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Date: Thu, 3 Sep 2026 10:21:30 -0700
From: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
To: Dave Hansen <dave.hansen@intel.com>
Cc: Kiryl Shutsemau <kas@kernel.org>, Vernon Yang <vernon2gm@gmail.com>,
 rick.p.edgecombe@intel.com, tglx@kernel.org, mingo@redhat.com,
 bp@alien8.de, dave.hansen@linux.intel.com, david@kernel.org, hpa@zytor.com,
 rmclure@linux.ibm.com, andrew+kernel@donnellan.id.au,
 pasha.tatashin@soleen.com, tj@kernel.org, rppt@kernel.org,
 yu-cheng.yu@intel.com, orsonpeters@gmail.com, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org,
 x86@kernel.org, linux-mm@kvack.org, Vernon Yang <yanglincheng@kylinos.cn>,
 stable@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH] x86/mm: Fix pmd_modify() dropping the dirty bit
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On Thu, 3 Sep 2026 07:18:54 -0700 Dave Hansen <dave.hansen@intel.com> wrote:

> On 9/3/26 04:54, Kiryl Shutsemau wrote:
> >> Closes: https://lore.kernel.org/r/CAJxLxMUGu1-L+O_nAONOwOXnS=cNbNApCWqdthRjd76LThtSPg@mail.gmail.com/
> >> Fixes: bb3aadf7d446 ("x86/mm: Start actually marking _PAGE_SAVED_DIRTY")
> > Hm. I don't understand why would this commit explicitly exclude
> > _PAGE_DIRTY from the mask:
> > 
> > -       val &= _HPAGE_CHG_MASK;
> > +       val &= (_HPAGE_CHG_MASK & ~_PAGE_DIRTY);
> > 
> > Rick, could you comment? It doesn't look like a typo.
> 
> My guess is that it's some remnant from an earlier version of the patch.
> The asymmetry with pte_modify() vs. pmd_modify() just can't be explained
> any other way. It _might_ have been some attempt to say, "Hey
> _PAGE_DIRTY is now a part of the pgprot_t since it's part of the
> 'permissions' of a shadow stack PTE" that got abandoned.
> 
> But I don't see anything wrong with the fix at all.
> 
> It does give me pause that this has been losing user data for so long,
> but it must just be a weird combination of features that few folks use
> together (huge pages + MADV_FREE).
> 

And with heavy reclaim pressure.