* [PATCH v2 0/2] nvmet: fix subtle race in I/O processing and ns configuration
@ 2026-09-18 16:27 Nilay Shroff
2026-09-18 16:27 ` [PATCH v2 1/2] nvmet: defer setting ns->enabled to false in nvmet_ns_disable() Nilay Shroff
2026-09-18 16:27 ` [PATCH v2 2/2] nvmet: don't allow I/O admission after percpu ns reference is killed Nilay Shroff
0 siblings, 2 replies; 3+ messages in thread
From: Nilay Shroff @ 2026-09-18 16:27 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: hch, kbusch, sagi, kch; +Cc: linux-nvme, linux-kernel, gjoyce, Nilay Shroff
Hi,
This series addresses two race conditions in the nvmet core code that
handles I/O submission and namespace configuration.
The first patch addresses a race where target namespace attributes
could be changed while I/O is in progress. The second patch addresses
a subtle race that could allow I/O to be admitted even after the
percpu reference count has been killed or marked dead.
As usual, feedback, comments, and suggestions are most welcome!
Thanks!
Changes from v1:
- Replace the XArray mark used to determine whether I/O should be
admitted with an atomic bit. Using an XArray mark would touch
significantly more cache lines in the I/O hot path than a simple
bit test (hch)
- Introduce the NVMET_NS_IO_LIVE namespace flag to address the cache
line overhead of using an XArray mark.
Nilay Shroff (2):
nvmet: defer setting ns->enabled to false in nvmet_ns_disable()
nvmet: don't allow I/O admission after percpu ns reference is killed
drivers/nvme/target/core.c | 28 ++++++++++++++++++----------
drivers/nvme/target/nvmet.h | 2 ++
2 files changed, 20 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)
--
2.53.0
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 3+ messages in thread
* [PATCH v2 1/2] nvmet: defer setting ns->enabled to false in nvmet_ns_disable()
2026-09-18 16:27 [PATCH v2 0/2] nvmet: fix subtle race in I/O processing and ns configuration Nilay Shroff
@ 2026-09-18 16:27 ` Nilay Shroff
2026-09-18 16:27 ` [PATCH v2 2/2] nvmet: don't allow I/O admission after percpu ns reference is killed Nilay Shroff
1 sibling, 0 replies; 3+ messages in thread
From: Nilay Shroff @ 2026-09-18 16:27 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: hch, kbusch, sagi, kch; +Cc: linux-nvme, linux-kernel, gjoyce, Nilay Shroff
nvmet_ns_disable() currently clears ns->enabled before draining
in-flight I/O references. This allows namespace configuration to be
changed while existing I/O requests can still hold a reference to the
namespace.
This can race with configuration of namespace attributes such as the
device path, UUID, NGUID etc. These attributes can be accessed by I/O
requests without holding subsys->lock and must not be modified while
such requests are still using the namespace.
In nvmet_ns_disable(), keep ns->enabled set while existing namespace
references are being drained, so namespace configuration remains blocked
until all in-flight I/O has completed. Set ns->enabled to false only
after the namespace references have been drained and the namespace
device has been disabled.
Introduce the NVMET_NS_IO_LIVE flag, which is set after the namespace
is successfully enabled in nvmet_ns_enable(). When nvmet_ns_disable()
starts, clear NVMET_NS_IO_LIVE so that the I/O path stops admitting new
I/O once the flag is cleared. Using test_and_clear_bit() in
nvmet_ns_disable() also prevents concurrent callers from starting a
second disable operation.
Signed-off-by: Nilay Shroff <nilay@linux.ibm.com>
---
drivers/nvme/target/core.c | 12 +++++++-----
drivers/nvme/target/nvmet.h | 2 ++
2 files changed, 9 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)
diff --git a/drivers/nvme/target/core.c b/drivers/nvme/target/core.c
index 43871a8f56ca..1d4b4936bcac 100644
--- a/drivers/nvme/target/core.c
+++ b/drivers/nvme/target/core.c
@@ -448,7 +448,8 @@ u16 nvmet_req_find_ns(struct nvmet_req *req)
struct nvmet_subsys *subsys = nvmet_req_subsys(req);
req->ns = xa_load(&subsys->namespaces, nsid);
- if (unlikely(!req->ns || !req->ns->enabled)) {
+ if (unlikely(!req->ns) ||
+ !test_bit(NVMET_NS_IO_LIVE, &req->ns->flags)) {
req->error_loc = offsetof(struct nvme_common_command, nsid);
if (!req->ns) /* ns doesn't exist! */
return NVME_SC_INVALID_NS | NVME_STATUS_DNR;
@@ -623,6 +624,7 @@ int nvmet_ns_enable(struct nvmet_ns *ns)
ns->enabled = true;
xa_set_mark(&subsys->namespaces, ns->nsid, NVMET_NS_ENABLED);
nvmet_debugfs_ns_setup(ns);
+ set_bit(NVMET_NS_IO_LIVE, &ns->flags);
ret = 0;
out_unlock:
mutex_unlock(&subsys->lock);
@@ -643,11 +645,11 @@ void nvmet_ns_disable(struct nvmet_ns *ns)
struct nvmet_subsys *subsys = ns->subsys;
struct nvmet_ctrl *ctrl;
+ if (!test_and_clear_bit(NVMET_NS_IO_LIVE, &ns->flags))
+ return;
+
mutex_lock(&subsys->lock);
- if (!ns->enabled)
