Linus Torvalds 334fbe734e Merge tag 'mm-stable-2026-04-13-21-45' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/akpm/mm
Pull MM updates from Andrew Morton:

 - "maple_tree: Replace big node with maple copy" (Liam Howlett)

   Mainly prepararatory work for ongoing development but it does reduce
   stack usage and is an improvement.

 - "mm, swap: swap table phase III: remove swap_map" (Kairui Song)

   Offers memory savings by removing the static swap_map. It also yields
   some CPU savings and implements several cleanups.

 - "mm: memfd_luo: preserve file seals" (Pratyush Yadav)

   File seal preservation to LUO's memfd code

 - "mm: zswap: add per-memcg stat for incompressible pages" (Jiayuan
   Chen)

   Additional userspace stats reportng to zswap

 - "arch, mm: consolidate empty_zero_page" (Mike Rapoport)

   Some cleanups for our handling of ZERO_PAGE() and zero_pfn

 - "mm/kmemleak: Improve scan_should_stop() implementation" (Zhongqiu
   Han)

   A robustness improvement and some cleanups in the kmemleak code

 - "Improve khugepaged scan logic" (Vernon Yang)

   Improve khugepaged scan logic and reduce CPU consumption by
   prioritizing scanning tasks that access memory frequently

 - "Make KHO Stateless" (Jason Miu)

   Simplify Kexec Handover by transitioning KHO from an xarray-based
   metadata tracking system with serialization to a radix tree data
   structure that can be passed directly to the next kernel

 - "mm: vmscan: add PID and cgroup ID to vmscan tracepoints" (Thomas
   Ballasi and Steven Rostedt)

   Enhance vmscan's tracepointing

 - "mm: arch/shstk: Common shadow stack mapping helper and
   VM_NOHUGEPAGE" (Catalin Marinas)

   Cleanup for the shadow stack code: remove per-arch code in favour of
   a generic implementation

 - "Fix KASAN support for KHO restored vmalloc regions" (Pasha Tatashin)

   Fix a WARN() which can be emitted the KHO restores a vmalloc area

 - "mm: Remove stray references to pagevec" (Tal Zussman)

   Several cleanups, mainly udpating references to "struct pagevec",
   which became folio_batch three years ago

 - "mm: Eliminate fake head pages from vmemmap optimization" (Kiryl
   Shutsemau)

   Simplify the HugeTLB vmemmap optimization (HVO) by changing how tail
   pages encode their relationship to the head page

 - "mm/damon/core: improve DAMOS quota efficiency for core layer
   filters" (SeongJae Park)

   Improve two problematic behaviors of DAMOS that makes it less
   efficient when core layer filters are used

 - "mm/damon: strictly respect min_nr_regions" (SeongJae Park)

   Improve DAMON usability by extending the treatment of the
   min_nr_regions user-settable parameter

 - "mm/page_alloc: pcp locking cleanup" (Vlastimil Babka)

   The proper fix for a previously hotfixed SMP=n issue. Code
   simplifications and cleanups ensued

 - "mm: cleanups around unmapping / zapping" (David Hildenbrand)

   A bunch of cleanups around unmapping and zapping. Mostly
   simplifications, code movements, documentation and renaming of
   zapping functions

 - "support batched checking of the young flag for MGLRU" (Baolin Wang)

   Batched checking of the young flag for MGLRU. It's part cleanups; one
   benchmark shows large performance benefits for arm64

 - "memcg: obj stock and slab stat caching cleanups" (Johannes Weiner)

   memcg cleanup and robustness improvements

 - "Allow order zero pages in page reporting" (Yuvraj Sakshith)

   Enhance free page reporting - it is presently and undesirably order-0
   pages when reporting free memory.

 - "mm: vma flag tweaks" (Lorenzo Stoakes)

   Cleanup work following from the recent conversion of the VMA flags to
   a bitmap

 - "mm/damon: add optional debugging-purpose sanity checks" (SeongJae
   Park)

   Add some more developer-facing debug checks into DAMON core

 - "mm/damon: test and document power-of-2 min_region_sz requirement"
   (SeongJae Park)

   An additional DAMON kunit test and makes some adjustments to the
   addr_unit parameter handling

 - "mm/damon/core: make passed_sample_intervals comparisons
   overflow-safe" (SeongJae Park)

   Fix a hard-to-hit time overflow issue in DAMON core

 - "mm/damon: improve/fixup/update ratio calculation, test and
   documentation" (SeongJae Park)

   A batch of misc/minor improvements and fixups for DAMON

 - "mm: move vma_(kernel|mmu)_pagesize() out of hugetlb.c" (David
   Hildenbrand)

   Fix a possible issue with dax-device when CONFIG_HUGETLB=n. Some code
   movement was required.

