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Jiawei Sun f94563fac2 perf record: fix poll storm when monitored threads exit
When `perf record` samples a multi-threaded process and one of the
target threads exits during the session, perf itself may start burning
100% CPU (up to 200% across two cores) until the session ends.  A
single dead fd is sufficient to trigger this; it can be reproduced with
15 pthreads in a compute loop where one thread exits halfway through.

The root cause is two independent instances of the same defect: dead
perf_event ring-buffer fds are left in a pollfd array.  When a monitored
thread exits, the kernel closes its ring-buffer fd, which then returns
POLLHUP.  POSIX specifies that poll() always reports POLLHUP and POLLERR
regardless of the events mask, so any dead fd left in the array makes
poll() return immediately every time, spinning in a tight loop:

  3 seconds: 256,600 poll() calls, 0 context switches, only 21 write()
  Woken up count goes from ~0 to 1,300,000+

There are two affected poll paths, fixed together here:

1. Record main loop, via fdarray__filter() (tools/lib/api/fd/array.c).
   Since commit 59b4412f27 ("libperf: Avoid internal moving of
   fdarray fds") it only zeroes events/revents without setting fd to
   -1, so poll() keeps reporting POLLHUP for the entry.  Setting
   fd = -1 makes poll() skip it, matching the pattern already used in
   the control-fd path at tools/perf/builtin-record.c:1673.

2. BPF sideband thread, perf_evlist__poll_thread()
   (tools/perf/util/sideband_evlist.c).  This thread polls for
   PERF_RECORD_BPF_EVENT but, unlike the main record loop, never calls
   fdarray__filter() at all, so dead fds accumulate forever and it
   spins at 100% CPU:

     Before fix: dJiffies=101, wchan=0 (running)
     After fix:  dJiffies=0,   wchan=do_sys_poll (blocking)

   Fixed by calling the existing evlist__filter_pollfd() helper after
   evlist__poll(), mirroring the main record loop.  <poll.h> is
   included for the POLLERR/POLLHUP macros (previously unused there).

The two fixes compose: fix 1 makes poll() ignore dead fds (fd=-1); fix
2 ensures the sideband thread actually performs the filtering.  Both
paths are affected in all kernels from v5.1/v5.9 to the current master
(7.2-rc1); the source of both functions is byte-identical across them.

BPF event recording is preserved: after the fix, perf.data still
contains PERF_RECORD_BPF_EVENT records and bpf_prog_info entries.

Verified on perf 6.1.76, 6.6.143 and 7.2-rc1 with a minimal reproducer
(Woken up 1,300,000 -> 3, CPU 100% -> 0%) and an A/B orthogonal test:
keeping the unpatched binary but preventing the target thread from
exiting also makes the storm disappear, confirming the trigger.

Fixes: 59b4412f27 ("libperf: Avoid internal moving of fdarray fds")
Fixes: 657ee55319 ("perf evlist: Introduce side band thread")
Signed-off-by: Jiawei Sun <abyssmystery@gmail.com>
Reviewed-by: Ian Rogers <irogers@google.com>
Signed-off-by: Namhyung Kim <namhyung@kernel.org>
History 2026-07-07 22:59:07 -07:00
arch LoongArch changes for v7.2 2026-06-26 08:42:49 -07:00
block block: handle REQ_OP_ZONE_APPEND in __bio_integrity_action 2026-06-24 06:53:25 -06:00
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 RTC for 7.2 2026-06-27 11:00:18 -07:00
drivers NTB updates include an EPF bug fix to prevent an invalid unmap during 2026-06-28 07:46:12 -07:00
fs fscrypt fixes for 7.2 2026-06-27 09:20:16 -07:00
include NTB updates include an EPF bug fix to prevent an invalid unmap during 2026-06-28 07:46:12 -07:00
init mm.git review status for mm-hotfixes-stable..mm-nonmm-stable 2026-06-21 13:20:19 -07:00
io_uring io_uring-7.2-20260625 2026-06-25 09:53:31 -07:00
ipc kernel-7.2-rc1.misc 2026-06-15 03:05:50 +05:30
kernel Power management fixes for 7.2-rc1 2026-06-26 13:14:18 -07:00
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 block-7.2-20260625 2026-06-25 09:56:47 -07:00
net bpf-fixes 2026-06-25 14:09:26 -07:00
rust Rust changes for v7.2 (addendum) 2026-06-24 15:11:08 -07:00
samples Char/Misc/IIO/FPGA/GPIB/etc driver updates for 7.2-rc1 2026-06-22 12:20:21 -07:00
scripts Second round of Kbuild changes for 7.2 2026-06-25 09:06:12 -07:00
security * add Georgia Garcia as co-maintainer of apparmor 2026-06-24 12:33:40 -07:00
sound sound fixes for 7.2-rc1 2026-06-27 12:15:23 -07:00
tools perf record: fix poll storm when monitored threads exit 2026-07-07 22:59:07 -07:00
usr kbuild: uapi: also test UAPI headers against C++ compilers 2026-03-25 13:24:42 +01:00
virt s390: 2026-06-25 10:21:13 -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 Including fixes from netfilter and IPsec. 2026-06-25 12:25:36 -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 Including fixes from netfilter and IPsec. 2026-06-25 12:25:36 -07:00
Makefile Linux 7.2-rc1 2026-06-28 12:01:31 -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