linux-stable.git/kernel/sched/ext.c, branch linux-7.0.y Linux kernel stable tree sched_ext: Fix stale direct dispatch state in ddsp_dsq_id 2026-04-03T17:14:49+00:00 Andrea Righi arighi@nvidia.com 2026-04-03T06:57:20+00:00 7e0ffb72de8aa3b25989c2d980e81b829c577010 @p->scx.ddsp_dsq_id can be left set (non-SCX_DSQ_INVALID) triggering a spurious warning in mark_direct_dispatch() when the next wakeup's ops.select_cpu() calls scx_bpf_dsq_insert(), such as: WARNING: kernel/sched/ext.c:1273 at scx_dsq_insert_commit+0xcd/0x140 The root cause is that ddsp_dsq_id was only cleared in dispatch_enqueue(), which is not reached in all paths that consume or cancel a direct dispatch verdict. Fix it by clearing it at the right places: - direct_dispatch(): cache the direct dispatch state in local variables and clear it before dispatch_enqueue() on the synchronous path. For the deferred path, the direct dispatch state must remain set until process_ddsp_deferred_locals() consumes them. - process_ddsp_deferred_locals(): cache the dispatch state in local variables and clear it before calling dispatch_to_local_dsq(), which may migrate the task to another rq. - do_enqueue_task(): clear the dispatch state on the enqueue path (local/global/bypass fallbacks), where the direct dispatch verdict is ignored. - dequeue_task_scx(): clear the dispatch state after dispatch_dequeue() to handle both the deferred dispatch cancellation and the holding_cpu race, covering all cases where a pending direct dispatch is cancelled. - scx_disable_task(): clear the direct dispatch state when transitioning a task out of the current scheduler. Waking tasks may have had the direct dispatch state set by the outgoing scheduler's ops.select_cpu() and then been queued on a wake_list via ttwu_queue_wakelist(), when SCX_OPS_ALLOW_QUEUED_WAKEUP is set. Such tasks are not on the runqueue and are not iterated by scx_bypass(), so their direct dispatch state won't be cleared. Without this clear, any subsequent SCX scheduler that tries to direct dispatch the task will trigger the WARN_ON_ONCE() in mark_direct_dispatch(). Fixes: 5b26f7b920f7 ("sched_ext: Allow SCX_DSQ_LOCAL_ON for direct dispatches") Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org # v6.12+ Cc: Daniel Hodges <hodgesd@meta.com> Cc: Patrick Somaru <patsomaru@meta.com> Signed-off-by: Andrea Righi <arighi@nvidia.com> Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org> 
@p->scx.ddsp_dsq_id can be left set (non-SCX_DSQ_INVALID) triggering a
spurious warning in mark_direct_dispatch() when the next wakeup's
ops.select_cpu() calls scx_bpf_dsq_insert(), such as:

 WARNING: kernel/sched/ext.c:1273 at scx_dsq_insert_commit+0xcd/0x140

The root cause is that ddsp_dsq_id was only cleared in dispatch_enqueue(),
which is not reached in all paths that consume or cancel a direct dispatch
verdict.

Fix it by clearing it at the right places:

 - direct_dispatch(): cache the direct dispatch state in local variables
   and clear it before dispatch_enqueue() on the synchronous path. For
   the deferred path, the direct dispatch state must remain set until
   process_ddsp_deferred_locals() consumes them.

 - process_ddsp_deferred_locals(): cache the dispatch state in local
   variables and clear it before calling dispatch_to_local_dsq(), which
   may migrate the task to another rq.

 - do_enqueue_task(): clear the dispatch state on the enqueue path
   (local/global/bypass fallbacks), where the direct dispatch verdict is
   ignored.

 - dequeue_task_scx(): clear the dispatch state after dispatch_dequeue()
   to handle both the deferred dispatch cancellation and the holding_cpu
   race, covering all cases where a pending direct dispatch is
   cancelled.

