linux-kernel - [PATCH v2 11/11] refperf: Set reader

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Message-Id: <20250918102952.2593045-11-paulmck@kernel.org>
Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2025 03:29:52 -0700
From: "Paul E. McKenney" <paulmck@...nel.org>
To: rcu@...r.kernel.org
Cc: linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
	kernel-team@...a.com,
	rostedt@...dmis.org,
	Kaushlendra Kumar <kaushlendra.kumar@...el.com>,
	"Paul E . McKenney" <paulmck@...nel.org>
Subject: [PATCH v2 11/11] refperf: Set reader_tasks to NULL after kfree()

From: Kaushlendra Kumar <kaushlendra.kumar@...el.com>

Set reader_tasks to NULL after kfree() in ref_scale_cleanup() to
improve debugging experience with kernel debugging tools. This
follows the common pattern of NULLing pointers after freeing to
avoid dangling pointer issues during debugging sessions.

Setting pointers to NULL after freeing helps debugging tools like
kdgb,drgn, and other kernel debuggers by providing clear indication
that the memory has been freed and the pointer is no longer valid.

Suggested-by: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@...nel.org>
Signed-off-by: Kaushlendra Kumar <kaushlendra.kumar@...el.com>
Signed-off-by: Paul E. McKenney <paulmck@...nel.org>
---
 kernel/rcu/refscale.c | 1 +
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)

diff --git a/kernel/rcu/refscale.c b/kernel/rcu/refscale.c
index 7f3d23762ef7c7..19841704d8f579 100644
--- a/kernel/rcu/refscale.c
+++ b/kernel/rcu/refscale.c
@@ -1133,6 +1133,7 @@ ref_scale_cleanup(void)
 					     reader_tasks[i].task);
 	}
 	kfree(reader_tasks);
+	reader_tasks = NULL;
 
 	torture_stop_kthread("main_task", main_task);
 
-- 
2.40.1