Breno Leitao d9e4142e76 kho: add size parameter to kho_add_subtree()
Patch series "kho: history: track previous kernel version and kexec boot
count", v9.

Use Kexec Handover (KHO) to pass the previous kernel's version string and
the number of kexec reboots since the last cold boot to the next kernel,
and print it at boot time.

Example
=======
	[    0.000000] Linux version 6.19.0-rc3-upstream-00047-ge5d992347849
	...
	[    0.000000] KHO: exec from: 6.19.0-rc4-next-20260107upstream-00004-g3071b0dc4498 (count 1)

Motivation
==========

Bugs that only reproduce when kexecing from specific kernel versions are
difficult to diagnose.  These issues occur when a buggy kernel kexecs into
a new kernel, with the bug manifesting only in the second kernel.

Recent examples include:

 * eb22663125 ("x86/boot: Fix page table access in 5-level to 4-level paging transition")
 * 77d48d39e9 ("efistub/tpm: Use ACPI reclaim memory for event log to avoid corruption")
 * 64b45dd46e ("x86/efi: skip memattr table on kexec boot")

As kexec-based reboots become more common, these version-dependent bugs
are appearing more frequently.  At scale, correlating crashes to the
previous kernel version is challenging, especially when issues only occur
in specific transition scenarios.

Some bugs manifest only after multiple consecutive kexec reboots. 
Tracking the kexec count helps identify these cases (this metric is
already used by live update sub-system).

KHO provides a reliable mechanism to pass information between kernels.  By
carrying the previous kernel's release string and kexec count forward, we
can print this context at boot time to aid debugging.

The goal of this feature is to have this information being printed in
early boot, so, users can trace back kernel releases in kexec.  Systemd is
not helpful because we cannot assume that the previous kernel has systemd
or even write access to the disk (common when using Linux as bootloaders)


This patch (of 6):

kho_add_subtree() assumes the fdt argument is always an FDT and calls
fdt_totalsize() on it in the debugfs code path.  This assumption will
break if a caller passes arbitrary data instead of an FDT.

When CONFIG_KEXEC_HANDOVER_DEBUGFS is enabled, kho_debugfs_fdt_add() calls
__kho_debugfs_fdt_add(), which executes:

    f->wrapper.size = fdt_totalsize(fdt);

Fix this by adding an explicit size parameter to kho_add_subtree() so
callers specify the blob size.  This allows subtrees to contain arbitrary
data formats, not just FDTs.  Update all callers:

  - memblock.c: use fdt_totalsize(fdt)
  - luo_core.c: use fdt_totalsize(fdt_out)
  - test_kho.c: use fdt_totalsize()
  - kexec_handover.c (root fdt): use fdt_totalsize(kho_out.fdt)

Also update __kho_debugfs_fdt_add() to receive the size explicitly instead
of computing it internally via fdt_totalsize().  In kho_in_debugfs_init(),
pass fdt_totalsize() for the root FDT and sub-blobs since all current
users are FDTs.  A subsequent patch will persist the size in the KHO FDT
so the incoming side can handle non-FDT blobs correctly.

Link: https://lore.kernel.org/20260323110747.193569-1-duanchenghao@kylinos.cn
Link: https://lore.kernel.org/20260316-kho-v9-1-ed6dcd951988@debian.org
Signed-off-by: Breno Leitao <leitao@debian.org>
Suggested-by: Pratyush Yadav <pratyush@kernel.org>
Reviewed-by: Mike Rapoport (Microsoft) <rppt@kernel.org>
Reviewed-by: Pratyush Yadav <pratyush@kernel.org>
Cc: Alexander Graf <graf@amazon.com>
Cc: David Hildenbrand <david@kernel.org>
Cc: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
Cc: "Liam R. Howlett" <Liam.Howlett@oracle.com>
Cc: Lorenzo Stoakes <ljs@kernel.org>
Cc: Michal Hocko <mhocko@suse.com>
Cc: Pasha Tatashin <pasha.tatashin@soleen.com>
Cc: SeongJae Park <sj@kernel.org>
Cc: Shuah Khan <skhan@linuxfoundation.org>
Cc: Suren Baghdasaryan <surenb@google.com>
Cc: Vlastimil Babka <vbabka@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
2026-04-18 00:10:48 -07:00
2026-01-26 19:07:09 -08:00
2022-09-28 09:02:20 +02:00
2025-02-19 14:53:27 -07:00
2026-03-22 14:42:17 -07:00

Linux kernel
============

The Linux kernel is the core of any Linux operating system. It manages hardware,
system resources, and provides the fundamental services for all other software.