- goto out_unlock;
- ns->enabled = false;
xa_clear_mark(&subsys->namespaces, ns->nsid, NVMET_NS_ENABLED);
nvmet_debugfs_ns_free(ns);
@@ -675,7 +677,7 @@ void nvmet_ns_disable(struct nvmet_ns *ns)
mutex_lock(&subsys->lock);
nvmet_ns_changed(subsys, ns->nsid);
nvmet_ns_dev_disable(ns);
-out_unlock:
+ ns->enabled = false;
mutex_unlock(&subsys->lock);
}
diff --git a/drivers/nvme/target/nvmet.h b/drivers/nvme/target/nvmet.h
index dbda55895f4f..162e2fdd848e 100644
--- a/drivers/nvme/target/nvmet.h
+++ b/drivers/nvme/target/nvmet.h
@@ -112,6 +112,8 @@ struct nvmet_ns {
bool buffered_io;
bool enabled;
+#define NVMET_NS_IO_LIVE 0
+ unsigned long flags;
struct nvmet_subsys *subsys;
const char *device_path;
--
2.53.0
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 3+ messages in thread
* [PATCH v2 2/2] nvmet: don't allow I/O admission after percpu ns reference is killed
2026-09-18 16:27 [PATCH v2 0/2] nvmet: fix subtle race in I/O processing and ns configuration Nilay Shroff
2026-09-18 16:27 ` [PATCH v2 1/2] nvmet: defer setting ns->enabled to false in nvmet_ns_disable() Nilay Shroff
@ 2026-09-18 16:27 ` Nilay Shroff
1 sibling, 0 replies; 3+ messages in thread
From: Nilay Shroff @ 2026-09-18 16:27 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: hch, kbusch, sagi, kch; +Cc: linux-nvme, linux-kernel, gjoyce, Nilay Shroff
nvmet_req_find_ns() uses percpu_ref_get() to obtain a reference to
the namespace. However, percpu_ref_get() can acquire a reference even
after the namespace reference has been killed (or marked DEAD).
This is undesirable during namespace disable because nvmet_ns_disable()
kills the namespace reference and then waits for all outstanding
references to drain. Acquiring a new reference after the reference is
killed can therefore extend the namespace drain period.
Replace percpu_ref_get() in nvmet_req_find_ns() with
percpu_ref_tryget_live_rcu(), which only acquires a reference while
the namespace reference is still live. This handles the race where
nvmet_req_find_ns() finds ns is admitting I/O (or it's live) but before
it acquires the reference to ns, its reference is killed in
nvmet_ns_disable(). For instance check this race:
CPU0 CPU1
nvmet_req_find_ns(): nvmet_ns_disable():
xa_load() -> ns
IO_LIVE == set
xa_clear_mark()
percpu_ref_kill() // DEAD
percpu_ref_get() synchronize_rcu()
| wait_for_completion()
+-- succeed
Replacing percpu_ref_get() with percpu_ref_tryget_live_rcu() prevents
the I/O request from acquiring a namespace reference once the
reference has been marked DEAD.
Perform the namespace lookup and reference acquisition in
nvmet_req_find_ns() within an RCU read-side critical section.
nvmet_ns_disable() uses synchronize_rcu() before draining and exiting
the namespace reference, ensuring that RCU readers which may be
acquiring the namespace reference have completed before the reference
is exited.
Signed-off-by: Nilay Shroff <nilay@linux.ibm.com>
---
drivers/nvme/target/core.c | 18 ++++++++++++------
1 file changed, 12 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)
diff --git a/drivers/nvme/target/core.c b/drivers/nvme/target/core.c
index 1d4b4936bcac..01bb42a3e42a 100644
--- a/drivers/nvme/target/core.c
+++ b/drivers/nvme/target/core.c
@@ -446,21 +446,27 @@ u16 nvmet_req_find_ns(struct nvmet_req *req)
{
u32 nsid = le32_to_cpu(req->cmd->common.nsid);
struct nvmet_subsys *subsys = nvmet_req_subsys(req);
+ u16 status = NVME_SC_SUCCESS;
+ rcu_read_lock();
req->ns = xa_load(&subsys->namespaces, nsid);
if (unlikely(!req->ns) ||
- !test_bit(NVMET_NS_IO_LIVE, &req->ns->flags)) {
+ !test_bit(NVMET_NS_IO_LIVE, &req->ns->flags) ||
+ !percpu_ref_tryget_live_rcu(&req->ns->ref)) {
req->error_loc = offsetof(struct nvme_common_command, nsid);
- if (!req->ns) /* ns doesn't exist! */
- return NVME_SC_INVALID_NS | NVME_STATUS_DNR;
+ if (!req->ns) { /* ns doesn't exist! */
+ status = NVME_SC_INVALID_NS | NVME_STATUS_DNR;
+ goto unlock;
+ }
/* ns exists but it's disabled */
req->ns = NULL;
- return NVME_SC_INTERNAL_PATH_ERROR;
+ status = NVME_SC_INTERNAL_PATH_ERROR;
}
+unlock:
+ rcu_read_unlock();
- percpu_ref_get(&req->ns->ref);
- return NVME_SC_SUCCESS;
+ return status;
}
static void nvmet_destroy_namespace(struct percpu_ref *ref)
--
2.53.0
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 3+ messages in thread
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2026-09-18 16:27 [PATCH v2 0/2] nvmet: fix subtle race in I/O processing and ns configuration Nilay Shroff
2026-09-18 16:27 ` [PATCH v2 1/2] nvmet: defer setting ns->enabled to false in nvmet_ns_disable() Nilay Shroff
2026-09-18 16:27 ` [PATCH v2 2/2] nvmet: don't allow I/O admission after percpu ns reference is killed Nilay Shroff
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