possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter (3)

Status: upstream: reported on 2026/07/07 14:24
Subsystems: kernfs
Labels: prio:low
[Documentation on labels]
Reported-by: syzbot+c236d648c8a2fb8dd178@syzkaller.appspotmail.com
First crash: 69d, last: 4d11h
✨ AI Jobs (1)
ID Workflow Result Correct Bug Created Started Finished Revision
12665324 assessment-security DenialOfService: ❌ Exploitable: ❌ FilesystemTrigger: ❌ NetworkTrigger: ❌ PeripheralTrigger: ❌ RemoteTrigger: ❌ Unprivileged: ❌ UserNamespace: ❌ VMGuestTrigger: ❌ VMHostTrigger: ❌ possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter (3) 2026/07/05 08:02 2026/07/05 08:02 2026/07/05 08:55 93f57954
Discussions (1)
Title Replies (including bot) Last reply
[syzbot] [kernfs?] possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter (3) 0 (1) 2026/07/07 14:24
Similar bugs (5)
Kernel Title Rank 🛈 Repro Cause bisect Fix bisect Count Last Reported Patched Status
upstream possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter kernfs 4 14 776d 801d 0/29 auto-obsoleted due to no activity on 2024/10/05 00:05
linux-6.6 possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter 4 1 379d 379d 0/2 auto-obsoleted due to no activity on 2025/12/05 21:08
linux-5.15 possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter 4 3 581d 677d 0/3 auto-obsoleted due to no activity on 2025/05/17 20:05
upstream possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter (2) kernfs 4 139 186d 696d 0/29 auto-obsoleted due to no activity on 2026/05/17 16:33
linux-5.15 possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter (2) 4 1 466d 466d 0/3 auto-obsoleted due to no activity on 2025/09/09 09:34

Sample crash report:
======================================================
WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected
syzkaller #0 Tainted: G             L     
------------------------------------------------------
syz.2.2751/16079 is trying to acquire lock:
ffff88804d3e3880 (&of->mutex){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x2c2/0x5f0 fs/kernfs/file.c:336

but task is already holding lock:
ffff88801ff82c60 (&pipe->mutex){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: pipe_lock fs/pipe.c:91 [inline]
ffff88801ff82c60 (&pipe->mutex){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: pipe_lock+0x69/0x80 fs/pipe.c:88

which lock already depends on the new lock.


the existing dependency chain (in reverse order) is:

-> #2 (&pipe->mutex){+.+.}-{4:4}:
       lock_acquire kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5908 [inline]
       lock_acquire+0x1d1/0x380 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5865
       __mutex_lock_common kernel/locking/mutex.c:646 [inline]
       __mutex_lock+0x1a4/0x1bd0 kernel/locking/mutex.c:821
       anon_pipe_prefill_and_lock+0x16c/0x580 fs/pipe.c:165
       anon_pipe_write+0x164/0x1b50 fs/pipe.c:534
       __kernel_write_iter+0x6bb/0x930 fs/read_write.c:621
       __kernel_write+0xf6/0x140 fs/read_write.c:641
       autofs_write fs/autofs/waitq.c:57 [inline]
       autofs_notify_daemon+0x50d/0xd90 fs/autofs/waitq.c:164
       autofs_wait+0x10fd/0x1b50 fs/autofs/waitq.c:426
       autofs_mount_wait+0x132/0x3b0 fs/autofs/root.c:256
       autofs_d_automount+0x490/0x950 fs/autofs/root.c:410
       follow_automount fs/namei.c:1565 [inline]
       __traverse_mounts+0x1b9/0x8a0 fs/namei.c:1618
       traverse_mounts fs/namei.c:1647 [inline]
       handle_mounts fs/namei.c:1749 [inline]
       step_into_slowpath+0xb7e/0xf90 fs/namei.c:2104
       step_into fs/namei.c:2152 [inline]
       walk_component fs/namei.c:2288 [inline]
       lookup_last fs/namei.c:2789 [inline]
       path_lookupat+0x58b/0xc40 fs/namei.c:2813
       filename_lookup+0x202/0x590 fs/namei.c:2842
       kern_path+0x37/0x50 fs/namei.c:3036
       lookup_bdev+0xd8/0x2a0 block/bdev.c:1268
       resume_store+0x1d6/0x460 kernel/power/hibernate.c:1278
       kobj_attr_store+0x58/0x80 lib/kobject.c:842
       sysfs_kf_write+0xf2/0x150 fs/sysfs/file.c:145
       kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x3e0/0x5f0 fs/kernfs/file.c:345
       new_sync_write fs/read_write.c:595 [inline]
       vfs_write+0x6af/0x1050 fs/read_write.c:687
       ksys_write+0x12a/0x250 fs/read_write.c:739
       do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:61 [inline]
       do_syscall_64+0x123/0x790 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:84
       entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f

