Re: [PATCH v2 1/2] kthread: remove kthread_exit()

On Tue, 10 Mar 2026 15:56:09 +0100
Christian Brauner <[email protected]> wrote:

> In 28aaa9c39945 ("kthread: consolidate kthread exit paths to prevent use-after-free")
> we folded kthread_exit() into do_exit() when we fixed a nasty UAF bug.
> We left kthread_exit() around as an alias to do_exit(). Remove it
> completely.
...
> -#define module_put_and_kthread_exit(code) kthread_exit(code)
> +#define module_put_and_kthread_exit(code) do_exit(code)

I'm intrigued...
How does that actually know to do the module_put()?
(I know it does one - otherwise my driver wouldn't unload.)

The corresponding try_module_get(THIS_MODULE) is done before the
kthread_run() (and has to be 'put' if that fails).
So there is an explicit 'get' but an implicit 'put'.

While a loadable module that creates a kthread usually needs to give
the kthread a reference to its module and then have that reference
released as the kthread exits, I can imagine cases where that isn't true.
(Or broken code that just hopes the module won't be unloaded just
as the kthread exits.)

It actually makes me think that module_put_and_exit() ought to have
a 'module' parameter.
Or, perhaps, kthread_create() should have the module parameter and
hold a reference to that module until it exits.

	David