 - scx_disable_task(): clear the direct dispatch state when
   transitioning a task out of the current scheduler. Waking tasks may
   have had the direct dispatch state set by the outgoing scheduler's
   ops.select_cpu() and then been queued on a wake_list via
   ttwu_queue_wakelist(), when SCX_OPS_ALLOW_QUEUED_WAKEUP is set. Such
   tasks are not on the runqueue and are not iterated by scx_bypass(),
   so their direct dispatch state won't be cleared. Without this clear,
   any subsequent SCX scheduler that tries to direct dispatch the task
   will trigger the WARN_ON_ONCE() in mark_direct_dispatch().

Fixes: 5b26f7b920f7 ("sched_ext: Allow SCX_DSQ_LOCAL_ON for direct dispatches")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org # v6.12+
Cc: Daniel Hodges <hodgesd@meta.com>
Cc: Patrick Somaru <patsomaru@meta.com>
Signed-off-by: Andrea Righi <arighi@nvidia.com>
Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>
sched_ext: Fix SCX_KICK_WAIT deadlock by deferring wait to balance callback 2026-03-30T18:37:27+00:00 Tejun Heo tj@kernel.org 2026-03-29T00:18:55+00:00 415cb193bb9736f0e830286c72a6fa8eb2a9cc5c SCX_KICK_WAIT busy-waits in kick_cpus_irq_workfn() using smp_cond_load_acquire() until the target CPU's kick_sync advances. Because the irq_work runs in hardirq context, the waiting CPU cannot reschedule and its own kick_sync never advances. If multiple CPUs form a wait cycle, all CPUs deadlock. Replace the busy-wait in kick_cpus_irq_workfn() with resched_curr() to force the CPU through do_pick_task_scx(), which queues a balance callback to perform the wait. The balance callback drops the rq lock and enables IRQs following the sched_core_balance() pattern, so the CPU can process IPIs while waiting. The local CPU's kick_sync is advanced on entry to do_pick_task_scx() and continuously during the wait, ensuring any CPU that starts waiting for us sees the advancement and cannot form cyclic dependencies. Fixes: 90e55164dad4 ("sched_ext: Implement SCX_KICK_WAIT") Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org # v6.12+ Reported-by: Christian Loehle <christian.loehle@arm.com> Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20260316100249.1651641-1-christian.loehle@arm.com Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org> Tested-by: Christian Loehle <christian.loehle@arm.com> 
SCX_KICK_WAIT busy-waits in kick_cpus_irq_workfn() using
smp_cond_load_acquire() until the target CPU's kick_sync advances. Because
the irq_work runs in hardirq context, the waiting CPU cannot reschedule and
its own kick_sync never advances. If multiple CPUs form a wait cycle, all
CPUs deadlock.

Replace the busy-wait in kick_cpus_irq_workfn() with resched_curr() to
force the CPU through do_pick_task_scx(), which queues a balance callback
to perform the wait. The balance callback drops the rq lock and enables
IRQs following the sched_core_balance() pattern, so the CPU can process
IPIs while waiting. The local CPU's kick_sync is advanced on entry to
do_pick_task_scx() and continuously during the wait, ensuring any CPU that
starts waiting for us sees the advancement and cannot form cyclic
dependencies.

