Subject: Re: [PATCH net-next] net: ntb_netdev: Fix NULL check ordering in TX handler

From: Jakub Kicinski <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2026 19:22:11 -0800

On Tue, 24 Feb 2026 05:04:47 -0800 Alok Tiwari wrote:
> ntb_netdev_tx_handler() calls netdev_priv(ndev) before checking
> whether ndev is NULL. Although qp_data is expected to always be
> valid in normal operation,

Right. Can we delete the seemingly pointless null check instead?
Defensive programming is discouraged in the kernel..

> dereferencing the pointer before the
> NULL check is logically incorrect.

If you strongly prefer to keep the patch as is maybe say "valid 
but surprising" rather than "logically incorrect"

> Move netdev_priv() after validating ndev.
> 
> No functional change intended.
-- 
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