Re: [PATCH v2 4/9] fs/procfs: use per-VMA RCU-protected locking in PROCMAP_QUERY API

["Liam R. Howlett" <Liam.Howlett@oracle.com>]

* Andrii Nakryiko <andrii.nakryiko@gmail.com> [240528 16:37]:
> On Fri, May 24, 2024 at 12:48 PM Liam R. Howlett
> <Liam.Howlett@oracle.com> wrote:
> >
> > * Andrii Nakryiko <andrii@kernel.org> [240524 00:10]:
> > > Attempt to use RCU-protected per-VAM lock when looking up requested VMA
> > > as much as possible, only falling back to mmap_lock if per-VMA lock
> > > failed. This is done so that querying of VMAs doesn't interfere with
> > > other critical tasks, like page fault handling.
> > >
> > > This has been suggested by mm folks, and we make use of a newly added
> > > internal API that works like find_vma(), but tries to use per-VMA lock.
> >
> > Thanks for doing this.
> >
> > >
> > > Signed-off-by: Andrii Nakryiko <andrii@kernel.org>
> > > ---
> > >  fs/proc/task_mmu.c | 42 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------
> > >  1 file changed, 34 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
> > >
> > > diff --git a/fs/proc/task_mmu.c b/fs/proc/task_mmu.c
> > > index 8ad547efd38d..2b14d06d1def 100644
> > > --- a/fs/proc/task_mmu.c
> > > +++ b/fs/proc/task_mmu.c
> > > @@ -389,12 +389,30 @@ static int pid_maps_open(struct inode *inode, struct file *file)
> > >  )
> > >
> > >  static struct vm_area_struct *query_matching_vma(struct mm_struct *mm,
> > > -                                              unsigned long addr, u32 flags)
> > > +                                              unsigned long addr, u32 flags,
> > > +                                              bool *mm_locked)
> > >  {
> > >       struct vm_area_struct *vma;
> > > +     bool mmap_locked;
> > > +
> > > +     *mm_locked = mmap_locked = false;
> > >
> > >  next_vma:
> > > -     vma = find_vma(mm, addr);
> > > +     if (!mmap_locked) {
> > > +             /* if we haven't yet acquired mmap_lock, try to use less disruptive per-VMA */
> > > +             vma = find_and_lock_vma_rcu(mm, addr);
> > > +             if (IS_ERR(vma)) {
> >
> > There is a chance that find_and_lock_vma_rcu() will return NULL when
> > there should never be a NULL.
> >
> > If you follow the MAP_FIXED call to mmap(), you'll land in map_region()
> > which does two operations: munmap(), then the mmap().  Since this was
> > behind a lock, it was fine.  Now that we're transitioning to rcu
> > readers, it's less ideal.  We have a race where we will see that gap.
> > In this implementation we may return NULL if the MAP_FIXED is at the end
> > of the address space.
> >
> > It might also cause issues if we are searching for a specific address
> > and we will skip a VMA that is currently being inserted by MAP_FIXED.
> >
> > The page fault handler doesn't have this issue as it looks for a
> > specific address then falls back to the lock if one is not found.
> >
> > This problem needs to be fixed prior to shifting the existing proc maps
> > file to using rcu read locks as well.  We have a solution that isn't
> > upstream or on the ML, but is being tested and will go upstream.
> 
> Ok, any ETA for that? Can it be retrofitted into
> find_and_lock_vma_rcu() once the fix lands? It's not ideal, but I
> think it's acceptable (for now) for this new API to have this race,
> given it seems quite unlikely to be hit in practice.
> 
> Worst case, we can leave the per-VMA RCU-protected bits out until we
> have this solution in place, and then add it back when ready.

I've sent the patches to Suren for testing on the /proc/<pid>/maps he is
doing as he could recreate this issue, but I think he is busy with other
things.  They are isolated to the mm changes so I can send you the same
patches to include in this patch set.  This does increase the risk of
issues with the patch set, so you can have a look and decide how you
want to proceed.

