Re: [Qemu-devel] [PATCH] sh4-linux-user: fix multi-threading regression.

[cedric.vincent]

On Mon, Mar 26, 2012 at 07:23:58PM +0200, Peter Maydell wrote:
> 2012/3/26 Cédric VINCENT <address@hidden>:
> > This reverts commit fd4bab10 "target-sh4: optimize exceptions":
> 
> [cc'ing Aurelien as the author of that commit]
> 
> > the function cpu_restore_state() isn't expected to be called in user-mode,
> 
> Is this really true? host_signal_handler() calls cpu_signal_handler()
> calls handle_cpu_signala) calls cpu_restore_state() so hopefully
> it's OK to be called in at least *some* situations...
> 
> > as a consequence it isn't protected from race conditions.  For
> > information, syscalls are exceptions on Linux/SH4.
> >
> > There were two possible fixes: either "tb_lock" is acquired/released
> > around the call to cpu_restore_state() [1] or the commit that
> > introduced this regression is reverted [2].
> 
> Can you explain a bit further what the race condition is that occurs
> here?

Here is what I observed on a "real" application:

thread2: "jump to a new block"       | thread1: "do a syscall"
  cpu_exec [tb_lock acquired]        |   helper_trapa
    tb_find_fast                     |     raise_exception
      tb_find_slow                   |       cpu_restore_state_from_retaddr
        tb_gen_code                  |         cpu_translate_state
          cpu_gen_code               |            gen_intermediate_code_pc
            gen_intermediate_code_pc | /!\ thread1 and thread2 modify
                                     |     gen_opc_buf[] at the same time
                                     |     since thread1 didn't acquire tb_lock.


Actually you can reproduce easily this race-condition with the source
code below, where both threads do syscalls repeatedly:

8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----

    #include <pthread.h>
    #include <stdio.h>
    #include <unistd.h>

    void *routine(void *arg)
    {
        int thread_number = (int)arg;

        while (1) {
            printf("hello, I'm %d\n", thread_number);
            sleep(1);
       }
    }

    int main(void)
    {
        int status;
        pthread_t thread;

        status = pthread_create(&thread, NULL, routine, (void *)2);
        if (status) {
            puts("can't create a thread, bye!");
            return 1;
        }

        routine((void *)1);
        return 0; /* Never reached.  */
    }

8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----8<----

Before the fix:

    $ qemu-sh4 ./a.out                                   
    hello, I'm 1
    hello, I'm 2
    hello, I'm 1
    hello, I'm 2
    hello, I'm 1
    qemu: uncaught target signal 11 (Segmentation fault) - core dumped
    Segmentation fault

    $ qemu-sh4 ./a.out
    qemu/tcg/tcg.c:1369: tcg fatal error
    qemu: uncaught target signal 11 (Segmentation fault) - core dumped
    Segmentation fault