Subject: [PATCH bpf v2] bpf: cpumap: fix race in bq_flush_to_queue on PREEMPT_RT

From: Jiayuan Chen <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2026 10:36:33 +0800

From: Jiayuan Chen <[email-masked]>

On PREEMPT_RT kernels, the per-CPU xdp_bulk_queue (bq) can be accessed
concurrently by multiple preemptible tasks on the same CPU.

The original code assumes bq_enqueue() and __cpu_map_flush() run
atomically with respect to each other on the same CPU, relying on
local_bh_disable() to prevent preemption. However, on PREEMPT_RT,
local_bh_disable() only calls migrate_disable() and does not disable
preemption. spin_lock() also becomes a sleeping rt_mutex. Together,
this allows CFS scheduling to preempt a task during bq_flush_to_queue(),
enabling another task on the same CPU to enter bq_enqueue() and operate
on the same per-CPU bq concurrently.

This leads to several races:

1. Double __list_del_clearprev(): after spin_unlock() in
   bq_flush_to_queue(), a preempting task can call bq_enqueue() ->
   bq_flush_to_queue() on the same bq when bq->count reaches
   CPU_MAP_BULK_SIZE. Both tasks then call __list_del_clearprev()
   on the same bq->flush_node, the second call dereferences the
   prev pointer that was already set to NULL by the first.

2. bq->count and bq->q[] races: concurrent bq_enqueue() can corrupt
   the packet queue while bq_flush_to_queue() is processing it.

The race between task A (__cpu_map_flush -> bq_flush_to_queue) and
task B (bq_enqueue -> bq_flush_to_queue) on the same CPU:

  Task A (xdp_do_flush)          Task B (cpu_map_enqueue)
  ----------------------         ------------------------
  bq_flush_to_queue(bq)
    spin_lock(&q->producer_lock)
    /* flush bq->q[] to ptr_ring */
    bq->count = 0
    spin_unlock(&q->producer_lock)
                                   bq_enqueue(rcpu, xdpf)
    <-- CFS preempts Task A -->      bq->q[bq->count++] = xdpf
                                     /* ... more enqueues until full ... */
                                     bq_flush_to_queue(bq)
                                       spin_lock(&q->producer_lock)
                                       /* flush to ptr_ring */
                                       spin_unlock(&q->producer_lock)
                                       __list_del_clearprev(flush_node)
                                         /* sets flush_node.prev = NULL */
    <-- Task A resumes -->
    __list_del_clearprev(flush_node)
      flush_node.prev->next = ...
      /* prev is NULL -> kernel oops */

Fix this by adding a local_lock_t to xdp_bulk_queue and acquiring it
in bq_enqueue() and __cpu_map_flush(). On non-RT kernels, local_lock
maps to preempt_disable/enable with zero additional overhead. On
PREEMPT_RT, it provides a per-CPU sleeping lock that serializes
access to the bq. Use local_lock_nested_bh() since these paths already
run under local_bh_disable().

An alternative approach of snapshotting bq->count and bq->q[] before
releasing the producer_lock was considered, but it requires copying
the entire bq->q[] array on every flush, adding unnecessary overhead.

To reproduce, insert an mdelay(100) between spin_unlock() and
__list_del_clearprev() in bq_flush_to_queue(), then run reproducer
provided by syzkaller.

Panic:
===
 BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000
 #PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode
 #PF: error_code(0x0002) - not-present page
 PGD 0 P4D 0
 Oops: Oops: 0002 [#1] SMP PTI
 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 377 Comm: a.out Not tainted 6.19.0+ #21 PREEMPT_RT
 RIP: 0010:bq_flush_to_queue+0x145/0x200
 Call Trace:
  <TASK>
  __cpu_map_flush+0x2c/0x70
  xdp_do_flush+0x64/0x1b0
  xdp_test_run_batch.constprop.0+0x4d4/0x6d0
  bpf_test_run_xdp_live+0x24b/0x3e0
  bpf_prog_test_run_xdp+0x4a1/0x6e0
  __sys_bpf+0x44a/0x2760
  __x64_sys_bpf+0x1a/0x30
  x64_sys_call+0x146c/0x26e0
  do_syscall_64+0xd5/0x5a0
  entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e
  </TASK>