Quick Start
-----------

* Report a bug: See Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst
* Get the latest kernel: https://kernel.org
* Build the kernel: See Documentation/admin-guide/quickly-build-trimmed-linux.rst
* Join the community: https://lore.kernel.org/

Essential Documentation
-----------------------

All users should be familiar with:

* Building requirements: Documentation/process/changes.rst
* Code of Conduct: Documentation/process/code-of-conduct.rst
* License: See COPYING

Documentation can be built with make htmldocs or viewed online at:
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/


Who Are You?
============

Find your role below:

* New Kernel Developer - Getting started with kernel development
* Academic Researcher - Studying kernel internals and architecture
* Security Expert - Hardening and vulnerability analysis
* Backport/Maintenance Engineer - Maintaining stable kernels
* System Administrator - Configuring and troubleshooting
* Maintainer - Leading subsystems and reviewing patches
* Hardware Vendor - Writing drivers for new hardware
* Distribution Maintainer - Packaging kernels for distros
* AI Coding Assistant - LLMs and AI-powered development tools


For Specific Users
==================

New Kernel Developer
--------------------

Welcome! Start your kernel development journey here:

* Getting Started: Documentation/process/development-process.rst
* Your First Patch: Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
* Coding Style: Documentation/process/coding-style.rst
* Build System: Documentation/kbuild/index.rst
* Development Tools: Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst
* Kernel Hacking Guide: Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst
* Core APIs: Documentation/core-api/index.rst

Academic Researcher
-------------------

Explore the kernel's architecture and internals:

* Researcher Guidelines: Documentation/process/researcher-guidelines.rst
* Memory Management: Documentation/mm/index.rst
* Scheduler: Documentation/scheduler/index.rst
* Networking Stack: Documentation/networking/index.rst
* Filesystems: Documentation/filesystems/index.rst
* RCU (Read-Copy Update): Documentation/RCU/index.rst
* Locking Primitives: Documentation/locking/index.rst
* Power Management: Documentation/power/index.rst

Security Expert
---------------

Security documentation and hardening guides:

* Security Documentation: Documentation/security/index.rst
* LSM Development: Documentation/security/lsm-development.rst
* Self Protection: Documentation/security/self-protection.rst
* Reporting Vulnerabilities: Documentation/process/security-bugs.rst
* CVE Procedures: Documentation/process/cve.rst
* Embargoed Hardware Issues: Documentation/process/embargoed-hardware-issues.rst
* Security Features: Documentation/userspace-api/seccomp_filter.rst

Backport/Maintenance Engineer
-----------------------------

Maintain and stabilize kernel versions:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* Backporting Guide: Documentation/process/backporting.rst
* Applying Patches: Documentation/process/applying-patches.rst
* Subsystem Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git for Maintainers: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

System Administrator
--------------------

Configure, tune, and troubleshoot Linux systems:

* Admin Guide: Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Sysctl Tuning: Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/index.rst
* Tracing/Debugging: Documentation/trace/index.rst
* Performance Security: Documentation/admin-guide/perf-security.rst
* Hardware Monitoring: Documentation/hwmon/index.rst

Maintainer
----------

Lead kernel subsystems and manage contributions:

* Maintainer Handbook: Documentation/maintainer/index.rst
* Pull Requests: Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst
* Managing Patches: Documentation/maintainer/modifying-patches.rst
* Rebasing and Merging: Documentation/maintainer/rebasing-and-merging.rst
* Development Process: Documentation/process/maintainer-handbooks.rst
* Maintainer Entry Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git Configuration: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

Hardware Vendor
---------------

Write drivers and support new hardware:

* Driver API Guide: Documentation/driver-api/index.rst
* Driver Model: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/driver.rst
* Device Drivers: Documentation/driver-api/infrastructure.rst
* Bus Types: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/bus.rst
* Device Tree Bindings: Documentation/devicetree/bindings/
* Power Management: Documentation/driver-api/pm/index.rst
* DMA API: Documentation/core-api/dma-api.rst

Distribution Maintainer
-----------------------

Package and distribute the kernel:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* ABI Documentation: Documentation/ABI/README
* Kernel Configuration: Documentation/kbuild/kconfig.rst
* Module Signing: Documentation/admin-guide/module-signing.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Tainted Kernels: Documentation/admin-guide/tainted-kernels.rst

AI Coding Assistant
-------------------

CRITICAL: If you are an LLM or AI-powered coding assistant, you MUST read and
follow the AI coding assistants documentation before contributing to the Linux
kernel:

* Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst

This documentation contains essential requirements about licensing, attribution,
and the Developer Certificate of Origin that all AI tools must comply with.


Communication and Support
=========================

* Mailing Lists: https://lore.kernel.org/
* IRC: #kernelnewbies on irc.oftc.net
* Bugzilla: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/
* MAINTAINERS file: Lists subsystem maintainers and mailing lists
* Email Clients: Documentation/process/email-clients.rst
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