Re: [proc/sysctl] 1dd38979b2: BUG:kernel_NULL_pointer_dereference,address

From: Andrew Morton
Date: Mon Apr 25 2022 - 19:34:40 EST


On Mon, 25 Apr 2022 16:08:57 -0700 Luis Chamberlain <mcgrof@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> On Mon, Apr 25, 2022 at 02:46:07PM -0700, Andrew Morton wrote:
> > On Mon, 25 Apr 2022 12:00:21 -0700 Luis Chamberlain <mcgrof@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > > Andrew, can we drop this patch for now?
> >
> > I've been sitting on (ie, forgotten about) this patch
> > (https://lore.kernel.org/all/20200709235115.56954-1-jpitti@xxxxxxxxx/T/#u)
>
> Jesh, yeah I see.
>
> > for two years. Evidently waiting for you/Kees/Ingo to provide
> > guidance. So sure, the need seems very unurgent so I can drop it.
>
> Well Keew as OK with it, but I yeah I can't decipher the issue at this
> point in time.
>
> > However I fail to see how that patch could have caused this crash. I'm
> > suspecting a bisection error?
> >
> > Maybe something is unwell in drivers/vdpa/vdpa_user/vduse_dev.c.
>
> At a quick glance, yes it could very well by vduse_init() is messy and
> races somehow with init, but if a race does lurk here my instincts tell
> me this can't be the only place.
>
> Not sure if leaving a patch in place more time to see how else things
> can explode is worth it.

Confused. Are you thinking that the above-linked patch was somehow
involved in this crash? If so, but how? All it does it to permit
unprivileged reads to four ints via proc_dointvec_minmax()?