-> #1 (&sbi->pipe_mutex){+.+.}-{4:4}:
       lock_acquire kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5908 [inline]
       lock_acquire+0x1d1/0x380 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5865
       __mutex_lock_common kernel/locking/mutex.c:646 [inline]
       __mutex_lock+0x1a4/0x1bd0 kernel/locking/mutex.c:821
       autofs_write fs/autofs/waitq.c:55 [inline]
       autofs_notify_daemon+0x4f8/0xd90 fs/autofs/waitq.c:164
       autofs_wait+0x10fd/0x1b50 fs/autofs/waitq.c:426
       autofs_mount_wait+0x132/0x3b0 fs/autofs/root.c:256
       autofs_d_automount+0x490/0x950 fs/autofs/root.c:410
       follow_automount fs/namei.c:1565 [inline]
       __traverse_mounts+0x1b9/0x8a0 fs/namei.c:1618
       traverse_mounts fs/namei.c:1647 [inline]
       handle_mounts fs/namei.c:1749 [inline]
       step_into_slowpath+0xb7e/0xf90 fs/namei.c:2104
       step_into fs/namei.c:2152 [inline]
       walk_component fs/namei.c:2288 [inline]
       lookup_last fs/namei.c:2789 [inline]
       path_lookupat+0x58b/0xc40 fs/namei.c:2813
       filename_lookup+0x202/0x590 fs/namei.c:2842
       kern_path+0x37/0x50 fs/namei.c:3036
       lookup_bdev+0xd8/0x2a0 block/bdev.c:1268
       resume_store+0x1d6/0x460 kernel/power/hibernate.c:1278
       kobj_attr_store+0x58/0x80 lib/kobject.c:842
       sysfs_kf_write+0xf2/0x150 fs/sysfs/file.c:145
       kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x3e0/0x5f0 fs/kernfs/file.c:345
       new_sync_write fs/read_write.c:595 [inline]
       vfs_write+0x6af/0x1050 fs/read_write.c:687
       ksys_write+0x12a/0x250 fs/read_write.c:739
       do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:61 [inline]
       do_syscall_64+0x123/0x790 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:84
       entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f

-> #0 (&of->mutex){+.+.}-{4:4}:
       check_prev_add+0xeb/0xe60 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3181
       check_prevs_add kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3300 [inline]
       validate_chain kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3924 [inline]
       __lock_acquire+0x1492/0x1ec0 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5254
       lock_acquire kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5908 [inline]
       lock_acquire+0x1d1/0x380 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5865
       __mutex_lock_common kernel/locking/mutex.c:646 [inline]
       __mutex_lock+0x1a4/0x1bd0 kernel/locking/mutex.c:821
       kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x2c2/0x5f0 fs/kernfs/file.c:336
       iter_file_splice_write+0x830/0x10b0 fs/splice.c:736
       do_splice_from fs/splice.c:936 [inline]
       do_splice+0x109c/0x1fa0 fs/splice.c:1349
       __do_splice+0x33b/0x370 fs/splice.c:1431
       __do_sys_splice fs/splice.c:1634 [inline]
       __se_sys_splice fs/splice.c:1616 [inline]
       __x64_sys_splice+0x187/0x250 fs/splice.c:1616
       do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:61 [inline]
       do_syscall_64+0x123/0x790 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:84
       entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f

other info that might help us debug this:

Chain exists of:
  &of->mutex --> &sbi->pipe_mutex --> &pipe->mutex

 Possible unsafe locking scenario:

       CPU0                    CPU1
       ----                    ----
  lock(&pipe->mutex);
                               lock(&sbi->pipe_mutex);
                               lock(&pipe->mutex);
  lock(&of->mutex);

