linux-kernel - Re: [KVM PATCH v3 1/3] KVM: fix race in irq

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Date:	Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:00:15 -0400
From:	Gregory Haskins <gregory.haskins@...il.com>
To:	Gleb Natapov <gleb@...hat.com>
CC:	Gregory Haskins <ghaskins@...ell.com>, kvm@...r.kernel.org,
	"alacrityvm-devel@...ts.sourceforge.net" 
	<alacrityvm-devel@...ts.sourceforge.net>,
	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, paulmck@...ux.vnet.ibm.com
Subject: Re: [KVM PATCH v3 1/3] KVM: fix race in irq_routing logic

Gregory Haskins wrote:
> Gleb Natapov wrote:
>> On Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 12:21:57PM -0400, Gregory Haskins wrote:
>>> The current code suffers from the following race condition:
>>>
>>> thread-1                                    thread-2
>>> -----------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> kvm_set_irq() {
>>>    rcu_read_lock()
>>>    irq_rt = rcu_dereference(table);
>>>    rcu_read_unlock();
>>>
>>>                                        kvm_set_irq_routing() {
>>>                                           mutex_lock();
>>>                                           irq_rt = table;
>>>                                           rcu_assign_pointer();
>>>                                           mutex_unlock();
>>>                                           synchronize_rcu();
>>>
>>>                                           kfree(irq_rt);
>>>
>>>    irq_rt->entry->set(); /* bad */
>>>
>> This is not what happens. irq_rt is never accessed outside read-side
>> critical section.
> 
> Sorry, I was generalizing to keep the comments short.  I figured it
> would be clear what I was actually saying, but realize in retrospect
> that I was a little ambiguous.

Here is a revised problem statement

    thread-1                                    thread-2
    -----------------------------------------------------------

    kvm_set_irq() {
       rcu_read_lock()
       irq_rt = rcu_dereference(table);
       entry_cache = get_entries(irq_rt);
       rcu_read_unlock();

                                            invalidate_entries(irq_rt);

       for_each_entry(entry_cache)
	  entry->set(); /* bad */

    -------------------------------------------------------------


"invalidate_entries()" may be any operation that deletes an entry at
run-time (doesn't exist today), or as the guest is shutting down.  As
far as I can tell, the current code does not protect us from either
condition, and my proposed patch protects us from both.  Did I miss
anything?

HTH
-Greg



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