[RFC PATCH 10/11] mm, swap: defer xswap shrink to workqueue to avoid lock recursion
From: Baoquan He
Date: Mon Jul 27 2026 - 10:22:08 EST
xswap_try_shrink() was called directly from __free_cluster() while
holding ci->lock. The shrink path calls xswap_unmap_clusters()
which unmaps vmalloc pages backing cluster_info, and on return
swap_cache_del_folio() tries swap_cluster_unlock(ci) on the now-
unmapped address — crashing on a not-present page.
Replace direct calls with schedule_work() so shrink runs in an
independent workqueue context where no cluster locks are held.
Use cancel_work_sync() during swapoff to ensure no pending shrink
work races with the VM area teardown.
Signed-off-by: Baoquan He <baoquan.he@xxxxxxxxx>
---
include/linux/swap.h | 1 +
mm/swapfile.c | 18 ++++++++++++------
2 files changed, 13 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)
diff --git a/include/linux/swap.h b/include/linux/swap.h
index ebcd5eaa7924..ebae01fbd100 100644
--- a/include/linux/swap.h
+++ b/include/linux/swap.h
@@ -255,6 +255,7 @@ struct swap_info_struct {
unsigned long nr_clusters_mapped; /* currently mapped cluster count */
unsigned long nr_free_tail; /* contiguous free clusters at tail */
struct dentry *debugfs_entry; /* debugfs: type<N>_max_clusters */
+ struct work_struct xswap_shrink_work; /* deferred shrink trigger */
#endif
struct list_head free_clusters; /* free clusters list */
struct list_head full_clusters; /* full clusters list */
diff --git a/mm/swapfile.c b/mm/swapfile.c
index af62981506d3..b41ff2c594fc 100644
--- a/mm/swapfile.c
+++ b/mm/swapfile.c
@@ -127,11 +127,8 @@ static ssize_t xswap_max_clusters_write(struct file *file,
spin_unlock(&swap_lock);
}
- /*
- * Lowering the ceiling may make tail clusters eligible for
- * shrinking. Trigger an immediate check.
- */
- xswap_try_shrink(si);
+ /* Shrink trigger: lowering the ceiling may free tail clusters. */
+ schedule_work(&si->xswap_shrink_work);
return count;
}
@@ -726,7 +723,7 @@ static void __free_cluster(struct swap_info_struct *si, struct swap_cluster_info
ci->order = 0;
#ifdef CONFIG_XSWAP
xswap_update_free_tail(si, ci - si->cluster_info);
- xswap_try_shrink(si);
+ schedule_work(&si->xswap_shrink_work);
#endif
}
@@ -3236,6 +3233,7 @@ static void free_swap_cluster_info(struct swap_info_struct *si)
#ifdef CONFIG_XSWAP
if (si->flags & SWP_XSWAP) {
xswap_debugfs_del(si);
+ cancel_work_sync(&si->xswap_shrink_work);
/* Unmap all mapped clusters and free the VM_SPARSE area */
if (si->nr_clusters_mapped > 0)
xswap_unmap_clusters(si, 0, si->nr_clusters_mapped);
@@ -4030,6 +4028,13 @@ static void xswap_trim_free_tail(struct swap_info_struct *si, unsigned long idx)
WRITE_ONCE(si->nr_free_tail, nr_mapped - idx - 1);
}
+static void xswap_shrink_work_fn(struct work_struct *work)
+{
+ struct swap_info_struct *si = container_of(work,
+ struct swap_info_struct, xswap_shrink_work);
+ xswap_try_shrink(si);
+}
+
/*
* Try to shrink the cluster_info tail. Uses si->nr_free_tail which
* is maintained incrementally during alloc/free — no scanning needed.
@@ -4137,6 +4142,7 @@ static int setup_swap_clusters_info(struct swap_info_struct *si,
/* All mapped clusters except cluster 0 are free at the tail */
si->nr_free_tail = si->nr_clusters_mapped - 1;
+ INIT_WORK(&si->xswap_shrink_work, xswap_shrink_work_fn);
xswap_debugfs_add(si);
return 0;
--
2.54.0