From: Aditya Sharma <adi.sharma@zohomail.in>
To: linux-mm@kvack.org
Cc: akpm@linux-foundation.org, david@kernel.org, ljs@kernel.org,
Liam.Howlett@oracle.com, vbabka@kernel.org, rppt@kernel.org,
surenb@google.com, mhocko@suse.com, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org,
Aditya Sharma <adi.sharma@zohomail.in>
Subject: [PATCH] mm: update stale locking comment in do_anonymous_page()
Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2026 19:59:36 +0530 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260331142936.229667-1-adi.sharma@zohomail.in> (raw)
The comment above do_anonymous_page() dates back to 2005 and describes
the pre-per-VMA-lock world where mmap_lock was always held on entry.
Since CONFIG_PER_VMA_LOCK was introduced (6.4), the fault handler now
has a fast path that enters holding only a per-VMA read lock, with
mmap_lock not held at all.
Update the comment to describe both entry contexts accurately.
Signed-off-by: Aditya Sharma <adi.sharma@zohomail.in>
---
mm/memory.c | 22 +++++++++++++++++++---
1 file changed, 19 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
diff --git a/mm/memory.c b/mm/memory.c
index c65e82c86..cc8dbbaea 100644
--- a/mm/memory.c
+++ b/mm/memory.c
@@ -5210,9 +5210,25 @@ static struct folio *alloc_anon_folio(struct vm_fault *vmf)
}
/*
- * We enter with non-exclusive mmap_lock (to exclude vma changes,
- * but allow concurrent faults), and pte mapped but not yet locked.
- * We return with mmap_lock still held, but pte unmapped and unlocked.
+ * We enter in one of two locking contexts:
+ *
+ * 1) VMA lock path (FAULT_FLAG_VMA_LOCK set):
+ * Entered holding a read lock on the faulting VMA (vma_start_read),
+ * but NOT holding mmap_lock. This is the fast path introduced with
+ * per-VMA locking (CONFIG_PER_VMA_LOCK). If this function cannot
+ * complete the fault (e.g. needs to wait on I/O or encounters a
+ * condition requiring the mm lock), it must return VM_FAULT_RETRY
+ * and the caller will fall back to the mmap_lock path below.
+ *
+ * 2) mmap_lock path (FAULT_FLAG_VMA_LOCK not set):
+ * Entered holding a non-exclusive (read) lock on mmap_lock, which
+ * excludes VMA tree modifications but allows concurrent faults on
+ * other VMAs. No per-VMA lock is held.
+ *
+ * In both cases, on entry the pte is mapped but not yet locked.
+ * On return, the pte is unmapped and unlocked, and whichever of
+ * the above locks was held on entry is still held (mmap_lock is
+ * not dropped, VMA read lock is not dropped, rather, the caller releases it).
*/
static vm_fault_t do_anonymous_page(struct vm_fault *vmf)
{
--
2.34.1
next reply other threads:[~2026-03-31 14:31 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 5+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-03-31 14:29 Aditya Sharma [this message]
2026-04-01 10:52 ` David Hildenbrand (Arm)
2026-04-01 16:42 ` Aditya Sharma
2026-04-01 18:47 ` David Hildenbrand (Arm)
2026-04-05 17:18 ` [PATCH v2] mm/memory: update stale locking comments for fault handlers Aditya Sharma
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