 *** DEADLOCK ***

locks held by syz.2.2751/16079: 2, last CPU#0:
 #0: ffff88804d078460 (sb_writers#8){.+.+}-{0:0}, at: __do_splice+0x33b/0x370 fs/splice.c:1431
 #1: ffff88801ff82c60 (&pipe->mutex){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: pipe_lock fs/pipe.c:91 [inline]
 #1: ffff88801ff82c60 (&pipe->mutex){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: pipe_lock+0x69/0x80 fs/pipe.c:88

stack backtrace:
CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 16079 Comm: syz.2.2751 Tainted: G             L      syzkaller #0 PREEMPT(full) 
Tainted: [L]=SOFTLOCKUP
Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 08/05/2026
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:94 [inline]
 dump_stack_lvl+0x100/0x190 lib/dump_stack.c:120
 print_circular_bug.cold+0x178/0x1be kernel/locking/lockdep.c:2059
 check_noncircular+0x146/0x160 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:2191
 check_prev_add+0xeb/0xe60 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3181
 check_prevs_add kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3300 [inline]
 validate_chain kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3924 [inline]
 __lock_acquire+0x1492/0x1ec0 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5254
 lock_acquire kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5908 [inline]
 lock_acquire+0x1d1/0x380 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5865
 __mutex_lock_common kernel/locking/mutex.c:646 [inline]
 __mutex_lock+0x1a4/0x1bd0 kernel/locking/mutex.c:821
 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x2c2/0x5f0 fs/kernfs/file.c:336
 iter_file_splice_write+0x830/0x10b0 fs/splice.c:736
 do_splice_from fs/splice.c:936 [inline]
 do_splice+0x109c/0x1fa0 fs/splice.c:1349
 __do_splice+0x33b/0x370 fs/splice.c:1431
 __do_sys_splice fs/splice.c:1634 [inline]
 __se_sys_splice fs/splice.c:1616 [inline]
 __x64_sys_splice+0x187/0x250 fs/splice.c:1616
 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:61 [inline]
 do_syscall_64+0x123/0x790 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:84
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
RIP: 0033:0x7f395039e159
Code: ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 44 00 00 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 e8 ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48
RSP: 002b:00007f395130a028 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000113
RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007f3950626090 RCX: 00007f395039e159
RDX: 0000000000000006 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 0000000000000004
RBP: 00007f3950435024 R08: 000000000004ffe6 R09: 0000000000000000
R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000000
R13: 00007f3950626128 R14: 00007f3950626090 R15: 00007ffc22815bd8
 </TASK>
zram0: detected capacity change from 0 to 8
zram: Cannot change disksize for initialized device

Crashes (11):
Time Kernel Commit Syzkaller Config Log Report Syz repro C repro VM info Assets (help?) Manager Title
2026/09/06 13:12 upstream 1fc5a74b108f 4f7b22a0 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-selinux-root possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter
2026/07/15 00:55 upstream 3b029c035b34 2130f682 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-selinux-root possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter
2026/07/14 22:59 upstream 3b029c035b34 2130f682 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-selinux-root possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter
2026/07/13 18:32 upstream a13c140cc289 a870962e .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-selinux-root possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter
2026/07/03 14:12 upstream 87320be9f0d2 58bf2096 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-selinux-root possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter
2026/09/06 05:09 upstream 9f0346dcbea3 4f7b22a0 .config console log report info [disk image (non-bootable)] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-qemu-upstream-386 possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter
2026/09/06 05:08 upstream 9f0346dcbea3 4f7b22a0 .config console log report info [disk image (non-bootable)] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-qemu-upstream-386 possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter
2026/08/10 18:08 upstream db2ddb871435 558388e4 .config console log report info [disk image (non-bootable)] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-qemu-upstream-386 possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter
2026/08/10 07:35 upstream db2ddb871435 5d63f80b .config console log report info [disk image (non-bootable)] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-qemu-upstream-386 possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter
2026/08/10 00:36 upstream b643e495ae92 5d63f80b .config console log report info [disk image (non-bootable)] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-qemu-upstream-386 possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter
2026/08/10 00:24 upstream b643e495ae92 5d63f80b .config console log report info [disk image (non-bootable)] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-qemu-upstream-386 possible deadlock in kernfs_fop_write_iter
* Struck through repros no longer work on HEAD.