Re: [PATCH v2] hv_netvsc: Fix a deadlock by getting rtnl lock earlier in netvsc_probe()

From: Dexuan Cui <decui@microsoft.com>
Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2018 05:42:13 +0000

This patch fixes the race between netvsc_probe() and
rndis_set_subchannel(), which can cause a deadlock.

These are the related 3 paths which show the deadlock:

 ...

Before path #1 finishes, path #2 can start to run, because just before
the "bus_probe_device(dev);" in device_add() in path #1, there is a line
"object_uevent(&dev->kobj, KOBJ_ADD);", so systemd-udevd can
immediately try to load hv_netvsc and hence path #2 can start to run.

Next, path #2 offloads the subchannal's initialization to a workqueue,
i.e. path #3, so we can end up in a deadlock situation like this:

Path #2 gets the device lock, and is trying to get the rtnl lock;
Path #3 gets the rtnl lock and is waiting for all the subchannel messages
to be processed;
Path #1 is trying to get the device lock, but since #2 is not releasing
the device lock, path #1 has to sleep; since the VMBus messages are
processed one by one, this means the sub-channel messages can't be
procedded, so #3 has to sleep with the rtnl lock held, and finally #2
has to sleep... Now all the 3 paths are sleeping and we hit the deadlock.

With the patch, we can make sure #2 gets both the device lock and the
rtnl lock together, gets its job done, and releases the locks, so #1
and #3 will not be blocked for ever.

Fixes: 8195b1396ec8 ("hv_netvsc: fix deadlock on hotplug")
Signed-off-by: Dexuan Cui <decui@microsoft.com>

Applied and queued up for -stable.