xbc_node_for_each_key_value() walks to the first leaf under @root, and when @root is itself a leaf it yields @root. That happens not only for an empty "kernel {}" subtree, but also when @root carries both a value and subkeys, e.g. kernel = x kernel.foo = bar Here @root ("kernel") is a leaf because its first child is the value node "x", so the iterator returns @root first. Feeding @root back into xbc_node_compose_key_after(root, root) returns -EINVAL, which the only in-kernel caller papers over with a "len <= 0" check -- but the follow-up tools/bootconfig -C user propagates the error and turns such a bootconfig into a build failure. Worse, short-circuiting the whole call on a leaf @root would silently drop the valid "kernel.foo = bar" descendant that the pre-existing code rendered. Skip @root inside the loop instead of bailing out: the value-only entry is dropped (it is rendered through the "kernel" cmdline path, not here), while real descendant keys are still emitted. An entirely empty subtree now renders nothing and returns 0 rather than -EINVAL, matching the "nothing to render is not an error" semantics expected by the new build-time caller. Signed-off-by: Breno Leitao --- lib/bootconfig.c | 11 +++++++++++ 1 file changed, 11 insertions(+) diff --git a/lib/bootconfig.c b/lib/bootconfig.c index 2ed9ee3dc81c..926094d97397 100644 --- a/lib/bootconfig.c +++ b/lib/bootconfig.c @@ -440,6 +440,17 @@ int __init xbc_snprint_cmdline(char *buf, size_t size, struct xbc_node *root) * itself is well defined and returns the would-be length. */ xbc_node_for_each_key_value(root, knode, val) { + /* + * An empty or value-only @root (e.g. "kernel {}" or + * "kernel = x", possibly alongside "kernel.foo = bar") + * yields @root itself here. Skip it: composing a key for it + * would fail with -EINVAL, yet any real descendant keys must + * still be rendered. An entirely empty subtree then renders + * nothing and returns 0 rather than an error. + */ + if (knode == root) + continue; + ret = xbc_node_compose_key_after(root, knode, xbc_namebuf, XBC_KEYLEN_MAX); if (ret < 0) -- 2.53.0-Meta