Fixes: 90e55164dad4 ("sched_ext: Implement SCX_KICK_WAIT")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org # v6.12+
Reported-by: Christian Loehle <christian.loehle@arm.com>
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20260316100249.1651641-1-christian.loehle@arm.com
Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>
Tested-by: Christian Loehle <christian.loehle@arm.com>
sched_ext: Use WRITE_ONCE() for the write side of scx_enable helper pointer 2026-03-09T16:08:26+00:00 zhidao su suzhidao@xiaomi.com 2026-03-09T02:46:12+00:00 2fcfe5951eb2e8440fc5e1dd6ea977336ff83a1d scx_enable() uses double-checked locking to lazily initialize a static kthread_worker pointer. The fast path reads helper locklessly: if (!READ_ONCE(helper)) { // lockless read -- no helper_mutex The write side initializes helper under helper_mutex, but previously used a plain assignment: helper = kthread_run_worker(0, "scx_enable_helper"); ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ plain write -- KCSAN data race with READ_ONCE() above Since READ_ONCE() on the fast path and the plain write on the initialization path access the same variable without a common lock, they constitute a data race. KCSAN requires that all sides of a lock-free access use READ_ONCE()/WRITE_ONCE() consistently. Use a temporary variable to stage the result of kthread_run_worker(), and only WRITE_ONCE() into helper after confirming the pointer is valid. This avoids a window where a concurrent caller on the fast path could observe an ERR pointer via READ_ONCE(helper) before the error check completes. Fixes: b06ccbabe250 ("sched_ext: Fix starvation of scx_enable() under fair-class saturation") Signed-off-by: zhidao su <suzhidao@xiaomi.com> Acked-by: Andrea Righi <arighi@nvidia.com> Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org> 
scx_enable() uses double-checked locking to lazily initialize a static
kthread_worker pointer. The fast path reads helper locklessly:

    if (!READ_ONCE(helper)) {          // lockless read -- no helper_mutex

The write side initializes helper under helper_mutex, but previously
used a plain assignment:

        helper = kthread_run_worker(0, "scx_enable_helper");
                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                 plain write -- KCSAN data race with READ_ONCE() above

Since READ_ONCE() on the fast path and the plain write on the
initialization path access the same variable without a common lock,
they constitute a data race. KCSAN requires that all sides of a
lock-free access use READ_ONCE()/WRITE_ONCE() consistently.

Use a temporary variable to stage the result of kthread_run_worker(),
and only WRITE_ONCE() into helper after confirming the pointer is
valid. This avoids a window where a concurrent caller on the fast path
could observe an ERR pointer via READ_ONCE(helper) before the error
check completes.

Fixes: b06ccbabe250 ("sched_ext: Fix starvation of scx_enable() under fair-class saturation")
Signed-off-by: zhidao su <suzhidao@xiaomi.com>
Acked-by: Andrea Righi <arighi@nvidia.com>
Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>
sched_ext: Fix enqueue_task_scx() truncation of upper enqueue flags 2026-03-07T14:53:32+00:00 Tejun Heo tj@kernel.org 2026-03-07T14:53:32+00:00 57ccf5ccdc56954f2a91a7f66684fd31c566bde5 enqueue_task_scx() takes int enq_flags from the sched_class interface. SCX enqueue flags starting at bit 32 (SCX_ENQ_PREEMPT and above) are silently truncated when passed through activate_task(). extra_enq_flags was added as a workaround - storing high bits in rq->scx.extra_enq_flags and OR-ing them back in enqueue_task_scx(). However, the OR target is still the int parameter, so the high bits are lost anyway. The current impact is limited as the only affected flag is SCX_ENQ_PREEMPT which is informational to the BPF scheduler - its loss means the scheduler doesn't know about preemption but doesn't cause incorrect behavior. Fix by renaming the int parameter to core_enq_flags and introducing a u64 enq_flags local that merges both sources. All downstream functions already take u64 enq_flags. Fixes: f0e1a0643a59 ("sched_ext: Implement BPF extensible scheduler class") Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org # v6.12+ Acked-by: Andrea Righi <arighi@nvidia.com> Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org> 
enqueue_task_scx() takes int enq_flags from the sched_class interface.
SCX enqueue flags starting at bit 32 (SCX_ENQ_PREEMPT and above) are
silently truncated when passed through activate_task(). extra_enq_flags
was added as a workaround - storing high bits in rq->scx.extra_enq_flags
and OR-ing them back in enqueue_task_scx(). However, the OR target is
still the int parameter, so the high bits are lost anyway.

The current impact is limited as the only affected flag is SCX_ENQ_PREEMPT
which is informational to the BPF scheduler - its loss means the scheduler
doesn't know about preemption but doesn't cause incorrect behavior.

