linux.git/include/linux/xattr.h, branch v7.1-rc2

xattr: move user limits for xattrs to generic infra

2026-03-02T10:06:42+00:00

Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260216-work-xattr-socket-v1-9-c2efa4f74cb7@kernel.org
Acked-by: Darrick J. Wong 
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner

xattr: remove rbtree-based simple_xattr infrastructure

2026-03-02T10:06:42+00:00

Now that all consumers (shmem, kernfs, pidfs) have been converted to
use the rhashtable-based simple_xattrs with pointer-based lazy
allocation, remove the legacy rbtree code path. The rhashtable
implementation provides O(1) average-case lookup with RCU-based lockless
reads, replacing the O(log n) rbtree with reader-writer spinlock
contention.

Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260216-work-xattr-socket-v1-6-c2efa4f74cb7@kernel.org
Acked-by: Darrick J. Wong 
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner

shmem: adapt to rhashtable-based simple_xattrs with lazy allocation

2026-02-23T12:06:38+00:00

Adapt tmpfs/shmem to use the rhashtable-based xattr path and switch
from an embedded struct to pointer-based lazy allocation.

Change shmem_inode_info.xattrs from embedded 'struct simple_xattrs' to
a pointer 'struct simple_xattrs *', initialized to NULL. This avoids
the rhashtable overhead for every tmpfs inode, which helps when a lot of
inodes exist.

The xattr store is allocated on first use:

- shmem_initxattrs(): Allocates via simple_xattrs_alloc() when
  security modules set initial xattrs during inode creation.

- shmem_xattr_handler_set(): Allocates on first setxattr, with a
  short-circuit for removal when no xattrs are stored yet.

All read paths (shmem_xattr_handler_get, shmem_listxattr) check for
NULL xattrs pointer and return -ENODATA or 0 respectively.

Replaced xattr entries are freed via simple_xattr_free_rcu() to allow
concurrent RCU readers to finish.

shmem_evict_inode() conditionally frees the xattr store only when
allocated.

Also change simple_xattr_add() from void to int to propagate
rhashtable insertion failures. shmem_initxattrs() is the only caller.

Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260216-work-xattr-socket-v1-3-c2efa4f74cb7@kernel.org
Acked-by: Darrick J. Wong 
Reviewed-by: Jan Kara 
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner

xattr: add rhashtable-based simple_xattr infrastructure

2026-02-23T12:06:38+00:00

Add rhashtable support to the simple_xattr subsystem while keeping the
existing rbtree code fully functional. This allows consumers to be
migrated one at a time without breaking any intermediate build.

struct simple_xattrs gains a dispatch flag and a union holding either
the rbtree (rb_root + rwlock) or rhashtable state:

  struct simple_xattrs {
      bool use_rhashtable;
      union {
          struct { struct rb_root rb_root; rwlock_t lock; };
          struct rhashtable ht;
      };
  };

simple_xattrs_init() continues to set up the rbtree path for existing
embedded-struct callers.

Add simple_xattrs_alloc() which dynamically allocates a simple_xattrs
and initializes the rhashtable path. This is the entry point for
consumers switching to pointer-based lazy allocation.

The five core functions (get, set, list, add, free) dispatch based on
the use_rhashtable flag.

Existing callers continue to use the rbtree path unchanged. As each
consumer is converted it will switch to simple_xattrs_alloc() and the
rhashtable path. Once all consumers are converted a follow-up patch
will remove the rbtree code.

Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260216-work-xattr-socket-v1-2-c2efa4f74cb7@kernel.org
Acked-by: Darrick J. Wong 
Reviewed-by: Jan Kara 
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner

xattr: add rcu_head and rhash_head to struct simple_xattr

2026-02-23T12:06:38+00:00

In preparation for converting simple_xattrs from rbtree to rhashtable,
add rhash_head and rcu_head members to struct simple_xattr. The
rhashtable implementation will use rhash_head for hash table linkage
and RCU-based lockless reads, requiring that replaced or removed xattr
entries be freed via call_rcu() rather than immediately.

Add simple_xattr_free_rcu() which schedules RCU-deferred freeing of an
xattr entry.  This will be used by callers of simple_xattr_set() once
they switch to the rhashtable-based xattr store.

No functional changes.

Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260216-work-xattr-socket-v1-1-c2efa4f74cb7@kernel.org
Acked-by: Darrick J. Wong 
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner

fs/xattr: Annotate struct simple_xattr with __counted_by

2026-01-14T22:43:18+00:00

Add the __counted_by() compiler attribute to the flexible array member
'value' to improve access bounds-checking via CONFIG_UBSAN_BOUNDS and
CONFIG_FORTIFY_SOURCE.

