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Michal Koutný 057dac23d3 cgroup: Avoid iteration of dying tasks with zero refcount
The commit 260fbcb92b ("cgroup: Move dying_tasks cleanup from
cgroup_task_release() to cgroup_task_free()") extended the lifetime of
tasks on the dying_tasks list.
The iterators have provision to go through dying_tasks because of
dying threadgroup leaders or explicit CSS_TASK_ITER_WITH_DEAD, however,
it was expected that such tasks can obtain a new reference (that is
possible before cgroup_task_release()/put_task_struct_rcu_user()).
The tasks after cgroup_task_release() and before cgroup_task_free()
are subject to race when they may or may not have ->usage count > 0.

The race window is between css_task_iter_next() invocations
when css_set_lock is released and we may arrive at a new ->task_pos.
The iterator should not attempt to resurrect tasks whose ->usage count
dropped to zero. (When that happens, __put_task_struct_rcu_cb() is
already imminent and the returned task_struct would could be used
after free.)

As for the fix, we cannot simply check the signal->live count of a task
on the dying list because that won't distinguish regular zombies waiting
to be reaped from RCU remnant tasks that are going to be free'd.
Therefore add an extra check to rule out ->usage==0 tasks from any
iteration.

The repeat: loop in css_task_iter_advance() doesn't consider ->usage
count, so add a new loop to css_task_iter_next() to skip de-used tasks
on the dying_list.

Rough illustration of the possible race

  R (reader of cgroup.procs)         T (thread)                       L (group leader)
  ---------------------------------  -------------------------------- --------------------------------
                                                                      L exits, signal->live > 0
                                                                      cgroup_task_dead(L)
                                                                        css_set_skip_task_iters() // skips only cset->tasks
                                                                        list_add_tail(&L->cg_list, &cset->dying_tasks)
  css_task_iter_next()
    take css_set_lock
    css_task_iter_advance()
      leader && signal->live != 0
      => it->task_pos = &L->cg_list
    release css_set_lock
                                     T exits
                                     --signal->live == 0
				     cgroup_task_dead(T) // css_set_lock
                                     release_task(T)
                                       cgroup_task_release(T)
                                       release_task(L) // zap_leader
                                         cgroup_task_release(L)
                                         put_task_struct_rcu_user(L)
                                         ...RCU...
                                         put_task_struct(L)
                                           L->usage = 0
                                           /* L still on dying_tasks */
                                           ...RCU...
                                           __put_task_struct(L)
  css_task_iter_next() // another iteration
    take css_set_lock
    it->task_pos = &L->cg_list
    get_task_struct(L)
      => addition on 0
    drop css_set_lock
                                           cgroup_task_free(L)
                                             css_set_skip_task_iters() // dying skip comes too late
                                           free_task(L)
  cgroup_procs_show()
    task_pid_vnr(L)

Fixes: 260fbcb92b ("cgroup: Move dying_tasks cleanup from cgroup_task_release() to cgroup_task_free()")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org # v6.19+
Link: https://lists.debian.org/debian-kernel/2026/08/msg00220.html
Reported-by: Noah Elias Feldt <N.Feldt@mittwald.de>
Reported-by: Salvatore Bonaccorso <carnil@debian.org>
Tested-by: Salvatore Bonaccorso <carnil@debian.org>
Signed-off-by: Michal Koutný <mkoutny@suse.com>
Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>
History 2026-09-14 12:43:50 -10:00
arch - Prevent NULL dereference on theoretical missing IO bitmap 2026-06-23 17:16:31 -07:00
block - small cleanups in dm-vdo, dm-raid, dm-cache, dm-zoned-metadata 2026-06-16 13:20:54 +05:30
certs treewide: fix indentation and whitespace in Kconfig files 2026-05-28 21:24:42 -07:00
crypto mm.git review status for mm-hotfixes-stable..mm-nonmm-stable 2026-06-21 13:20:19 -07:00
Documentation docs: cgroup-v2: fix misc.events key format description 2026-08-24 06:55:59 -10:00
drivers Miscellaneous irqchip driver fixes: 2026-06-23 16:02:03 -07:00
fs Changes for 7.2-rc1 2026-06-24 10:05:53 -07:00
include cgroup: fix spurious SIGKILL of CLONE_INTO_CGROUP children 2026-08-31 06:19:38 -10:00
init mm.git review status for mm-hotfixes-stable..mm-nonmm-stable 2026-06-21 13:20:19 -07:00
io_uring for-7.2/io_uring-epoll-20260616 2026-06-18 08:09:57 -07:00
ipc kernel-7.2-rc1.misc 2026-06-15 03:05:50 +05:30
kernel cgroup: Avoid iteration of dying tasks with zero refcount 2026-09-14 12:43:50 -10:00
lib Misc fixes: 2026-06-23 16:05:54 -07:00
LICENSES LICENSES: Add modern form of the LGPL-2.1 tags to the usage guide section 2025-10-22 07:58:19 +02:00
mm mm.git review status for linus..mm-stable 2026-06-23 12:03:44 -07:00
net NFS Client Updates for Linux 7.2 2026-06-23 18:36:41 -07:00
rust Char/Misc/IIO/FPGA/GPIB/etc driver updates for 7.2-rc1 2026-06-22 12:20:21 -07:00
samples Char/Misc/IIO/FPGA/GPIB/etc driver updates for 7.2-rc1 2026-06-22 12:20:21 -07:00
scripts platform-drivers-x86 for v7.2-1 2026-06-23 08:31:33 -07:00
security Landlock update for v7.2-rc1 2026-06-19 12:20:25 -07:00
sound dmaengine updates for v7.2 2026-06-23 15:51:14 -07:00
tools selftests/cgroup: test clone3() into a previously killed cgroup 2026-08-31 06:19:53 -10:00
usr kbuild: uapi: also test UAPI headers against C++ compilers 2026-03-25 13:24:42 +01:00
virt Arm: 2026-06-19 08:56:49 -07:00
.clang-format clang-format: fix formatting of guard() and scoped_guard() statements 2026-05-28 21:24:41 -07:00
.clippy.toml rust: bump Clippy's MSRV and clean incompatible_msrv allows 2026-04-07 09:51:39 +02:00
.cocciconfig scripts: add Linux .cocciconfig for coccinelle 2016-07-22 12:13:39 +02:00
.editorconfig editorconfig: add rst extension 2026-01-26 19:07:09 -08:00
.get_maintainer.ignore .get_maintainer.ignore: add myself 2026-04-02 16:48:25 +02:00
.gitattributes .gitattributes: set diff driver for Rust source code files 2023-05-31 17:48:25 +02:00
.gitignore SPDX patches for 7.2-rc1 2026-06-22 12:06:22 -07:00
.mailmap mm.git review status for mm-hotfixes-stable..mm-nonmm-stable 2026-06-21 13:20:19 -07:00
.pylintrc docs: Move the python libraries to tools/lib/python 2025-11-18 09:22:40 -07:00
.rustfmt.toml rust: add .rustfmt.toml 2022-09-28 09:02:20 +02:00
COPYING COPYING: state that all contributions really are covered by this file 2020-02-10 13:32:20 -08:00
CREDITS mm.git review status for mm-hotfixes-stable..mm-nonmm-stable 2026-06-21 13:20:19 -07:00
Kbuild checksyscalls: move instance functionality into generic code 2026-04-05 09:21:32 +02:00
Kconfig io_uring: Rename KConfig to Kconfig 2025-02-19 14:53:27 -07:00
MAINTAINERS dmaengine updates for v7.2 2026-06-23 15:51:14 -07:00
Makefile SPDX patches for 7.2-rc1 2026-06-22 12:06:22 -07:00
README docs: add AI Coding Assistants documentation 2026-01-06 14:55:06 -07:00

Linux kernel
============

The Linux kernel is the core of any Linux operating system. It manages hardware,
system resources, and provides the fundamental services for all other software.

