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Re: [PATCH 1/3] ipc: convert ipc_namespace.count from atomic_t to refcount_t

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"Reshetova, Elena" <elena.reshetova@intel.com> writes:

2>> Elena Reshetova <elena.reshetova@intel.com> writes:
>> 
>> > refcount_t type and corresponding API should be
>> > used instead of atomic_t when the variable is used as
>> > a reference counter. This allows to avoid accidental
>> > refcounter overflows that might lead to use-after-free
>> > situations.
>> 
>> In this patch you can see all of the uses of the count.
>> What accidental refcount overflows are possible?
>
> Even if one can guarantee and prove that in the current implementation
> there are no overflows possible, we can't say that for
> sure for any future implementation. Bugs might always happen
> unfortunately, but if we convert the refcounter to a safer
> type we can be sure that overflows are not possible. 
>
> Does it make sense to you?

Not for code that is likely to remain unchanged for a decade no.

This looks like a large set of unautomated changes without any real
thought put into it.  That almost always results in a typo somewhere
that breaks things.

So there is no benefit to the code, and a non-zero chance that there
will be a typo breaking the code.

All to harden the code for an unlikely future when the code is
updated with a full test cycle and people paying attention.

Introduce a bug now to avoid a bug in the future.  That seems like a
very poor engineering trade off.

Eric

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[PATCH 0/3]  v2 ipc subsystem refcount coversions Elena Reshetova <elena.reshetova@intel.com> - 2017-07-07 11:10 +0200
  [PATCH 1/3] ipc: convert ipc_namespace.count from atomic_t to refcount_t Elena Reshetova <elena.reshetova@intel.com> - 2017-07-07 11:10 +0200
    Re: [PATCH 1/3] ipc: convert ipc_namespace.count from atomic_t to refcount_t ebiederm@xmission.com (Eric W. Biederman) - 2017-07-10 00:10 +0200
      RE: [PATCH 1/3] ipc: convert ipc_namespace.count from atomic_t to  refcount_t "Reshetova, Elena" <elena.reshetova@intel.com> - 2017-07-10 08:50 +0200
        Re: [PATCH 1/3] ipc: convert ipc_namespace.count from atomic_t to refcount_t ebiederm@xmission.com (Eric W. Biederman) - 2017-07-10 10:50 +0200
          Re: [PATCH 1/3] ipc: convert ipc_namespace.count from atomic_t to refcount_t Alexey Dobriyan <adobriyan@gmail.com> - 2017-07-10 11:40 +0200
            Re: [PATCH 1/3] ipc: convert ipc_namespace.count from atomic_t to refcount_t ebiederm@xmission.com (Eric W. Biederman) - 2017-07-10 13:30 +0200
          RE: [PATCH 1/3] ipc: convert ipc_namespace.count from atomic_t to  refcount_t "Reshetova, Elena" <elena.reshetova@intel.com> - 2017-07-10 12:00 +0200
            Re: [PATCH 1/3] ipc: convert ipc_namespace.count from atomic_t to refcount_t ebiederm@xmission.com (Eric W. Biederman) - 2017-07-10 13:40 +0200
              RE: [PATCH 1/3] ipc: convert ipc_namespace.count from atomic_t to  refcount_t "Reshetova, Elena" <elena.reshetova@intel.com> - 2017-07-10 14:20 +0200
                Re: [PATCH 1/3] ipc: convert ipc_namespace.count from atomic_t to refcount_t ebiederm@xmission.com (Eric W. Biederman) - 2017-07-10 22:50 +0200
                RE: [PATCH 1/3] ipc: convert ipc_namespace.count from atomic_t to  refcount_t "Reshetova, Elena" <elena.reshetova@intel.com> - 2017-07-12 11:30 +0200
  [PATCH 2/3] ipc: convert sem_undo_list.refcnt from atomic_t to refcount_t Elena Reshetova <elena.reshetova@intel.com> - 2017-07-07 11:10 +0200
  [PATCH 3/3] ipc: convert kern_ipc_perm.refcount from atomic_t to refcount_t Elena Reshetova <elena.reshetova@intel.com> - 2017-07-07 11:10 +0200

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