Re: [PATCH] null_blk: serialize configfs attribute updates with device setup

On Thu, Aug 13, 2026 at 04:14:56PM +0200, Niklas Cassel wrote:
> The attribute store methods generated with NULLB_DEVICE_ATTR() refuse to
> change the configuration of a live device by testing
> NULLB_DEV_FL_CONFIGURED, but that flag is only set by
> nullb_device_power_store() after null_add_dev() has returned, and the
> store methods take no lock at all. configfs only serializes writes to
> the same open file (buffer->mutex), so a write to any attribute can run
> concurrently with null_add_dev() and change the device configuration
> while it is being used.
> 
> null_add_dev() reads the configuration several times, e.g. dev->zoned is
> read once to set up the queue limits and once to initialize the zone
> resources:
> 
>   CPU0: echo 1 > nullb0/power         CPU1: echo 1 > nullb0/zoned
>   nullb_device_power_store()
>     mutex_lock(&lock)
>     null_add_dev()
>       if (dev->zoned) -> false
>         /* no BLK_FEAT_ZONED */       nullb_device_zoned_store()
>                                         test_bit(FL_CONFIGURED) -> 0
>                                         dev->zoned = true
>       blk_mq_alloc_disk()
>         /* queue is not zoned */
>       if (nullb->dev->zoned) -> true
>         null_register_zoned_dev()
>           blk_revalidate_disk_zones()
> 
> blk_revalidate_disk_zones() is then called for a queue that does not
> have BLK_FEAT_ZONED set, which triggers its WARN_ON_ONCE() and fails the
> device setup with -EIO:
> 
>   WARNING: CPU: 2 PID: 322 at block/blk-zoned.c:2357 blk_revalidate_disk_zones+0x4c/0x560
> 
> Clearing dev->zoned in the same window is worse: the queue is created
> with BLK_FEAT_ZONED but the zone resources are never initialized, so
> add_disk() succeeds for a zoned disk that has no zones. And a store that
> lands after the last dev->zoned test leaves dev->zoned set while
> dev->zones is still NULL, which null_process_zoned_cmd() dereferences on
> the first write.
> 
> Fix this by taking the global lock, which nullb_device_power_store()
> already holds across null_add_dev() and null_del_dev(), around both the
> NULLB_DEV_FL_CONFIGURED test and the update of the device configuration.
> The submit_queues and poll_queues apply callbacks are now called with
> that lock held, so remove the locking they did themselves.
> 
> Since the store methods can run as soon as configfs_register_subsystem()
> returns, that is, before null_init() gets to mutex_init(&lock), also
> initialize the lock statically with DEFINE_MUTEX().
> 
> Fixes: 3bf2bd20734e ("nullb: add configfs interface")
> Reported-by: [email protected]
> Closes: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-block/[email protected]/
> Signed-off-by: Niklas Cassel <[email protected]>

Patch was verified using reproducer:

$ while :; do echo 1 > /sys/kernel/config/nullb/nullb0/power; echo 0 > /sys/kernel/config/nullb/nullb0/power; done &
$ while :; do echo 1 > /sys/kernel/config/nullb/nullb0/zoned; echo 0 > /sys/kernel/config/nullb/nullb0/zoned; done &


With the fix patch in $subject:
No WARNING after 1 minute of running.

Without the fix patch in $subject:
[ 1120.067545] WARNING: block/blk-zoned.c:2357 at blk_revalidate_disk_zones+0x274/0x2b0 
within 1 second of running.


Kind regards,
Niklas