Fix by renaming the int parameter to core_enq_flags and introducing a
u64 enq_flags local that merges both sources. All downstream functions
already take u64 enq_flags.

Fixes: f0e1a0643a59 ("sched_ext: Implement BPF extensible scheduler class")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org # v6.12+
Acked-by: Andrea Righi <arighi@nvidia.com>
Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>
sched_ext: Use READ_ONCE() for scx_slice_bypass_us in scx_bypass() 2026-03-06T16:57:23+00:00 David Carlier devnexen@gmail.com 2026-03-06T04:50:55+00:00 1dde502587657045b267f179d7a1ecc7b8a1a265 Commit 0927780c90ce ("sched_ext: Use READ_ONCE() for lock-free reads of module param variables") annotated the plain reads of scx_slice_bypass_us and scx_bypass_lb_intv_us in bypass_lb_cpu(), but missed a third site in scx_bypass(): WRITE_ONCE(scx_slice_dfl, scx_slice_bypass_us * NSEC_PER_USEC); scx_slice_bypass_us is a module parameter writable via sysfs in process context through set_slice_us() -> param_set_uint_minmax(), which performs a plain store without holding bypass_lock. scx_bypass() reads the variable under bypass_lock, but since the writer does not take that lock, the two accesses are concurrent. WRITE_ONCE() only applies volatile semantics to the store of scx_slice_dfl -- the val expression containing scx_slice_bypass_us is evaluated as a plain read, providing no protection against concurrent writes. Wrap the read with READ_ONCE() to complete the annotation started by commit 0927780c90ce and make the access KCSAN-clean, consistent with the existing READ_ONCE(scx_slice_bypass_us) in bypass_lb_cpu(). Signed-off-by: David Carlier <devnexen@gmail.com> Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org> 
Commit 0927780c90ce ("sched_ext: Use READ_ONCE() for lock-free reads
of module param variables") annotated the plain reads of
scx_slice_bypass_us and scx_bypass_lb_intv_us in bypass_lb_cpu(), but
missed a third site in scx_bypass():

  WRITE_ONCE(scx_slice_dfl, scx_slice_bypass_us * NSEC_PER_USEC);

scx_slice_bypass_us is a module parameter writable via sysfs in
process context through set_slice_us() -> param_set_uint_minmax(),
which performs a plain store without holding bypass_lock. scx_bypass()
reads the variable under bypass_lock, but since the writer does not
take that lock, the two accesses are concurrent.

WRITE_ONCE() only applies volatile semantics to the store of
scx_slice_dfl -- the val expression containing scx_slice_bypass_us is
evaluated as a plain read, providing no protection against concurrent
writes.

Wrap the read with READ_ONCE() to complete the annotation started by
commit 0927780c90ce and make the access KCSAN-clean, consistent with
the existing READ_ONCE(scx_slice_bypass_us) in bypass_lb_cpu().

Signed-off-by: David Carlier <devnexen@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>
sched_ext: Use READ_ONCE() for lock-free reads of module param variables 2026-03-05T16:05:15+00:00 zhidao su suzhidao@xiaomi.com 2026-03-05T06:18:56+00:00 0927780c90ce551869fb692279d66387a4b66af5 bypass_lb_cpu() reads scx_bypass_lb_intv_us and scx_slice_bypass_us without holding any lock, in timer callback context where module parameter writes via sysfs can happen concurrently: min_delta_us = scx_bypass_lb_intv_us / SCX_BYPASS_LB_MIN_DELTA_DIV; ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ plain read -- KCSAN data race if (delta < DIV_ROUND_UP(min_delta_us, scx_slice_bypass_us)) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ plain read -- KCSAN data race scx_bypass_lb_intv_us already uses READ_ONCE() in scx_bypass_lb_timerfn() and scx_bypass() for its other lock-free read sites, leaving bypass_lb_cpu() inconsistent. scx_slice_bypass_us has the same lock-free access pattern in the same function. Fix both plain reads by using READ_ONCE() to complete the concurrent access annotation and make the code KCSAN-clean. Signed-off-by: zhidao su <suzhidao@xiaomi.com> Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org> 
bypass_lb_cpu() reads scx_bypass_lb_intv_us and scx_slice_bypass_us
without holding any lock, in timer callback context where module
parameter writes via sysfs can happen concurrently:

