[PATCH net repost 1/2] net/sched: codel: bound the dropping loop per dequeue call
From: Jamal Hadi Salim <jhs@mojatatu.com>
Date: 2026-09-12 18:08:38
Also in:
linux-wireless, stable
Subsystem:
networking [general], the rest · Maintainers:
"David S. Miller", Eric Dumazet, Jakub Kicinski, Paolo Abeni, Linus Torvalds
The CoDel control law schedules the next drop one interval/sqrt(count)
after the previous drop, using the configured interval
(codel_params.interval). For very small intervals the scheduled step
rounds down to zero, so the dropping loop in codel_dequeue() never
advances and drains the entire backlog under the qdisc lock in one
call - an unprivileged user can trigger a soft lockup this way.
Fix in the shared codel code used by both codel and fq_codel:
1. Make the control-law step at least 1 tick so the dropping loop
always moves forward.
2. Cap the dropping loop at CODEL_MAX_DROPS_PER_DEQUEUE (256) drops
per codel_dequeue() call, resyncing drop_next to now when the cap
is hit: the catch-up owed to the loop grows with the idle gap and
the backlog, which no interval threshold can bound. This is a
deliberate behaviour change after long idle gaps.
The cap applies to fq_codel (4b549a2ef4be) and the mac80211 TXQ path
(fixed interval, cap only).
The target sojourn delay (codel_params.target) is not validated: it
does not feed the control law, so a sub-tick value is aggressive
rather than deadlock-prone.
Conditions to recreate the bug:
- tc qdisc add dev lo root handle 1: tbf rate 1kbit burst 2kb limit 1000000
- tc qdisc add dev lo parent 1:1 handle 10: codel interval 2us target 1ms noecn limit 1000000 (same for fq_codel)
- unpatched kernel: tc accepts it; a UDP flood under the 1kbit tbf
soft-lockups (watchdog: BUG: soft lockup) while one
codel_dequeue() call drops the backlog under the qdisc lock
- patched kernel: same setup, at most 256 drops per dequeue call,
no soft lockup
Testing: claim reproducer and interval 2us/3us variants run clean;
tdc qdisc category passes (see the selftests patch).
Fixes: 76e3cc126bb2 ("codel: Controlled Delay AQM")
Reported-by: Vega <redacted>
Reviewed-by: Eric Dumazet <edumazet@google.com>
Tested-by: Victor Nogueira <redacted>
Signed-off-by: Jamal Hadi Salim <jhs@mojatatu.com>
---
include/net/codel.h | 5 +++++
include/net/codel_impl.h | 16 +++++++++++++++-
2 files changed, 20 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
diff --git a/include/net/codel.h b/include/net/codel.h
index aa80f744826c..183d43c2bd43 100644
--- a/include/net/codel.h
+++ b/include/net/codel.h@@ -140,6 +140,11 @@ struct codel_vars { /* needed shift to get a Q0.32 number from rec_inv_sqrt */ #define REC_INV_SQRT_SHIFT (32 - REC_INV_SQRT_BITS) +/* Cap on drops per codel_dequeue() call: the loop's work depends on the + * idle gap and backlog, both outside our control; resync when exceeded. + */ +#define CODEL_MAX_DROPS_PER_DEQUEUE 256 + /** * struct codel_stats - contains codel shared variables and stats * @maxpacket: largest packet we've seen so far
diff --git a/include/net/codel_impl.h b/include/net/codel_impl.h
index 2c1f0ec309e9..8f26132d45b7 100644
--- a/include/net/codel_impl.h
+++ b/include/net/codel_impl.h@@ -93,12 +93,17 @@ static void codel_Newton_step(struct codel_vars *vars) * CoDel control_law is t + interval/sqrt(count) * We maintain in rec_inv_sqrt the reciprocal value of sqrt(count) to avoid * both sqrt() and divide operation. + * + * Clamp the increment to at least 1 tick: a very small interval (or a + * large count) can truncate it to zero, stalling the dropping loop. */ static codel_time_t codel_control_law(codel_time_t t, codel_time_t interval, u32 rec_inv_sqrt) { - return t + reciprocal_scale(interval, rec_inv_sqrt << REC_INV_SQRT_SHIFT); + return t + max_t(u32, 1, + reciprocal_scale(interval, + rec_inv_sqrt << REC_INV_SQRT_SHIFT)); } static bool codel_should_drop(const struct sk_buff *skb,
@@ -154,6 +159,7 @@ static struct sk_buff *codel_dequeue(void *ctx, codel_skb_dequeue_t dequeue_func) { struct sk_buff *skb = dequeue_func(vars, ctx); + unsigned int drops = 0; codel_time_t now; bool drop;
@@ -180,6 +186,14 @@ static struct sk_buff *codel_dequeue(void *ctx, */ while (vars->dropping && codel_time_after_eq(now, vars->drop_next)) { + if (++drops > CODEL_MAX_DROPS_PER_DEQUEUE) { + /* fell far behind the schedule */ + WRITE_ONCE(vars->drop_next, + codel_control_law(now, + params->interval, + vars->rec_inv_sqrt)); + break; + } /* dont care of possible wrap * since there is no more divide. */
--
2.43.0