 - "zram: recompression cleanups and tweaks" (Sergey Senozhatsky)

   A somewhat random mix of fixups, recompression cleanups and
   improvements in the zram code

 - "mm/damon: support multiple goal-based quota tuning algorithms"
   (SeongJae Park)

   Extend DAMOS quotas goal auto-tuning to support multiple tuning
   algorithms that users can select

 - "mm: thp: reduce unnecessary start_stop_khugepaged()" (Breno Leitao)

   Fix the khugpaged sysfs handling so we no longer spam the logs with
   reams of junk when starting/stopping khugepaged

 - "mm: improve map count checks" (Lorenzo Stoakes)

   Provide some cleanups and slight fixes in the mremap, mmap and vma
   code

 - "mm/damon: support addr_unit on default monitoring targets for
   modules" (SeongJae Park)

   Extend the use of DAMON core's addr_unit tunable

 - "mm: khugepaged cleanups and mTHP prerequisites" (Nico Pache)

   Cleanups to khugepaged and is a base for Nico's planned khugepaged
   mTHP support

 - "mm: memory hot(un)plug and SPARSEMEM cleanups" (David Hildenbrand)

   Code movement and cleanups in the memhotplug and sparsemem code

 - "mm: remove CONFIG_ARCH_ENABLE_MEMORY_HOTREMOVE and cleanup
   CONFIG_MIGRATION" (David Hildenbrand)

   Rationalize some memhotplug Kconfig support

 - "change young flag check functions to return bool" (Baolin Wang)

   Cleanups to change all young flag check functions to return bool

 - "mm/damon/sysfs: fix memory leak and NULL dereference issues" (Josh
   Law and SeongJae Park)

   Fix a few potential DAMON bugs

 - "mm/vma: convert vm_flags_t to vma_flags_t in vma code" (Lorenzo
   Stoakes)

   Convert a lot of the existing use of the legacy vm_flags_t data type
   to the new vma_flags_t type which replaces it. Mainly in the vma
   code.

 - "mm: expand mmap_prepare functionality and usage" (Lorenzo Stoakes)

   Expand the mmap_prepare functionality, which is intended to replace
   the deprecated f_op->mmap hook which has been the source of bugs and
   security issues for some time. Cleanups, documentation, extension of
   mmap_prepare into filesystem drivers

 - "mm/huge_memory: refactor zap_huge_pmd()" (Lorenzo Stoakes)

   Simplify and clean up zap_huge_pmd(). Additional cleanups around
   vm_normal_folio_pmd() and the softleaf functionality are performed.

* tag 'mm-stable-2026-04-13-21-45' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/akpm/mm: (369 commits)
  mm: fix deferred split queue races during migration
  mm/khugepaged: fix issue with tracking lock
  mm/huge_memory: add and use has_deposited_pgtable()
  mm/huge_memory: add and use normal_or_softleaf_folio_pmd()
  mm: add softleaf_is_valid_pmd_entry(), pmd_to_softleaf_folio()
  mm/huge_memory: separate out the folio part of zap_huge_pmd()
  mm/huge_memory: use mm instead of tlb->mm
  mm/huge_memory: remove unnecessary sanity checks
  mm/huge_memory: deduplicate zap deposited table call
  mm/huge_memory: remove unnecessary VM_BUG_ON_PAGE()
  mm/huge_memory: add a common exit path to zap_huge_pmd()
  mm/huge_memory: handle buggy PMD entry in zap_huge_pmd()
  mm/huge_memory: have zap_huge_pmd return a boolean, add kdoc
  mm/huge: avoid big else branch in zap_huge_pmd()
  mm/huge_memory: simplify vma_is_specal_huge()
  mm: on remap assert that input range within the proposed VMA
  mm: add mmap_action_map_kernel_pages[_full]()
  uio: replace deprecated mmap hook with mmap_prepare in uio_info
  drivers: hv: vmbus: replace deprecated mmap hook with mmap_prepare
  mm: allow handling of stacked mmap_prepare hooks in more drivers
  ...
2026-04-15 12:59:16 -07:00
2026-01-26 19:07:09 -08:00
2022-09-28 09:02:20 +02:00
2025-02-19 14:53:27 -07:00

Linux kernel
============

The Linux kernel is the core of any Linux operating system. It manages hardware,
system resources, and provides the fundamental services for all other software.

