Re: [PATCH v8 0/2] staging: rtl8723bs: Fix error handling in _rtw_pktfile_read()

[Andy Shevchenko]

On Sun, May 24, 2026 at 09:30:01PM +0300, Bitterblue Smith wrote:
> On 27/01/2026 17:38, Minu Jin wrote:
> > This series improves error handling in _rtw_pktfile_read() and cleans up
> > the code style to comply with kernel standards.
> > 
> > 1. The first patch combines the logic change and caller updates.
> >    The function change and the caller updates must be in the same
> >    patch. If they are separated, the code will not work correctly 
> >    or will cause errors at that specific point in the history.
> > 
> > 2. The second patch focuses purely on code style cleanup (changing uint
> >    to unsigned int) as requested by Andy Shevchenko.
> > 
> > Regarding the logic change in _rtw_pktfile_read():
> > 
> >     The original code used a ternary operator to read whatever data was 
> >     available, even if it was less than requested. This could lead to 
> >     callers processing incomplete data without knowing it.
> > 
> >     I have changed this to return -EINVAL when the remaining data is insufficient. 
> >     This is safer because most callers expect the exact amount of data and 
> >     should not proceed with a partial read.
> > 
> > Testing and Verification:
> > 
> >     I do not have access to the physical RTL8723BS hardware. However, I have
> >     performed a rigorous manual audit of the data path and verified the
> >     changes using Smatch static analysis. The analysis confirmed that no
> >     new warnings or logical regressions were introduced in the modified files.
> 
> I have some bad news:
> 
> https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=313401

It's unclear that this patch made it happen. See below.

> [quote]
> 
> Hey everyone,
> 
> I recently upgraded my system, and now I’m having a strange issue with my
> WiFi (Realtek RTL8723BS).
> 
> now I can no longer connect to any WiFi networks as a client. however,
> creating an Access Point (AP) still works fine, but whenever I try to connect
> to an existing network, the connection fails.
> 
> dmesg logs:
> Every time I attempt a connection, dmesg gets spammed with this error:
> 
>     [ 1083.925640] rtl8723bs mmc0:0001:1 wlan0: xmit_xmitframes: coalesce failed with error -22
>     [ 1084.921217] rtl8723bs mmc0:0001:1 wlan0: xmit_xmitframes: coalesce failed with error -22
>     [ 1085.921434] rtl8723bs mmc0:0001:1 wlan0: xmit_xmitframes: coalesce failed with error -22
>     [ 1086.922320] rtl8723bs mmc0:0001:1 wlan0: xmit_xmitframes: coalesce failed with error -22
>     ....
> 
> Has anyone encountered this specific "coalesce" error with the rtl8723bs
> driver? I'm looking for advice on whether this is a known bug in recent
> kernels or if there's a specific module parameter I should try to bypass
> this.
> 
> System Info:
> 
>     Chipset: RTL8723BS (SDIO)
> 
>     Kernel version: 7.0.3-zen1-2-zen
> 
> update: I fixed the issue after kernel downgrade
> 
> [/quote]

That guy should bisect and find the culprit. It will help a lot to understand
what's going on.

-- 
With Best Regards,
Andy Shevchenko