> 
> >
> > > +                     /* failed to take per-VMA lock, fallback to mmap_lock */
> > > +                     if (mmap_read_lock_killable(mm))
> > > +                             return ERR_PTR(-EINTR);
> > > +
> > > +                     *mm_locked = mmap_locked = true;
> > > +                     vma = find_vma(mm, addr);
> >
> > If you lock the vma here then drop the mmap lock, then you should be
> > able to simplify the code by avoiding the passing of the mmap_locked
> > variable around.
> >
> > It also means we don't need to do an unlokc_vma() call, which indicates
> > we are going to end the vma read but actually may be unlocking the mm.
> >
> > This is exactly why I think we need a common pattern and infrastructure
> > to do this sort of walking.
> >
> > Please have a look at userfaultfd patches here [1].  Note that
> > vma_start_read() cannot be used in the mmap_read_lock() critical
> > section.
> 
> Ok, so you'd like me to do something like below, right?
> 
> vma = find_vma(mm, addr);
> if (vma)
>     down_read(&vma->vm_lock->lock)
> mmap_read_unlock(mm);
> 
> ... and for the rest of logic always assume having per-VMA lock. ...
> 
> 
> The problem here is that I think we can't assume per-VMA lock, because
> it's gated by CONFIG_PER_VMA_LOCK, so I think we'll have to deal with
> this mmap_locked flag either way. Or am I missing anything?

The per-vma lock being used depends on the CONFIG_PER_VMA_LOCK, so that
flag tells us which lock has been taken.

> 
> I don't think the flag makes things that much worse, tbh, but I'm
> happy to accommodate any better solution that would work regardless of
> CONFIG_PER_VMA_LOCK.
> 
> >
> > > +             }
> > > +     } else {
> > > +             /* if we have mmap_lock, get through the search as fast as possible */
> > > +             vma = find_vma(mm, addr);
> >
> > I think the only way we get here is if we are contending on the mmap
> > lock.  This is actually where we should try to avoid holding the lock?
> >
> > > +     }
> > >
> > >       /* no VMA found */
> > >       if (!vma)
> > > @@ -428,18 +446,25 @@ static struct vm_area_struct *query_matching_vma(struct mm_struct *mm,
> > >  skip_vma:
> > >       /*
> > >        * If the user needs closest matching VMA, keep iterating.
> > > +      * But before we proceed we might need to unlock current VMA.
> > >        */
> > >       addr = vma->vm_end;
> > > +     if (!mmap_locked)
> > > +             vma_end_read(vma);
> > >       if (flags & PROCMAP_QUERY_COVERING_OR_NEXT_VMA)
> > >               goto next_vma;
> > >  no_vma:
> > > -     mmap_read_unlock(mm);
> > > +     if (mmap_locked)
> > > +             mmap_read_unlock(mm);
> > >       return ERR_PTR(-ENOENT);
> > >  }
> > >
> > > -static void unlock_vma(struct vm_area_struct *vma)
> > > +static void unlock_vma(struct vm_area_struct *vma, bool mm_locked)
> >
> > Confusing function name, since it may not be doing anything with the
> > vma lock.
> 
> Would "unlock_vma_or_mm()" be ok?

The way that seemed most clear in the userfaultfd code
(/mm/userfaultfd.c), seemed to focus on what we were undoing instead of
the lock we were unlocking.  Instead of saying "unlock one or the other"
we have "uffd_mfill_unlock()", and have two versions of that function
that take the same argument.  This way we can have the same blocks of
code calling the same thing, with a different lock/unlock happening
based on the CONFIG_PER_VMA_LOCK compile time option.  If that makes
sense to you, then I'd prefer it over the other options - none are
ideal.

Note that people didn't like the "unlock_" name, even on static
functions as it implies it can be used everywhere and may conflict with
a global function in the future [1].

[1] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-mm/20240426144506.1290619-4-willy@infradead.org/

Thanks,
Liam