[PATCH v2] i2c: imx: Fix slave registration error path and missing timer cleanup

From: Liem

Date: Thu Jun 25 2026 - 12:03:31 EST


There are two issues that affect the i2c-imx slave handling:

1. In i2c_imx_reg_slave(), i2c_imx->slave is checked at the beginning
and the function returns -EBUSY if it is non-NULL. If
pm_runtime_resume_and_get() fails later, the error path returns
without clearing i2c_imx->slave, leaving it non-NULL. Subsequent
attempts to register a slave will then immediately fail with
-EBUSY, making it impossible to register the slave again. Fix
by setting i2c_imx->slave = NULL on the error path.

2. In i2c_imx_unreg_slave(), the slave pointer is set to NULL after
disabling interrupts. However, a pending interrupt might already
have started the hrtimer (i2c_imx_slave_timeout) before the pointer
was cleared. If the hrtimer fires after i2c_imx->slave is set to
NULL, the timer callback i2c_imx_slave_finish_op() will call
i2c_imx_slave_event() with a NULL slave pointer, and the
last_slave_event check loop in i2c_imx_slave_finish_op() may cause
a system hang because last_slave_event is no longer updated. Fix
by canceling the hrtimer and waiting for it to complete after
disabling interrupts, before clearing the slave pointer.

Both issues can trigger a kernel oops, system hang, or permanent
slave registration failure under certain race conditions. Add the
missing NULL assignment and the missing hrtimer cleanup to harden
the slave path.

Fixes: f7414cd6923f ("i2c: imx: support slave mode for imx I2C driver")
Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Signed-off-by: Liem <liem16213@xxxxxxxxx>
---
v1 -> v2:
- Instead of adding a NULL check in i2c_imx_slave_event(), cancel
the hrtimer and wait for it to finish in i2c_imx_unreg_slave()
after disabling interrupts, as suggested by <Carlos Song>.
This avoids a potential hang in the last_slave_event loop in
i2c_imx_slave_finish_op().
---
drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-imx.c | 3 ++-
1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-imx.c b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-imx.c
index 28313d0fad37..04ffb927aba9 100644
--- a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-imx.c
+++ b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-imx.c
@@ -936,6 +936,7 @@ static int i2c_imx_reg_slave(struct i2c_client *client)
/* Resume */
ret = pm_runtime_resume_and_get(i2c_imx->adapter.dev.parent);
if (ret < 0) {
+ i2c_imx->slave = NULL;
dev_err(&i2c_imx->adapter.dev, "failed to resume i2c controller");
return ret;
}
@@ -957,7 +958,7 @@ static int i2c_imx_unreg_slave(struct i2c_client *client)
imx_i2c_write_reg(0, i2c_imx, IMX_I2C_IADR);

i2c_imx_reset_regs(i2c_imx);
-
+ hrtimer_cancel(&i2c_imx->slave_timer);
i2c_imx->slave = NULL;

/* Suspend */
--
2.53.0