netdev - RE: [PATCH] kernel/module: add documentation for try_module

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Date:   Sat, 24 Jul 2021 12:15:10 +0000
From:   David Laight <David.Laight@...LAB.COM>
To:     'Luis Chamberlain' <mcgrof@...nel.org>,
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Subject: RE: [PATCH] kernel/module: add documentation for try_module_get()

From: Luis Chamberlain
> Sent: 22 July 2021 23:19
> 
> There is quite a bit of tribal knowledge around proper use of
> try_module_get() and that it must be used only in a context which
> can ensure the module won't be gone during the operation. Document
> this little bit of tribal knowledge.
> 
...

Some typos.

> +/**
> + * try_module_get - yields to module removal and bumps reference count otherwise
> + * @module: the module we should check for
> + *
> + * This can be used to check if userspace has requested to remove a module,
                                                           a module be removed
> + * and if so let the caller give up. Otherwise it takes a reference count to
> + * ensure a request from userspace to remove the module cannot happen.
> + *
> + * Care must be taken to ensure the module cannot be removed during
> + * try_module_get(). This can be done by having another entity other than the
> + * module itself increment the module reference count, or through some other
> + * means which gaurantees the module could not be removed during an operation.
                  guarantees
> + * An example of this later case is using this call in a sysfs file which the
> + * module created. The sysfs store / read file operation is ensured to exist
                                                            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Not sure what that is supposed to mean.
> + * and still be present by kernfs's active reference. If a sysfs file operation
> + * is being run, the module which created it must still exist as the module is
> + * in charge of removal of the sysfs file.
> + *
> + * The real value to try_module_get() is the module_is_live() check which
> + * ensures this the caller of try_module_get() can yields to userspace module
> + * removal requests and fail whatever it was about to process.
> + */

But is the comment even right?
I think you need to consider when try_module_get() can actually fail.
I believe the following is right.
The caller has to have valid module reference and module unload
must actually be in progress - ie the ref count is zero and
there are no active IO operations.

The module's unload function must (eventually) invalidate the
caller's module reference to stop try_module_get() being called
with a (very) stale pointer.

So there is a potentially horrid race:
The module unload is going to do:
	driver_data->module_ref = 0;
and elsewhere there'll be:
	ref = driver_data->module_ref;
	if (!ref || !try_module_get(ref))
		return -error;

You have to have try_module_get() to allow the module unload
function to sleep.
But the above code still needs a driver lock to ensure the
unload code doesn't race with the try_module_get() and the
'ref' be invalidated before try_module_get() looks at it.
(eg if an interrupt defers processing.)

So there can be no 'yielding'.

I'm pretty much certain try_module_get(THIS_MODULE) is pretty
much never going to fail.
(It is mostly needed to give a worker thread a reference.)

	David

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