ext4_do_writepages() calls ext4_destroy_inline_data() which acquires xattr_sem while s_writepages_rwsem is held (read). This creates a circular lock dependency: CPU0 CPU1 ---- ---- ext4_writepages() ext4_writepages_down_read() [holds s_writepages_rwsem] ext4_evict_inode() __ext4_mark_inode_dirty() ext4_expand_extra_isize_ea() ext4_xattr_block_set() [holds xattr_sem] iput(old_bh inode) write_inode_now() ext4_writepages() ext4_writepages_down_read() [BLOCKED on s_writepages_rwsem] ext4_do_writepages() ext4_destroy_inline_data() down_write(xattr_sem) [BLOCKED on xattr_sem] Fix by temporarily dropping s_writepages_rwsem around the call to ext4_destroy_inline_data(). This is safe because: - This code runs before any block mapping or IO submission, so no writepages state depends on the rwsem being held at this point. - Inline data destruction is a one-way format transition (once cleared, EXT4_INODE_INLINE_DATA is never set again). The rwsem is re-acquired immediately after, ensuring format stability for the remainder of writepages. - The can_map flag naturally identifies the ext4_writepages() path (holds rwsem) vs ext4_normal_submit_inode_data_buffers() (does not), so the drop/reacquire is skipped when the rwsem is not held. Also check the return value of ext4_destroy_inline_data() -- previously ignored, a failure would leave inline data intact while writepages proceeds assuming block-mapped layout. Reported-by: syzbot+bb2455d02bda0b5701e3@syzkaller.appspotmail.com Closes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=bb2455d02bda0b5701e3 Fixes: c8585c6fcaf2 ("ext4: fix races between changing inode journal mode and ext4_writepages") Signed-off-by: Yun Zhou --- v2: - Instead of moving inline data handling to ext4_writepages(), temporarily drop s_writepages_rwsem around ext4_destroy_inline_data() in ext4_do_writepages(). The move approach had a race where concurrent writes could create dirty pages with inline data after the early check, and unconditional destruction without dirty pages would lose data. fs/ext4/inode.c | 23 +++++++++++++++++++---- 1 file changed, 19 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-) diff --git a/fs/ext4/inode.c b/fs/ext4/inode.c index c2c2d6ac7f3d..7ec16adf4685 100644 --- a/fs/ext4/inode.c +++ b/fs/ext4/inode.c @@ -1694,6 +1694,9 @@ struct mpage_da_data { struct writeback_control *wbc; unsigned int can_map:1; /* Can writepages call map blocks? */ + /* Saved memalloc context from ext4_writepages_down_read() */ + int alloc_ctx; + /* These are internal state of ext4_do_writepages() */ loff_t start_pos; /* The start pos to write */ loff_t next_pos; /* Current pos to examine */ @@ -2824,8 +2827,21 @@ static int ext4_do_writepages(struct mpage_da_data *mpd) } BUG_ON(ext4_test_inode_state(inode, EXT4_STATE_MAY_INLINE_DATA)); - ext4_destroy_inline_data(handle, inode); + /* + * Temporarily drop s_writepages_rwsem because + * ext4_destroy_inline_data() acquires xattr_sem, which has + * a higher lock ordering rank. Holding both would create a + * circular dependency with ext4_xattr_block_set() -> iput() + * -> ext4_writepages() -> s_writepages_rwsem. + */ + if (mpd->can_map) + ext4_writepages_up_read(inode->i_sb, mpd->alloc_ctx); + ret = ext4_destroy_inline_data(handle, inode); + if (mpd->can_map) + mpd->alloc_ctx = ext4_writepages_down_read(inode->i_sb); ext4_journal_stop(handle); + if (ret) + goto out_writepages; } /* @@ -3032,13 +3048,12 @@ static int ext4_writepages(struct address_space *mapping, .can_map = 1, }; int ret; - int alloc_ctx; ret = ext4_emergency_state(sb); if (unlikely(ret)) return ret; - alloc_ctx = ext4_writepages_down_read(sb); + mpd.alloc_ctx = ext4_writepages_down_read(sb); ret = ext4_do_writepages(&mpd); /* * For data=journal writeback we could have come across pages marked @@ -3047,7 +3062,7 @@ static int ext4_writepages(struct address_space *mapping, */ if (!ret && mpd.journalled_more_data) ret = ext4_do_writepages(&mpd); - ext4_writepages_up_read(sb, alloc_ctx); + ext4_writepages_up_read(sb, mpd.alloc_ctx); return ret; } -- 2.43.0