Re: [RFC PATCH] pidfs: don't report autoreaped tasks readable before exit info exists
From: Oleg Nesterov
Date: Sat Oct 17 2026 - 09:48:28 EST
Sorry, I don't understand...
Christian, can you take a look?
On 10/17, fujo wrote:
>
> pidfd_poll() reports a task readable as soon as task->exit_state is set
> and the thread group is empty. For a task that is going to be
> auto-reaped (CLONE_AUTOREAP, or a parent that ignores SIGCHLD) this
> happens before release_task() runs and before pidfs_exit() publishes
> PIDFS_ATTR_BIT_EXIT.
But this doesn't depend on CLONE_AUTOREAP/etc; unless the exiting task
is delay_group_leader(), exit_notify() always calls do_notify_pidfd().
The pollers get EPOLLIN.
Then release_task()->pidfs_exit() publishes PIDFS_ATTR_BIT_EXIT, and
another wake_up_all(&pid->wait_pidfd) wakes the pollers again, after
that the pollers should get EPOLLIN | EPOLLHUP.
Please add more details, in particular about your test-case.
As for tools/testing/selftests/pidfd/pidfd_autoreap_test.c
At first glance it is wrong, it should use pfd.events = POLLHUP
Oleg.
> A woken poller that immediately calls PIDFD_GET_INFO with
> PIDFD_INFO_EXIT can therefore get an answer without PIDFD_INFO_EXIT.
> For CLONE_AUTOREAP this breaks the documented use of polling the pidfd
> and retrieving the exit status via PIDFD_GET_INFO: the task is
> auto-reaped and cannot be waited for, so the exit status is lost for
> that poll.
>
> Do not report a task that is pending auto-reap readable until its exit
> information has been published, and wake the pidfd waitqueue from
> pidfs_exit() after PIDFS_ATTR_BIT_EXIT has been set so that pollers
> woken early sleep again and are woken once the information exists.
>
> Reproducer: clone3(CLONE_PIDFD | CLONE_AUTOREAP); the child creates a
> thread that exits after 500us and then exits itself; the parent polls
> the pidfd and immediately calls PIDFD_GET_INFO with PIDFD_INFO_EXIT.
> On current mainline 18/300 iterations (SMP 2) and 78/300 (SMP 1) return
> POLLIN without PIDFD_INFO_EXIT; with this change 0/300 in both cases.
> The in-tree pidfd_autoreap_test global.autoreap_multithreaded case
> fails without and passes with this change.
>
> Signed-off-by: fujo <hooyan2024@xxxxxxxxx>
> ---
> fs/pidfs.c | 29 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++--
> 1 file changed, 27 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/fs/pidfs.c b/fs/pidfs.c
> index a6a643f15..5245131ea 100644
> --- a/fs/pidfs.c
> +++ b/fs/pidfs.c
> @@ -320,8 +320,26 @@ static __poll_t pidfd_poll(struct file *file, struct poll_table_struct *pts)
> task = pid_task(pid, PIDTYPE_PID);
> if (!task)
> poll_flags = EPOLLIN | EPOLLRDNORM | EPOLLHUP;
> - else if (task->exit_state && !delay_group_leader(task))
> - poll_flags = EPOLLIN | EPOLLRDNORM;
> + else if (task->exit_state && !delay_group_leader(task)) {
> + struct pidfs_attr *pattr = READ_ONCE(pid->attr);
> + bool pending_autoreap;
> +
> + /*
> + * A task that is going to be auto-reaped reaches EXIT_DEAD (or
> + * carries CLONE_AUTOREAP) before release_task() publishes
> + * PIDFS_ATTR_BIT_EXIT. Don't report readable until the exit
> + * information is actually available, or a poller can observe
> + * POLLIN and then get PIDFD_GET_INFO without PIDFD_INFO_EXIT.
> + * ptraced tasks are not auto-reaped, so they keep the old
> + * behavior.
> + */
> + pending_autoreap = (!task->ptrace && task->signal->autoreap) ||
> + task->exit_state == EXIT_DEAD;
> + if (!pending_autoreap ||
> + (!IS_ERR_OR_NULL(pattr) &&
> + test_bit(PIDFS_ATTR_BIT_EXIT, &pattr->attr_mask)))
> + poll_flags = EPOLLIN | EPOLLRDNORM;
> + }
>
> return poll_flags;
> }
> @@ -790,6 +808,13 @@ void pidfs_exit(struct task_struct *tsk)
> /* Ensure that PIDFD_GET_INFO sees either all or nothing. */
> smp_wmb();
> set_bit(PIDFS_ATTR_BIT_EXIT, &attr->attr_mask);
> +
> + /*
> + * Pollers may have been woken before the exit information above was
> + * published. Wake them again now that PIDFD_GET_INFO can return
> + * PIDFD_INFO_EXIT.
> + */
> + do_notify_pidfd(tsk);
> }
>
> #ifdef CONFIG_COREDUMP
> --
> 2.53.0
>