN_ON_ONCE(p->is_blocked);
#ifdef CONFIG_FAIR_GROUP_SCHED
p->se.cfs_rq = NULL;
@@ -6671,6 +6680,7 @@ static bool try_to_block_task(struct rq *rq, struct task_struct *p,
unsigned long task_state = *task_state_p;
if (signal_pending_state(task_state, p)) {
+ p->is_blocked = 0;
WRITE_ONCE(p->__state, TASK_RUNNING);
*task_state_p = TASK_RUNNING;
clear_task_blocked_on(p, NULL);
@@ -6678,6 +6688,8 @@ static bool try_to_block_task(struct rq *rq, struct task_struct *p,
return false;
}
+ p->is_blocked = 1;
+
/*
* We check should_block after signal_pending because we
* will want to wake the task in that case. But if
@@ -6837,6 +6849,7 @@ find_proxy_task(struct rq *rq, struct task_struct *donor, struct rq_flags *rf)
/* if its PROXY_WAKING, do return migration or run if current */
if (mutex == PROXY_WAKING) {
if (task_current(rq, p)) {
+ p->is_blocked = 0;
clear_task_blocked_on(p, PROXY_WAKING);
return p;
}
@@ -6872,6 +6885,7 @@ find_proxy_task(struct rq *rq, struct task_struct *donor, struct rq_flags *rf)
* just run on this rq), or return-migrate the task.
*/
if (task_current(rq, p)) {
+ p->is_blocked = 0;
__clear_task_blocked_on(p, NULL);
return p;
}
@@ -7105,7 +7119,7 @@ static void __sched notrace __schedule(int sched_mode)
clear_task_blocked_on(prev, NULL);
rq_set_donor(rq, next);
- if (unlikely(next->blocked_on)) {
+ if (unlikely(next->is_blocked && next->blocked_on)) {
next = find_proxy_task(rq, next, &rf);
if (!next) {
zap_balance_callbacks(rq);
--
2.54.0.563.g4f69b47b94-goog