    min_delta_us = scx_bypass_lb_intv_us / SCX_BYPASS_LB_MIN_DELTA_DIV;
                   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                   plain read -- KCSAN data race

    if (delta < DIV_ROUND_UP(min_delta_us, scx_slice_bypass_us))
                                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                           plain read -- KCSAN data race

scx_bypass_lb_intv_us already uses READ_ONCE() in scx_bypass_lb_timerfn()
and scx_bypass() for its other lock-free read sites, leaving
bypass_lb_cpu() inconsistent. scx_slice_bypass_us has the same
lock-free access pattern in the same function.

Fix both plain reads by using READ_ONCE() to complete the concurrent
access annotation and make the code KCSAN-clean.

Signed-off-by: zhidao su <suzhidao@xiaomi.com>
Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>
sched_ext: Use WRITE_ONCE() for the write side of dsq->seq update 2026-03-04T17:01:18+00:00 zhidao su soolaugust@gmail.com 2026-03-04T05:37:30+00:00 7a8464555d2e5f038758bb19e72ab4710b79e9cd bpf_iter_scx_dsq_new() reads dsq->seq via READ_ONCE() without holding any lock, making dsq->seq a lock-free concurrently accessed variable. However, dispatch_enqueue(), the sole writer of dsq->seq, uses a plain increment without the matching WRITE_ONCE() on the write side: dsq->seq++; ^^^^^^^^^^^ plain write -- KCSAN data race The KCSAN documentation requires that if one accessor uses READ_ONCE() or WRITE_ONCE() on a variable to annotate lock-free access, all other accesses must also use the appropriate accessor. A plain write leaves the pair incomplete and will trigger KCSAN warnings. Fix by using WRITE_ONCE() for the write side of the update: WRITE_ONCE(dsq->seq, dsq->seq + 1); This is consistent with bpf_iter_scx_dsq_new() and makes the concurrent access annotation complete and KCSAN-clean. Signed-off-by: zhidao su <suzhidao@xiaomi.com> Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org> 
bpf_iter_scx_dsq_new() reads dsq->seq via READ_ONCE() without holding
any lock, making dsq->seq a lock-free concurrently accessed variable.
However, dispatch_enqueue(), the sole writer of dsq->seq, uses a plain
increment without the matching WRITE_ONCE() on the write side:

    dsq->seq++;
    ^^^^^^^^^^^
    plain write -- KCSAN data race

The KCSAN documentation requires that if one accessor uses READ_ONCE()
or WRITE_ONCE() on a variable to annotate lock-free access, all other
accesses must also use the appropriate accessor. A plain write leaves
the pair incomplete and will trigger KCSAN warnings.

Fix by using WRITE_ONCE() for the write side of the update:

    WRITE_ONCE(dsq->seq, dsq->seq + 1);

This is consistent with bpf_iter_scx_dsq_new() and makes the
concurrent access annotation complete and KCSAN-clean.

