printk: nbcon: Clarify rules of the owner/waiter matching

The functions nbcon_owner_matches() and nbcon_waiter_matches()
use a minimal set of data to determine if a context matches.
The existing kerneldoc and comments were not clear enough and
caused the printk folks to re-prove that the functions are
indeed reliable in all cases.

Update and expand the explanations so that it is clear that the
implementations are sufficient for all cases.

Signed-off-by: John Ogness <john.ogness@linutronix.de>
Reviewed-by: Petr Mladek <pmladek@suse.com>
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20240820063001.36405-6-john.ogness@linutronix.de
Signed-off-by: Petr Mladek <pmladek@suse.com>

1 files changed, 46 insertions, 10 deletions

diff --git a/kernel/printk/nbcon.c b/kernel/printk/nbcon.c
index 776746d20fc0..931b8f086902 100644
--- a/kernel/printk/nbcon.c
+++ b/kernel/printk/nbcon.c
@@ -228,6 +228,13 @@ static int nbcon_context_try_acquire_direct(struct nbcon_context *ctxt,
 	struct nbcon_state new;
 
 	do {
+		/*
+		 * Panic does not imply that the console is owned. However, it
+		 * is critical that non-panic CPUs during panic are unable to
+		 * acquire ownership in order to satisfy the assumptions of
+		 * nbcon_waiter_matches(). In particular, the assumption that
+		 * lower priorities are ignored during panic.
+		 */
 		if (other_cpu_in_panic())
 			return -EPERM;
 
@@ -259,18 +266,29 @@ static bool nbcon_waiter_matches(struct nbcon_state *cur, int expected_prio)
 	/*
 	 * The request context is well defined by the @req_prio because:
 	 *
-	 * - Only a context with a higher priority can take over the request.
+	 * - Only a context with a priority higher than the owner can become
+	 *   a waiter.
+	 * - Only a context with a priority higher than the waiter can
+	 *   directly take over the request.
 	 * - There are only three priorities.
 	 * - Only one CPU is allowed to request PANIC priority.
 	 * - Lower priorities are ignored during panic() until reboot.
 	 *
 	 * As a result, the following scenario is *not* possible:
 	 *
-	 * 1. Another context with a higher priority directly takes ownership.
-	 * 2. The higher priority context releases the ownership.
-	 * 3. A lower priority context takes the ownership.
-	 * 4. Another context with the same priority as this context
+	 * 1. This context is currently a waiter.
+	 * 2. Another context with a higher priority than this context
+	 *    directly takes ownership.
+	 * 3. The higher priority context releases the ownership.
+	 * 4. Another lower priority context takes the ownership.
+	 * 5. Another context with the same priority as this context
 	 *    creates a request and starts waiting.
+	 *
+	 * Event #1 implies this context is EMERGENCY.
+	 * Event #2 implies the new context is PANIC.
+	 * Event #3 occurs when panic() has flushed the console.
+	 * Events #4 and #5 are not possible due to the other_cpu_in_panic()
+	 * check in nbcon_context_try_acquire_direct().
 	 */
 
 	return (cur->req_prio == expected_prio);
@@ -578,11 +596,29 @@ static bool nbcon_owner_matches(struct nbcon_state *cur, int expected_cpu,
 				int expected_prio)
 {
 	/*
-	 * Since consoles can only be acquired by higher priorities,
-	 * owning contexts are uniquely identified by @prio. However,
-	 * since contexts can unexpectedly lose ownership, it is
-	 * possible that later another owner appears with the same
-	 * priority. For this reason @cpu is also needed.
+	 * A similar function, nbcon_waiter_matches(), only deals with
+	 * EMERGENCY and PANIC priorities. However, this function must also
+	 * deal with the NORMAL priority, which requires additional checks
+	 * and constraints.
+	 *
+	 * For the case where preemption and interrupts are disabled, it is
+	 * enough to also verify that the owning CPU has not changed.
+	 *
+	 * For the case where preemption or interrupts are enabled, an
+	 * external synchronization method *must* be used. In particular,
+	 * the driver-specific locking mechanism used in device_lock()
+	 * (including disabling migration) should be used. It prevents
+	 * scenarios such as:
+	 *
+	 * 1. [Task A] owns a context with NBCON_PRIO_NORMAL on [CPU X] and
+	 *    is scheduled out.
+	 * 2. Another context takes over the lock with NBCON_PRIO_EMERGENCY
+	 *    and releases it.
+	 * 3. [Task B] acquires a context with NBCON_PRIO_NORMAL on [CPU X]
+	 *    and is scheduled out.
+	 * 4. [Task A] gets running on [CPU X] and sees that the console is
+	 *    still owned by a task on [CPU X] with NBON_PRIO_NORMAL. Thus
+	 *    [Task A] thinks it is the owner when it is not.
 	 */
 
 	if (cur->prio != expected_prio)