linux-kernel - [PATCH 4.4 47/56] tty: pty: Fix ldisc flush after userspace become aware of the data already

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Date:   Thu, 18 May 2017 12:49:04 +0200
From:   Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@...uxfoundation.org>
To:     linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Cc:     Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@...uxfoundation.org>,
        stable@...r.kernel.org, Wang YanQing <udknight@...il.com>
Subject: [PATCH 4.4 47/56] tty: pty: Fix ldisc flush after userspace become aware of the data already

4.4-stable review patch.  If anyone has any objections, please let me know.

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

From: Wang YanQing <udknight@...il.com>

commit 77dae6134440420bac334581a3ccee94cee1c054 upstream.

While using emacs, cat or others' commands in konsole with recent
kernels, I have met many times that CTRL-C freeze konsole. After
konsole freeze I can't type anything, then I have to open a new one,
it is very annoying.

See bug report:
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=175283

The platform in that bug report is Solaris, but now the pty in linux
has the same problem or the same behavior as Solaris :)

It has high possibility to trigger the problem follow steps below:
Note: In my test, BigFile is a text file whose size is bigger than 1G
1:open konsole
1:cat BigFile
2:CTRL-C

After some digging, I find out the reason is that commit 1d1d14da12e7
("pty: Fix buffer flush deadlock") changes the behavior of pty_flush_buffer.

Thread A                                 Thread B
--------                                 --------
1:n_tty_poll return POLLIN
                                         2:CTRL-C trigger pty_flush_buffer
                                             tty_buffer_flush
                                               n_tty_flush_buffer
3:attempt to check count of chars:
  ioctl(fd, TIOCINQ, &available)
  available is equal to 0

4:read(fd, buffer, avaiable)
  return 0

5:konsole close fd

Yes, I know we could use the same patch included in the BUG report as
a workaround for linux platform too. But I think the data in ldisc is
belong to application of another side, we shouldn't clear it when we
want to flush write buffer of this side in pty_flush_buffer. So I think
it is better to disable ldisc flush in pty_flush_buffer, because its new
hehavior bring no benefit except that it mess up the behavior between
POLLIN, and TIOCINQ or FIONREAD.

Also I find no flush_buffer function in others' tty driver has the
same behavior as current pty_flush_buffer.

Fixes: 1d1d14da12e7 ("pty: Fix buffer flush deadlock")
Signed-off-by: Wang YanQing <udknight@...il.com>
Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@...uxfoundation.org>

---
 drivers/tty/pty.c |    7 +------
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 6 deletions(-)

--- a/drivers/tty/pty.c
+++ b/drivers/tty/pty.c
@@ -216,16 +216,11 @@ static int pty_signal(struct tty_struct
 static void pty_flush_buffer(struct tty_struct *tty)
 {
 	struct tty_struct *to = tty->link;
-	struct tty_ldisc *ld;

 	if (!to)
 		return;

-	ld = tty_ldisc_ref(to);
-	tty_buffer_flush(to, ld);
-	if (ld)
-		tty_ldisc_deref(ld);
-
+	tty_buffer_flush(to, NULL);
 	if (to->packet) {
 		spin_lock_irq(&tty->ctrl_lock);
 		tty->ctrl_status |= TIOCPKT_FLUSHWRITE;