Quick Start
-----------

* Report a bug: See Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst
* Get the latest kernel: https://kernel.org
* Build the kernel: See Documentation/admin-guide/quickly-build-trimmed-linux.rst
* Join the community: https://lore.kernel.org/

Essential Documentation
-----------------------

All users should be familiar with:

* Building requirements: Documentation/process/changes.rst
* Code of Conduct: Documentation/process/code-of-conduct.rst
* License: See COPYING

Documentation can be built with make htmldocs or viewed online at:
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/


Who Are You?
============

Find your role below:

* New Kernel Developer - Getting started with kernel development
* Academic Researcher - Studying kernel internals and architecture
* Security Expert - Hardening and vulnerability analysis
* Backport/Maintenance Engineer - Maintaining stable kernels
* System Administrator - Configuring and troubleshooting
* Maintainer - Leading subsystems and reviewing patches
* Hardware Vendor - Writing drivers for new hardware
* Distribution Maintainer - Packaging kernels for distros
* AI Coding Assistant - LLMs and AI-powered development tools


For Specific Users
==================

New Kernel Developer
--------------------

Welcome! Start your kernel development journey here:

* Getting Started: Documentation/process/development-process.rst
* Your First Patch: Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
* Coding Style: Documentation/process/coding-style.rst
* Build System: Documentation/kbuild/index.rst
* Development Tools: Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst
* Kernel Hacking Guide: Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst
* Core APIs: Documentation/core-api/index.rst

Academic Researcher
-------------------

Explore the kernel's architecture and internals:

* Researcher Guidelines: Documentation/process/researcher-guidelines.rst
* Memory Management: Documentation/mm/index.rst
* Scheduler: Documentation/scheduler/index.rst
* Networking Stack: Documentation/networking/index.rst
* Filesystems: Documentation/filesystems/index.rst
* RCU (Read-Copy Update): Documentation/RCU/index.rst
* Locking Primitives: Documentation/locking/index.rst
* Power Management: Documentation/power/index.rst

Security Expert
---------------

Security documentation and hardening guides:

* Security Documentation: Documentation/security/index.rst
* LSM Development: Documentation/security/lsm-development.rst
* Self Protection: Documentation/security/self-protection.rst
* Reporting Vulnerabilities: Documentation/process/security-bugs.rst
* CVE Procedures: Documentation/process/cve.rst
* Embargoed Hardware Issues: Documentation/process/embargoed-hardware-issues.rst
* Security Features: Documentation/userspace-api/seccomp_filter.rst

Backport/Maintenance Engineer
-----------------------------

Maintain and stabilize kernel versions:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* Backporting Guide: Documentation/process/backporting.rst
* Applying Patches: Documentation/process/applying-patches.rst
* Subsystem Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git for Maintainers: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

System Administrator
--------------------

Configure, tune, and troubleshoot Linux systems:

* Admin Guide: Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Sysctl Tuning: Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/index.rst
* Tracing/Debugging: Documentation/trace/index.rst
* Performance Security: Documentation/admin-guide/perf-security.rst
* Hardware Monitoring: Documentation/hwmon/index.rst

Maintainer
----------

Lead kernel subsystems and manage contributions:

* Maintainer Handbook: Documentation/maintainer/index.rst
* Pull Requests: Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst
* Managing Patches: Documentation/maintainer/modifying-patches.rst
* Rebasing and Merging: Documentation/maintainer/rebasing-and-merging.rst
* Development Process: Documentation/process/maintainer-handbooks.rst
* Maintainer Entry Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git Configuration: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

Hardware Vendor
---------------

Write drivers and support new hardware:

* Driver API Guide: Documentation/driver-api/index.rst
* Driver Model: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/driver.rst
* Device Drivers: Documentation/driver-api/infrastructure.rst
* Bus Types: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/bus.rst
* Device Tree Bindings: Documentation/devicetree/bindings/
* Power Management: Documentation/driver-api/pm/index.rst
* DMA API: Documentation/core-api/dma-api.rst

Distribution Maintainer
-----------------------

Package and distribute the kernel:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* ABI Documentation: Documentation/ABI/README
* Kernel Configuration: Documentation/kbuild/kconfig.rst
* Module Signing: Documentation/admin-guide/module-signing.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Tainted Kernels: Documentation/admin-guide/tainted-kernels.rst

AI Coding Assistant
-------------------

CRITICAL: If you are an LLM or AI-powered coding assistant, you MUST read and
follow the AI coding assistants documentation before contributing to the Linux
kernel:

* Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst

This documentation contains essential requirements about licensing, attribution,
and the Developer Certificate of Origin that all AI tools must comply with.


Communication and Support
=========================

* Mailing Lists: https://lore.kernel.org/
* IRC: #kernelnewbies on irc.oftc.net
* Bugzilla: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/
* MAINTAINERS file: Lists subsystem maintainers and mailing lists
* Email Clients: Documentation/process/email-clients.rst