Quick Start
-----------

* Report a bug: See Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst
* Get the latest kernel: https://kernel.org
* Build the kernel: See Documentation/admin-guide/quickly-build-trimmed-linux.rst
* Join the community: https://lore.kernel.org/

Essential Documentation
-----------------------

All users should be familiar with:

* Building requirements: Documentation/process/changes.rst
* Code of Conduct: Documentation/process/code-of-conduct.rst
* License: See COPYING

Documentation can be built with make htmldocs or viewed online at:
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/


Who Are You?
============

Find your role below:

* New Kernel Developer - Getting started with kernel development
* Academic Researcher - Studying kernel internals and architecture
* Security Expert - Hardening and vulnerability analysis
* Backport/Maintenance Engineer - Maintaining stable kernels
* System Administrator - Configuring and troubleshooting
* Maintainer - Leading subsystems and reviewing patches
* Hardware Vendor - Writing drivers for new hardware
* Distribution Maintainer - Packaging kernels for distros
* AI Coding Assistant - LLMs and AI-powered development tools


For Specific Users
==================

New Kernel Developer
--------------------

Welcome! Start your kernel development journey here:

* Getting Started: Documentation/process/development-process.rst
* Your First Patch: Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
* Coding Style: Documentation/process/coding-style.rst
* Build System: Documentation/kbuild/index.rst
* Development Tools: Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst
* Kernel Hacking Guide: Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst
* Core APIs: Documentation/core-api/index.rst

Academic Researcher
-------------------

Explore the kernel's architecture and internals:

* Researcher Guidelines: Documentation/process/researcher-guidelines.rst
* Memory Management: Documentation/mm/index.rst
* Scheduler: Documentation/scheduler/index.rst
* Networking Stack: Documentation/networking/index.rst
* Filesystems: Documentation/filesystems/index.rst
* RCU (Read-Copy Update): Documentation/RCU/index.rst
* Locking Primitives: Documentation/locking/index.rst
* Power Management: Documentation/power/index.rst

Security Expert
---------------

Security documentation and hardening guides:

* Security Documentation: Documentation/security/index.rst
* LSM Development: Documentation/security/lsm-development.rst
* Self Protection: Documentation/security/self-protection.rst
* Reporting Vulnerabilities: Documentation/process/security-bugs.rst
* CVE Procedures: Documentation/process/cve.rst
* Embargoed Hardware Issues: Documentation/process/embargoed-hardware-issues.rst
* Security Features: Documentation/userspace-api/seccomp_filter.rst

Backport/Maintenance Engineer
-----------------------------

Maintain and stabilize kernel versions:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* Backporting Guide: Documentation/process/backporting.rst
* Applying Patches: Documentation/process/applying-patches.rst
* Subsystem Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git for Maintainers: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

System Administrator
--------------------

Configure, tune, and troubleshoot Linux systems:

* Admin Guide: Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Sysctl Tuning: Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/index.rst
* Tracing/Debugging: Documentation/trace/index.rst
* Performance Security: Documentation/admin-guide/perf-security.rst
* Hardware Monitoring: Documentation/hwmon/index.rst

Maintainer
----------

Lead kernel subsystems and manage contributions:

* Maintainer Handbook: Documentation/maintainer/index.rst
* Pull Requests: Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst
* Managing Patches: Documentation/maintainer/modifying-patches.rst
* Rebasing and Merging: Documentation/maintainer/rebasing-and-merging.rst
* Development Process: Documentation/process/maintainer-handbooks.rst
* Maintainer Entry Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git Configuration: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

Hardware Vendor
---------------

Write drivers and support new hardware:

* Driver API Guide: Documentation/driver-api/index.rst
* Driver Model: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/driver.rst
* Device Drivers: Documentation/driver-api/infrastructure.rst
* Bus Types: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/bus.rst
* Device Tree Bindings: Documentation/devicetree/bindings/
* Power Management: Documentation/driver-api/pm/index.rst
* DMA API: Documentation/core-api/dma-api.rst

Distribution Maintainer
-----------------------

Package and distribute the kernel:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* ABI Documentation: Documentation/ABI/README
* Kernel Configuration: Documentation/kbuild/kconfig.rst
* Module Signing: Documentation/admin-guide/module-signing.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Tainted Kernels: Documentation/admin-guide/tainted-kernels.rst

AI Coding Assistant
-------------------

CRITICAL: If you are an LLM or AI-powered coding assistant, you MUST read and
follow the AI coding assistants documentation before contributing to the Linux
kernel:

* Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst

This documentation contains essential requirements about licensing, attribution,
and the Developer Certificate of Origin that all AI tools must comply with.


Communication and Support
=========================

* Mailing Lists: https://lore.kernel.org/
* IRC: #kernelnewbies on irc.oftc.net
* Bugzilla: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/
* MAINTAINERS file: Lists subsystem maintainers and mailing lists
* Email Clients: Documentation/process/email-clients.rst
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