Reviewed-by: Jan Kara 
Signed-off-by: Thorsten Blum 
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260105122057.2347-2-thorsten.blum@linux.dev
Signed-off-by: Kees Cook

filelock: add struct delegated_inode

2025-11-12T08:38:34+00:00

The current API requires a pointer to an inode pointer. It's easy for
callers to get this wrong. Add a new delegated_inode structure and use
that to pass back any inode that needs to be waited on.

Reviewed-by: Jan Kara 
Reviewed-by: NeilBrown 
Signed-off-by: Jeff Layton 
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20251111-dir-deleg-ro-v6-3-52f3feebb2f2@kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner

fs/xattr: add *at family syscalls

2024-11-06T17:59:44+00:00

Add the four syscalls setxattrat(), getxattrat(), listxattrat() and
removexattrat().  Those can be used to operate on extended attributes,
especially security related ones, either relative to a pinned directory
or on a file descriptor without read access, avoiding a
/proc//fd/ detour, requiring a mounted procfs.

One use case will be setfiles(8) setting SELinux file contexts
("security.selinux") without race conditions and without a file
descriptor opened with read access requiring SELinux read permission.

Use the do_{name}at() pattern from fs/open.c.

Pass the value of the extended attribute, its length, and for
setxattrat(2) the command (XATTR_CREATE or XATTR_REPLACE) via an added
struct xattr_args to not exceed six syscall arguments and not
merging the AT_* and XATTR_* flags.

[AV: fixes by Christian Brauner folded in, the entire thing rebased on
top of {filename,file}_...xattr() primitives, treatment of empty
pathnames regularized.  As the result, AT_EMPTY_PATH+NULL handling
is cheap, so f...(2) can use it]

Signed-off-by: Christian Göttsche 
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20240426162042.191916-1-cgoettsche@seltendoof.de
Reviewed-by: Arnd Bergmann 
Reviewed-by: Christian Brauner 
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[brauner: slight tweaks]
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner 
Signed-off-by: Al Viro

tmpfs,xattr: enable limited user extended attributes

2023-08-10T10:06:04+00:00

Enable "user." extended attributes on tmpfs, limiting them by tracking
the space they occupy, and deducting that space from the limited ispace
(unless tmpfs mounted with nr_inodes=0 to leave that ispace unlimited).

tmpfs inodes and simple xattrs are both unswappable, and have to be in
lowmem on a 32-bit highmem kernel: so the ispace limit is appropriate
for xattrs, without any need for a further mount option.

Add simple_xattr_space() to give approximate but deterministic estimate
of the space taken up by each xattr: with simple_xattrs_free() outputting
the space freed if required (but kernfs and even some tmpfs usages do not
require that, so don't waste time on strlen'ing if not needed).

Security and trusted xattrs were already supported: for consistency and
simplicity, account them from the same pool; though there's a small risk
that a tmpfs with enough space before would now be considered too small.

When extended attributes are used, "df -i" does show more IUsed and less
IFree than can be explained by the inodes: document that (manpage later).

xfstests tests/generic which were not run on tmpfs before but now pass:
020 037 062 070 077 097 103 117 337 377 454 486 523 533 611 618 728
with no new failures.

Signed-off-by: Hugh Dickins 
Reviewed-by: Jan Kara 
Reviewed-by: Carlos Maiolino 
Message-Id: <2e63b26e-df46-5baa-c7d6-f9a8dd3282c5@google.com>
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner

xattr: simple_xattr_set() return old_xattr to be freed

2023-08-09T07:15:51+00:00

tmpfs wants to support limited user extended attributes, but kernfs
(or cgroupfs, the only kernfs with KERNFS_ROOT_SUPPORT_USER_XATTR)
already supports user extended attributes through simple xattrs: but
limited by a policy (128KiB per inode) too liberal to be used on tmpfs.

To allow a different limiting policy for tmpfs, without affecting the
policy for kernfs, change simple_xattr_set() to return the replaced or
removed xattr (if any), leaving the caller to update their accounting
then free the xattr (by simple_xattr_free(), renamed from the static
free_simple_xattr()).

Signed-off-by: Hugh Dickins 
Reviewed-by: Jan Kara 
Reviewed-by: Christian Brauner 
Reviewed-by: Carlos Maiolino 
Message-Id: <158c6585-2aa7-d4aa-90ff-f7c3f8fe407c@google.com>
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner