[PATCH 2/4] rust: print: document safety of _printk FFI calls
Cian McGuire <[email protected]> Fri, 24 Jul 2026 22:49:38 +0100
| Newsgroups | org.kernel.vger.rust-for-linux,org.kernel.vger.linux-kernel |
|---|---|
| Message-ID | <[email protected]> |
Two calls in this file had their SAFETY comments left as "TODO.": the cast back to `fmt::Arguments` in `rust_fmt_argument`, and the call to `bindings::_printk` in `call_printk`. Both are two ends of the same round trip. `call_printk` passes a raw pointer to its `args: fmt::Arguments<'_>` parameter into `_printk`, whose format string always contains a `%pA` specifier for it. The `%pA` case in `lib/vsprintf.c`'s pointer formatter calls back into `rust_fmt_argument` with that same pointer, synchronously, as one call in a `switch` dispatch that returns its result immediately -- there is no deferred use or storage of the pointer on the C side. So `args` remains alive on `call_printk`'s stack for the whole time `rust_fmt_argument` is running with `ptr` pointing at it. The `_printk` call itself is also justified by this function's own `# Safety` section: `format_string` is guaranteed to be one of the fixed `format_strings` statics (traced through every `pr_*!` macro, each of which hardcodes a specific one), so its `%s`/`%pA` specifiers always match the two extra arguments supplied, and `module_name` is guaranteed null-terminated by both of its possible origins (`kernel::__LOG_PREFIX` and the one generated by the `module!` proc macro). Suggested-by: Miguel Ojeda <[email protected]> Link: https://github.com/Rust-for-Linux/linux/issues/351 Signed-off-by: Cian McGuire <[email protected]> --- rust/kernel/print.rs | 12 ++++++++++-- 1 file changed, 10 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/rust/kernel/print.rs b/rust/kernel/print.rs index 6fd84389a858..0e341262f83e 100644 --- a/rust/kernel/print.rs +++ b/rust/kernel/print.rs @@ -29,7 +29,11 @@ use fmt::Write; // SAFETY: The C contract guarantees that `buf` is valid if it's less than `end`. let mut w = unsafe { RawFormatter::from_ptrs(buf.cast(), end.cast()) }; - // SAFETY: TODO. + // SAFETY: This function is only reachable via the `%pA` format specifier handled in + // `lib/vsprintf.c`, which calls it synchronously with the `ptr` that `call_printk` + // derived from a live `&fmt::Arguments`, before that reference's scope can end. `ptr` + // is therefore valid and properly aligned for a `fmt::Arguments<'_>` for the duration + // of this call. let _ = w.write_fmt(unsafe { *ptr.cast::<fmt::Arguments<'_>>() }); w.pos().cast() } @@ -109,7 +113,11 @@ pub unsafe fn call_printk( ) { // `_printk` does not seem to fail in any path. #[cfg(CONFIG_PRINTK)] - // SAFETY: TODO. + // SAFETY: By this function's safety requirements, `format_string` is one of the fixed + // `format_strings` statics, so its `%s`/`%pA` specifiers match the two arguments + // supplied below, and `module_name` is null-terminated as `%s` requires. The third + // argument points at `args`, which remains valid for the duration of this call and is + // only read back synchronously, through `%pA`, by `rust_fmt_argument`. unsafe { bindings::_printk( format_string.as_ptr(), -- 2.55.0