Signed-off-by: zhidao su <suzhidao@xiaomi.com>
Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>
Merge tag 'sched_ext-for-7.0-rc2-fixes' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tj/sched_ext 2026-03-03T22:14:20+00:00 Linus Torvalds torvalds@linux-foundation.org 2026-03-03T22:14:20+00:00 6a8dab043c649450ee58c84c3c6051def96778ed Pull sched_ext fixes from Tejun Heo: - Fix starvation of scx_enable() under fair-class saturation by offloading the enable path to an RT kthread - Fix out-of-bounds access in idle mask initialization on systems with non-contiguous NUMA node IDs - Fix a preemption window during scheduler exit and a refcount underflow in cgroup init error path - Fix SCX_EFLAG_INITIALIZED being a no-op flag - Add READ_ONCE() annotations for KCSAN-clean lockless accesses and replace naked scx_root dereferences with container_of() in kobject callbacks - Tooling and selftest fixes: compilation issues with clang 17, strtoul() misuse, unused options cleanup, and Kconfig sync * tag 'sched_ext-for-7.0-rc2-fixes' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tj/sched_ext: sched_ext: Fix starvation of scx_enable() under fair-class saturation sched_ext: Remove redundant css_put() in scx_cgroup_init() selftests/sched_ext: Fix peek_dsq.bpf.c compile error for clang 17 selftests/sched_ext: Add -fms-extensions to bpf build flags tools/sched_ext: Add -fms-extensions to bpf build flags sched_ext: Use READ_ONCE() for plain reads of scx_watchdog_timeout sched_ext: Replace naked scx_root dereferences in kobject callbacks sched_ext: Use READ_ONCE() for the read side of dsq->nr update tools/sched_ext: fix strtoul() misuse in scx_hotplug_seq() sched_ext: Fix SCX_EFLAG_INITIALIZED being a no-op flag sched_ext: Fix out-of-bounds access in scx_idle_init_masks() sched_ext: Disable preemption between scx_claim_exit() and kicking helper work tools/sched_ext: Add Kconfig to sync with upstream tools/sched_ext: Sync README.md Kconfig with upstream scx selftests/sched_ext: Remove duplicated unistd.h include in rt_stall.c tools/sched_ext: scx_sdt: Remove unused '-f' option tools/sched_ext: scx_central: Remove unused '-p' option selftests/sched_ext: Fix unused-result warning for read() selftests/sched_ext: Abort test loop on signal 
Pull sched_ext fixes from Tejun Heo:

 - Fix starvation of scx_enable() under fair-class saturation by
   offloading the enable path to an RT kthread

 - Fix out-of-bounds access in idle mask initialization on systems with
   non-contiguous NUMA node IDs

 - Fix a preemption window during scheduler exit and a refcount
   underflow in cgroup init error path

 - Fix SCX_EFLAG_INITIALIZED being a no-op flag

 - Add READ_ONCE() annotations for KCSAN-clean lockless accesses and
   replace naked scx_root dereferences with container_of() in kobject
   callbacks

 - Tooling and selftest fixes: compilation issues with clang 17,
   strtoul() misuse, unused options cleanup, and Kconfig sync

* tag 'sched_ext-for-7.0-rc2-fixes' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tj/sched_ext:
  sched_ext: Fix starvation of scx_enable() under fair-class saturation
  sched_ext: Remove redundant css_put() in scx_cgroup_init()
  selftests/sched_ext: Fix peek_dsq.bpf.c compile error for clang 17
  selftests/sched_ext: Add -fms-extensions to bpf build flags
  tools/sched_ext: Add -fms-extensions to bpf build flags
  sched_ext: Use READ_ONCE() for plain reads of scx_watchdog_timeout
  sched_ext: Replace naked scx_root dereferences in kobject callbacks
  sched_ext: Use READ_ONCE() for the read side of dsq->nr update
  tools/sched_ext: fix strtoul() misuse in scx_hotplug_seq()
  sched_ext: Fix SCX_EFLAG_INITIALIZED being a no-op flag
  sched_ext: Fix out-of-bounds access in scx_idle_init_masks()
  sched_ext: Disable preemption between scx_claim_exit() and kicking helper work
  tools/sched_ext: Add Kconfig to sync with upstream
  tools/sched_ext: Sync README.md Kconfig with upstream scx
  selftests/sched_ext: Remove duplicated unistd.h include in rt_stall.c
  tools/sched_ext: scx_sdt: Remove unused '-f' option
  tools/sched_ext: scx_central: Remove unused '-p' option
  selftests/sched_ext: Fix unused-result warning for read()
  selftests/sched_ext: Abort test loop on signal
sched_ext: Fix starvation of scx_enable() under fair-class saturation 2026-03-03T21:10:40+00:00 Tejun Heo tj@kernel.org 2026-03-03T11:01:15+00:00 b06ccbabe2506fd70b9167a644978b049150224a During scx_enable(), the READY -> ENABLED task switching loop changes the calling thread's sched_class from fair to ext. Since fair has higher priority than ext, saturating fair-class workloads can indefinitely starve the enable thread, hanging the system. This was introduced when the enable path switched from preempt_disable() to scx_bypass() which doesn't protect against fair-class starvation. Note that the original preempt_disable() protection wasn't complete either - in partial switch modes, the calling thread could still be starved after preempt_enable() as it may have been switched to ext class. Fix it by offloading the enable body to a dedicated system-wide RT (SCHED_FIFO) kthread which cannot be starved by either fair or ext class tasks. scx_enable() lazily creates the kthread on first use and passes the ops pointer through a struct scx_enable_cmd containing the kthread_work, then synchronously waits for completion. The workfn runs on a different kthread from sch->helper (which runs disable_work), so it can safely flush disable_work on the error path without deadlock. Fixes: 8c2090c504e9 ("sched_ext: Initialize in bypass mode") Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org # v6.12+ Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org> 
During scx_enable(), the READY -> ENABLED task switching loop changes the
calling thread's sched_class from fair to ext. Since fair has higher
priority than ext, saturating fair-class workloads can indefinitely starve
the enable thread, hanging the system. This was introduced when the enable
path switched from preempt_disable() to scx_bypass() which doesn't protect
against fair-class starvation. Note that the original preempt_disable()
protection wasn't complete either - in partial switch modes, the calling
thread could still be starved after preempt_enable() as it may have been
switched to ext class.

