Re: [PATCH][v2] mm/mempool: Untangle CONFIG_SLUB_DEBUG_ON abuse and switch to static key

From: Vlastimil Babka (SUSE)

Date: Tue Jun 02 2026 - 05:16:37 EST


On 6/2/26 08:21, lirongqing wrote:
> From: Li RongQing <lirongqing@xxxxxxxxx>
>
> The mempool subsystem historically wrapped its debugging logic inside an
> merely defines compile-time defaults for SLUB and caused two flaws:
>
> 1. On production kernels where CONFIG_SLUB_DEBUG=y but
> CONFIG_SLUB_DEBUG_ON=n, mempool debugging was completely compiled out
> at compile time.
> 2. On kernels with CONFIG_SLUB_DEBUG_ON=y, mempool debugging stayed active
> even if a user explicitly disabled slub debugging at boot time.
>
> Clean up this mess by removing the #ifdef and switching to a runtime static
> key (mempool_debug_enabled), allowing mempool debugging to be toggled
> cleanly via its own boot parameter.
>
> Suggested-by: Vlastimil Babka (SUSE) <vbabka@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Signed-off-by: Li RongQing <lirongqing@xxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: Harry Yoo <harry@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: Andrew Morton <akpm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: Hao Li <hao.li@xxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: Christoph Lameter <cl@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: David Rientjes <rientjes@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: Roman Gushchin <roman.gushchin@xxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: Matthew Wilcox <willy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: Usama Arif <usama.arif@xxxxxxxxx>
> ---
> Diff with v1:
> Rewrite commit message, change early_param to __setup
>
> Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt | 5 ++++
> mm/mempool.c | 32 ++++++++++++++++++-------
> 2 files changed, 28 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt
> index 642659b..89b5994 100644
> --- a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt
> @@ -3980,6 +3980,11 @@ Kernel parameters
> Note that even when enabled, there are a few cases where
> the feature is not effective.
>
> + mempool_debug [MM]
> + Enable mempool debugging. This enables element
> + poison checking when freeing elements back to the
> + pool. Useful for debugging mempool corruption.
> +
> memtest= [KNL,X86,ARM,M68K,PPC,RISCV,EARLY] Enable memtest
> Format: <integer>
> default : 0 <disable>
> diff --git a/mm/mempool.c b/mm/mempool.c
> index db23e0e..71e4b54 100644
> --- a/mm/mempool.c
> +++ b/mm/mempool.c
> @@ -16,11 +16,28 @@
> #include <linux/export.h>
> #include <linux/mempool.h>
> #include <linux/writeback.h>
> +#include <linux/static_key.h>
> +#include <linux/init.h>
> #include "slab.h"
>
> static DECLARE_FAULT_ATTR(fail_mempool_alloc);
> static DECLARE_FAULT_ATTR(fail_mempool_alloc_bulk);
>
> +/*
> + * Debugging support for mempool using static key.
> + *
> + * This allows enabling mempool debug at boot time via:
> + * mempool_debug
> + */
> +static DEFINE_STATIC_KEY_FALSE(mempool_debug_enabled);
> +
> +static int __init mempool_debug_setup(char *str)
> +{
> + static_branch_enable(&mempool_debug_enabled);
> + return 1;
> +}
> +__setup("mempool_debug", mempool_debug_setup);
> +
> static int __init mempool_faul_inject_init(void)
> {
> int error;
> @@ -37,7 +54,6 @@ static int __init mempool_faul_inject_init(void)
> }
> late_initcall(mempool_faul_inject_init);
>
> -#ifdef CONFIG_SLUB_DEBUG_ON
> static void poison_error(struct mempool *pool, void *element, size_t size,
> size_t byte)
> {
> @@ -73,6 +89,9 @@ static void __check_element(struct mempool *pool, void *element, size_t size)
>
> static void check_element(struct mempool *pool, void *element)
> {
> + if (!static_branch_unlikely(&mempool_debug_enabled))
> + return;

With static keys it's better to have the check in the caller of
check_element so we skip over that call if it's disabled, and not do a call
that immediately returns. Since there's a single caller, there's no need for
an extra inline wrapper.

> +
> /* Skip checking: KASAN might save its metadata in the element. */
> if (kasan_enabled())
> return;
> @@ -112,6 +131,9 @@ static void __poison_element(void *element, size_t size)
>
> static void poison_element(struct mempool *pool, void *element)
> {
> + if (!static_branch_unlikely(&mempool_debug_enabled))
> + return;

Ditto.

> +
> /* Skip poisoning: KASAN might save its metadata in the element. */
> if (kasan_enabled())
> return;
> @@ -140,14 +162,6 @@ static void poison_element(struct mempool *pool, void *element)
> #endif
> }
> }
> -#else /* CONFIG_SLUB_DEBUG_ON */
> -static inline void check_element(struct mempool *pool, void *element)
> -{
> -}
> -static inline void poison_element(struct mempool *pool, void *element)
> -{
> -}
> -#endif /* CONFIG_SLUB_DEBUG_ON */
>
> static __always_inline bool kasan_poison_element(struct mempool *pool,
> void *element)