cachepc-linux

Fork of AMDESE/linux with modifications for CachePC side-channel attack
git clone https://git.sinitax.com/sinitax/cachepc-linux
Log | Files | Refs | README | LICENSE | sfeed.txt

stable-kernel-rules.rst (7541B)


      1.. _stable_kernel_rules:
      2
      3Everything you ever wanted to know about Linux -stable releases
      4===============================================================
      5
      6Rules on what kind of patches are accepted, and which ones are not, into the
      7"-stable" tree:
      8
      9 - It must be obviously correct and tested.
     10 - It cannot be bigger than 100 lines, with context.
     11 - It must fix only one thing.
     12 - It must fix a real bug that bothers people (not a, "This could be a
     13   problem..." type thing).
     14 - It must fix a problem that causes a build error (but not for things
     15   marked CONFIG_BROKEN), an oops, a hang, data corruption, a real
     16   security issue, or some "oh, that's not good" issue.  In short, something
     17   critical.
     18 - Serious issues as reported by a user of a distribution kernel may also
     19   be considered if they fix a notable performance or interactivity issue.
     20   As these fixes are not as obvious and have a higher risk of a subtle
     21   regression they should only be submitted by a distribution kernel
     22   maintainer and include an addendum linking to a bugzilla entry if it
     23   exists and additional information on the user-visible impact.
     24 - New device IDs and quirks are also accepted.
     25 - No "theoretical race condition" issues, unless an explanation of how the
     26   race can be exploited is also provided.
     27 - It cannot contain any "trivial" fixes in it (spelling changes,
     28   whitespace cleanups, etc).
     29 - It must follow the
     30   :ref:`Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst <submittingpatches>`
     31   rules.
     32 - It or an equivalent fix must already exist in Linus' tree (upstream).
     33
     34
     35Procedure for submitting patches to the -stable tree
     36----------------------------------------------------
     37
     38.. note::
     39
     40   Security patches should not be handled (solely) by the -stable review
     41   process but should follow the procedures in
     42   :ref:`Documentation/admin-guide/security-bugs.rst <securitybugs>`.
     43
     44For all other submissions, choose one of the following procedures
     45-----------------------------------------------------------------
     46
     47.. _option_1:
     48
     49Option 1
     50********
     51
     52To have the patch automatically included in the stable tree, add the tag
     53
     54.. code-block:: none
     55
     56     Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
     57
     58in the sign-off area. Once the patch is merged it will be applied to
     59the stable tree without anything else needing to be done by the author
     60or subsystem maintainer.
     61
     62.. _option_2:
     63
     64Option 2
     65********
     66
     67After the patch has been merged to Linus' tree, send an email to
     68stable@vger.kernel.org containing the subject of the patch, the commit ID,
     69why you think it should be applied, and what kernel version you wish it to
     70be applied to.
     71
     72.. _option_3:
     73
     74Option 3
     75********
     76
     77Send the patch, after verifying that it follows the above rules, to
     78stable@vger.kernel.org.  You must note the upstream commit ID in the
     79changelog of your submission, as well as the kernel version you wish
     80it to be applied to.
     81
     82:ref:`option_1` is **strongly** preferred, is the easiest and most common.
     83:ref:`option_2` and :ref:`option_3` are more useful if the patch isn't deemed
     84worthy at the time it is applied to a public git tree (for instance, because
     85it deserves more regression testing first).  :ref:`option_3` is especially
     86useful if the original upstream patch needs to be backported (for example
     87the backport needs some special handling due to e.g. API changes).
     88
     89Note that for :ref:`option_3`, if the patch deviates from the original
     90upstream patch (for example because it had to be backported) this must be very
     91clearly documented and justified in the patch description.
     92
     93The upstream commit ID must be specified with a separate line above the commit
     94text, like this:
     95
     96.. code-block:: none
     97
     98    commit <sha1> upstream.
     99
    100Additionally, some patches submitted via :ref:`option_1` may have additional
    101patch prerequisites which can be cherry-picked. This can be specified in the
    102following format in the sign-off area:
    103
    104.. code-block:: none
    105
    106     Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x: a1f84a3: sched: Check for idle
    107     Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x: 1b9508f: sched: Rate-limit newidle
    108     Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x: fd21073: sched: Fix affinity logic
    109     Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x
    110     Signed-off-by: Ingo Molnar <mingo@elte.hu>
    111
    112The tag sequence has the meaning of:
    113
    114.. code-block:: none
    115
    116     git cherry-pick a1f84a3
    117     git cherry-pick 1b9508f
    118     git cherry-pick fd21073
    119     git cherry-pick <this commit>
    120
    121Also, some patches may have kernel version prerequisites.  This can be
    122specified in the following format in the sign-off area:
    123
    124.. code-block:: none
    125
    126     Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x
    127
    128The tag has the meaning of:
    129
    130.. code-block:: none
    131
    132     git cherry-pick <this commit>
    133
    134For each "-stable" tree starting with the specified version.
    135
    136Following the submission:
    137
    138 - The sender will receive an ACK when the patch has been accepted into the
    139   queue, or a NAK if the patch is rejected.  This response might take a few
    140   days, according to the developer's schedules.
    141 - If accepted, the patch will be added to the -stable queue, for review by
    142   other developers and by the relevant subsystem maintainer.
    143
    144
    145Review cycle
    146------------
    147
    148 - When the -stable maintainers decide for a review cycle, the patches will be
    149   sent to the review committee, and the maintainer of the affected area of
    150   the patch (unless the submitter is the maintainer of the area) and CC: to
    151   the linux-kernel mailing list.
    152 - The review committee has 48 hours in which to ACK or NAK the patch.
    153 - If the patch is rejected by a member of the committee, or linux-kernel
    154   members object to the patch, bringing up issues that the maintainers and
    155   members did not realize, the patch will be dropped from the queue.
    156 - The ACKed patches will be posted again as part of release candidate (-rc)
    157   to be tested by developers and testers.
    158 - Usually only one -rc release is made, however if there are any outstanding
    159   issues, some patches may be modified or dropped or additional patches may
    160   be queued. Additional -rc releases are then released and tested until no
    161   issues are found.
    162 - Responding to the -rc releases can be done on the mailing list by sending
    163   a "Tested-by:" email with any testing information desired. The "Tested-by:"
    164   tags will be collected and added to the release commit.
    165 - At the end of the review cycle, the new -stable release will be released
    166   containing all the queued and tested patches.
    167 - Security patches will be accepted into the -stable tree directly from the
    168   security kernel team, and not go through the normal review cycle.
    169   Contact the kernel security team for more details on this procedure.
    170
    171Trees
    172-----
    173
    174 - The queues of patches, for both completed versions and in progress
    175   versions can be found at:
    176
    177	https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/stable-queue.git
    178
    179 - The finalized and tagged releases of all stable kernels can be found
    180   in separate branches per version at:
    181
    182	https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git
    183
    184 - The release candidate of all stable kernel versions can be found at:
    185
    186        https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable-rc.git/
    187
    188   .. warning::
    189      The -stable-rc tree is a snapshot in time of the stable-queue tree and
    190      will change frequently, hence will be rebased often. It should only be
    191      used for testing purposes (e.g. to be consumed by CI systems).
    192
    193
    194Review committee
    195----------------
    196
    197 - This is made up of a number of kernel developers who have volunteered for
    198   this task, and a few that haven't.