Fix it by offloading the enable body to a dedicated system-wide RT
(SCHED_FIFO) kthread which cannot be starved by either fair or ext class
tasks. scx_enable() lazily creates the kthread on first use and passes the
ops pointer through a struct scx_enable_cmd containing the kthread_work,
then synchronously waits for completion.

The workfn runs on a different kthread from sch->helper (which runs
disable_work), so it can safely flush disable_work on the error path
without deadlock.

Fixes: 8c2090c504e9 ("sched_ext: Initialize in bypass mode")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org # v6.12+
Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>
sched_ext: Remove redundant css_put() in scx_cgroup_init() 2026-03-03T16:22:37+00:00 Cheng-Yang Chou yphbchou0911@gmail.com 2026-03-03T14:35:30+00:00 1336b579f6079fb8520be03624fcd9ba443c930b The iterator css_for_each_descendant_pre() walks the cgroup hierarchy under cgroup_lock(). It does not increment the reference counts on yielded css structs. According to the cgroup documentation, css_put() should only be used to release a reference obtained via css_get() or css_tryget_online(). Since the iterator does not use either of these to acquire a reference, calling css_put() in the error path of scx_cgroup_init() causes a refcount underflow. Remove the unbalanced css_put() to prevent a potential Use-After-Free (UAF) vulnerability. Fixes: 819513666966 ("sched_ext: Add cgroup support") Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org # v6.12+ Signed-off-by: Cheng-Yang Chou <yphbchou0911@gmail.com> Reviewed-by: Andrea Righi <arighi@nvidia.com> Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org> 
The iterator css_for_each_descendant_pre() walks the cgroup hierarchy
under cgroup_lock(). It does not increment the reference counts on
yielded css structs.

According to the cgroup documentation, css_put() should only be used
to release a reference obtained via css_get() or css_tryget_online().
Since the iterator does not use either of these to acquire a reference,
calling css_put() in the error path of scx_cgroup_init() causes a
refcount underflow.

Remove the unbalanced css_put() to prevent a potential Use-After-Free
(UAF) vulnerability.

Fixes: 819513666966 ("sched_ext: Add cgroup support")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org # v6.12+
Signed-off-by: Cheng-Yang Chou <yphbchou0911@gmail.com>
Reviewed-by: Andrea Righi <arighi@nvidia.com>
Signed-off-by: Tejun Heo <tj@kernel.org>