[PATCH v6 2/2] module: Rename module_blacklist to module_denylist

From: Aaron Tomlin

Date: Sat Jul 18 2026 - 15:02:29 EST


To preserve the existing user-space ABI, "module_blacklist=" is kept
as a legacy alias pointing to the same module_denylist variable.

This patch addresses the documentation by marking "module_blacklist="
as deprecated in admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt, and documents
the new "module_denylist=" parameter. All internal symbols, such as
module_is_blacklisted(), have been renamed to use "denylist" and all
log messages now use "denylisted".

Signed-off-by: Aaron Tomlin <atomlin@xxxxxxxxxxx>
---
.../admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt | 6 +++++-
include/linux/module.h | 2 +-
init/main.c | 19 ++++++++++---------
kernel/module/main.c | 4 ++--
4 files changed, 18 insertions(+), 13 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt
index a68003c3599c..211aa16c53ef 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt
@@ -4179,7 +4179,11 @@ Kernel parameters
Note that if CONFIG_MODULE_SIG_FORCE is set, that
is always true, so this option does nothing.

- module_blacklist= [KNL] Do not load a comma-separated list of
+ module_blacklist= [KNL] (deprecated)
+ This parameter has been renamed to module_denylist=.
+ Please use module_denylist= instead.
+
+ module_denylist= [KNL] Do not load a comma-separated list of
modules. Useful for debugging problem modules.

mousedev.tap_time=
diff --git a/include/linux/module.h b/include/linux/module.h
index fc1525e8f63c..e83ce13e6db5 100644
--- a/include/linux/module.h
+++ b/include/linux/module.h
@@ -884,7 +884,7 @@ static inline void module_for_each_mod(int(*func)(struct module *mod, void *data
}
#endif /* CONFIG_MODULES */

-bool module_is_blacklisted(const char *module_name);
+bool module_is_denylisted(const char *module_name);

#ifdef CONFIG_SYSFS
extern struct kset *module_kset;
diff --git a/init/main.c b/init/main.c
index ee6d7db212d5..de1fa1b21e82 100644
--- a/init/main.c
+++ b/init/main.c
@@ -1337,17 +1337,17 @@ static inline void do_trace_initcall_level(const char *level)
extern struct initcall_modname __start_initcall_modnames[];
extern struct initcall_modname __stop_initcall_modnames[];

-/* module_blacklist is a comma-separated list of module names */
-static char *module_blacklist;
-bool __init_or_module module_is_blacklisted(const char *module_name)
+/* module_denylist is a comma-separated list of module names */
+static char *module_denylist;
+bool __init_or_module module_is_denylisted(const char *module_name)
{
const char *p;
size_t len;

- if (!module_blacklist)
+ if (!module_denylist)
return false;

- for (p = module_blacklist; *p; p += len) {
+ for (p = module_denylist; *p; p += len) {
len = strcspn(p, ",");
if (strlen(module_name) == len && !memcmp(module_name, p, len))
return true;
@@ -1356,7 +1356,8 @@ bool __init_or_module module_is_blacklisted(const char *module_name)
}
return false;
}
-core_param(module_blacklist, module_blacklist, charp, 0400);
+core_param(module_denylist, module_denylist, charp, 0400);
+core_param(module_blacklist, module_denylist, charp, 0400);

static const char *__init get_builtin_modname(initcall_t fn)
{
@@ -1374,10 +1375,10 @@ static void __init do_one_initcall_builtin(initcall_t fn)
{
const char *modname;

- if (module_blacklist) {
+ if (module_denylist) {
modname = get_builtin_modname(fn);
- if (modname && module_is_blacklisted(modname)) {
- pr_info("Skipping initcall for blacklisted built-in module %s\n",
+ if (modname && module_is_denylisted(modname)) {
+ pr_info("Skipping initcall for denylisted built-in module %s\n",
modname);
return;
}
diff --git a/kernel/module/main.c b/kernel/module/main.c
index a8021039d44b..bf6aa98d8d36 100644
--- a/kernel/module/main.c
+++ b/kernel/module/main.c
@@ -3372,8 +3372,8 @@ static int early_mod_check(struct load_info *info, int flags)
* Now that we know we have the correct module name, check
* if it's blacklisted.
*/
- if (module_is_blacklisted(info->name)) {
- pr_err("Module %s is blacklisted\n", info->name);
+ if (module_is_denylisted(info->name)) {
+ pr_err("Module %s is denylisted\n", info->name);
return -EPERM;
}

--
2.54.0