Fixes: 3253cb49cbad ("softirq: Allow to drop the softirq-BKL lock on PREEMPT_RT")
Reported-by: [email-masked]
Closes: https://lore.kernel.org/all/[email-masked]/T/
Signed-off-by: Jiayuan Chen <[email-masked]>
Signed-off-by: Jiayuan Chen <[email-masked]>
---
v1 -> v2: https://lore.kernel.org/bpf/[email-masked]/
- Use local_lock_nested_bh()/local_unlock_nested_bh() instead of
  local_lock()/local_unlock(), since these paths already run under
  local_bh_disable(). (Sebastian Andrzej Siewior)
- Replace "Caller must hold bq->bq_lock" comment with
  lockdep_assert_held() in bq_flush_to_queue(). (Sebastian Andrzej Siewior)
- Fix Fixes tag to 3253cb49cbad ("softirq: Allow to drop the
  softirq-BKL lock on PREEMPT_RT") which is the actual commit that
  makes the race possible. (Sebastian Andrzej Siewior)
---
 kernel/bpf/cpumap.c | 17 +++++++++++++++--
 1 file changed, 15 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/kernel/bpf/cpumap.c b/kernel/bpf/cpumap.c
index 04171fbc39cb..32b43cb9061b 100644
--- a/kernel/bpf/cpumap.c
+++ b/kernel/bpf/cpumap.c
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@
 #include <linux/sched.h>
 #include <linux/workqueue.h>
 #include <linux/kthread.h>
+#include <linux/local_lock.h>
 #include <linux/completion.h>
 #include <trace/events/xdp.h>
 #include <linux/btf_ids.h>
@@ -52,6 +53,7 @@ struct xdp_bulk_queue {
 	struct list_head flush_node;
 	struct bpf_cpu_map_entry *obj;
 	unsigned int count;
+	local_lock_t bq_lock;
 };
 
 /* Struct for every remote "destination" CPU in map */
@@ -451,6 +453,7 @@ __cpu_map_entry_alloc(struct bpf_map *map, struct bpf_cpumap_val *value,
 	for_each_possible_cpu(i) {
 		bq = per_cpu_ptr(rcpu->bulkq, i);
 		bq->obj = rcpu;
+		local_lock_init(&bq->bq_lock);
 	}
 
 	/* Alloc queue */
@@ -722,6 +725,8 @@ static void bq_flush_to_queue(struct xdp_bulk_queue *bq)
 	struct ptr_ring *q;
 	int i;
 
+	lockdep_assert_held(&bq->bq_lock);
+
 	if (unlikely(!bq->count))
 		return;
 
@@ -749,11 +754,15 @@ static void bq_flush_to_queue(struct xdp_bulk_queue *bq)
 }
 
 /* Runs under RCU-read-side, plus in softirq under NAPI protection.
- * Thus, safe percpu variable access.
+ * Thus, safe percpu variable access. PREEMPT_RT relies on
+ * local_lock_nested_bh() to serialise access to the per-CPU bq.
  */
 static void bq_enqueue(struct bpf_cpu_map_entry *rcpu, struct xdp_frame *xdpf)
 {
-	struct xdp_bulk_queue *bq = this_cpu_ptr(rcpu->bulkq);
+	struct xdp_bulk_queue *bq;
+
+	local_lock_nested_bh(&rcpu->bulkq->bq_lock);
+	bq = this_cpu_ptr(rcpu->bulkq);
 
 	if (unlikely(bq->count == CPU_MAP_BULK_SIZE))
 		bq_flush_to_queue(bq);
@@ -774,6 +783,8 @@ static void bq_enqueue(struct bpf_cpu_map_entry *rcpu, struct xdp_frame *xdpf)
 
 		list_add(&bq->flush_node, flush_list);
 	}
+
+	local_unlock_nested_bh(&rcpu->bulkq->bq_lock);
 }
 
 int cpu_map_enqueue(struct bpf_cpu_map_entry *rcpu, struct xdp_frame *xdpf,
@@ -810,7 +821,9 @@ void __cpu_map_flush(struct list_head *flush_list)
 	struct xdp_bulk_queue *bq, *tmp;
 
 	list_for_each_entry_safe(bq, tmp, flush_list, flush_node) {
+		local_lock_nested_bh(&bq->obj->bulkq->bq_lock);
 		bq_flush_to_queue(bq);
+		local_unlock_nested_bh(&bq->obj->bulkq->bq_lock);
 
 		/* If already running, costs spin_lock_irqsave + smb_mb */
 		wake_up_process(bq->obj->kthread);
-- 
2.43.0