[PATCH net-next v3 2/5] netconsole: do not dequeue pooled skbs that cannot satisfy len
From: Breno Leitao
Date: Thu Jun 04 2026 - 12:21:50 EST
find_skb() falls back to np->skb_pool when the GFP_ATOMIC alloc_skb()
fails. The pool is refilled by refill_skbs(), which always allocates
buffers of MAX_SKB_SIZE (ethhdr + iphdr + udphdr + MAX_UDP_CHUNK ==
1502 bytes).
netconsole, however, computes the requested length dynamically as
total_len + np->dev->needed_tailroom
If the egress device declares a non-zero needed_tailroom (e.g. some
tunnel or hardware accelerator devices), the required length can exceed
MAX_SKB_SIZE. The pooled skb is then handed back to the caller, which
immediately performs skb_put(skb, len), trips the tail > end check, and
triggers skb_over_panic().
Leave the normal alloc_skb(len, GFP_ATOMIC) path untouched -- the slab
allocator can still satisfy oversized requests when memory is available,
so senders to devices with non-zero needed_tailroom keep working in the
common case. Only the pool fallback is gated: when alloc_skb() failed
and len exceeds the pool buffer size, skip the skb_dequeue() instead of
burning a pre-allocated skb on a request that would later trip
skb_over_panic(). Reserving pool entries for requests they can actually
satisfy also keeps the panic path, which depends on the pool being
primed, intact.
When that drop happens, emit a rate-limited net_warn() so the user
notices that netconsole is unable to push messages on the egress device.
The warn is skipped under in_nmi() for the same reason schedule_work()
is: printk machinery taken by net_warn_ratelimited() is not NMI-safe and
would risk recursing into the same nbcon console we are servicing.
MAX_SKB_SIZE / MAX_UDP_CHUNK were private to net/core/netpoll.c. Move
them to include/linux/netpoll.h so netconsole can reference the same
definition that refill_skbs() uses, keeping the two in sync by
construction. The header now pulls in <linux/ip.h> and <linux/udp.h>
explicitly so MAX_SKB_SIZE remains self-contained for any future user.
Signed-off-by: Breno Leitao <leitao@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
drivers/net/netconsole.c | 22 ++++++++++++++++++++--
include/linux/netpoll.h | 16 ++++++++++++++++
net/core/netpoll.c | 7 -------
3 files changed, 36 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)
diff --git a/drivers/net/netconsole.c b/drivers/net/netconsole.c
index 918e4a9f4456..58250e648f8b 100644
--- a/drivers/net/netconsole.c
+++ b/drivers/net/netconsole.c
@@ -1655,15 +1655,33 @@ static struct notifier_block netconsole_netdev_notifier = {
};
/* Pop a pre-allocated skb from the pool and request a refill.
+ *
+ * The pool is refilled with MAX_SKB_SIZE buffers, so a pooled skb cannot
+ * satisfy a larger request. Return NULL in that case rather than handing
+ * back a too-small skb that would later trip skb_over_panic() in skb_put();
+ * the caller still polls and retries, and alloc_skb() itself can satisfy the
+ * oversized request once memory frees up.
*
* The refill is requested via schedule_work(), which takes the workqueue
* pool locks and is therefore not NMI-safe. Skip the refill when called
* from NMI context; the next non-NMI caller will top the pool back up.
*/
-static struct sk_buff *netcons_skb_pop(struct netpoll *np)
+static struct sk_buff *netcons_skb_pop(struct netpoll *np, int len)
{
struct sk_buff *skb;
+ if (len > MAX_SKB_SIZE) {
+ /* net_warn_ratelimited() pulls in printk machinery that is not
+ * NMI-safe and could recurse into the nbcon console we are
+ * servicing, so only warn outside NMI.
+ */
+ if (!in_nmi())
+ net_warn_ratelimited("netconsole: dropping message, requested skb len %d exceeds pool buffer size %zu on %s\n",
+ len, (size_t)MAX_SKB_SIZE,
+ np->dev->name);
+ return NULL;
+ }
+
skb = skb_dequeue(&np->skb_pool);
if (!in_nmi())
schedule_work(&np->refill_wq);
@@ -1681,7 +1699,7 @@ static struct sk_buff *find_skb(struct netpoll *np, int len, int reserve)
skb = alloc_skb(len, GFP_ATOMIC);
if (!skb)
- skb = netcons_skb_pop(np);
+ skb = netcons_skb_pop(np, len);
if (!skb) {
if (++count < 10) {
diff --git a/include/linux/netpoll.h b/include/linux/netpoll.h
index e4b8f1f91e54..88f7daa8560e 100644
--- a/include/linux/netpoll.h
+++ b/include/linux/netpoll.h
@@ -13,12 +13,28 @@
#include <linux/rcupdate.h>
#include <linux/list.h>
#include <linux/refcount.h>
+#include <linux/ip.h>
+#include <linux/udp.h>
union inet_addr {
__be32 ip;
struct in6_addr in6;
};
+/*
+ * Maximum payload netpoll's preallocated skb pool can carry. Keep this in
+ * sync with the buffer size used by refill_skbs() in net/core/netpoll.c;
+ * callers (e.g. netconsole) use it to detect requests the pool can never
+ * satisfy and avoid dequeuing a pooled skb that would later trip
+ * skb_over_panic() in skb_put().
+ */
+#define MAX_UDP_CHUNK 1460
+#define MAX_SKB_SIZE \
+ (sizeof(struct ethhdr) + \
+ sizeof(struct iphdr) + \
+ sizeof(struct udphdr) + \
+ MAX_UDP_CHUNK)
+
struct netpoll {
struct net_device *dev;
netdevice_tracker dev_tracker;
diff --git a/net/core/netpoll.c b/net/core/netpoll.c
index b3fe59445f2d..229dde818ab3 100644
--- a/net/core/netpoll.c
+++ b/net/core/netpoll.c
@@ -41,16 +41,9 @@
* message gets out even in extreme OOM situations.
*/
-#define MAX_UDP_CHUNK 1460
#define MAX_SKBS 32
#define USEC_PER_POLL 50
-#define MAX_SKB_SIZE \
- (sizeof(struct ethhdr) + \
- sizeof(struct iphdr) + \
- sizeof(struct udphdr) + \
- MAX_UDP_CHUNK)
-
static unsigned int carrier_timeout = 4;
module_param(carrier_timeout, uint, 0644);
--
2.53.0-Meta