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The current organization of Documentation/stable_kernel_rules.txt doesn't clearly differentiate the mutually exclusive options for submission to the -stable review process. As I understand it, patches are not actually required to be mailed directly to stable@vger.kernel.org, but the instructions do not make this clear. Also, there are some established processes that are not listed -- specifically, what I call Option 2 below. This patch updates and reorganizes a bit, to make things clearer. Signed-off-by: Brian Norris <computersforpeace@gmail.com> Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>
123 lines
5.4 KiB
Plaintext
123 lines
5.4 KiB
Plaintext
Everything you ever wanted to know about Linux -stable releases.
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Rules on what kind of patches are accepted, and which ones are not, into the
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"-stable" tree:
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- It must be obviously correct and tested.
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- It cannot be bigger than 100 lines, with context.
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- It must fix only one thing.
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- It must fix a real bug that bothers people (not a, "This could be a
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problem..." type thing).
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- It must fix a problem that causes a build error (but not for things
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marked CONFIG_BROKEN), an oops, a hang, data corruption, a real
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security issue, or some "oh, that's not good" issue. In short, something
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critical.
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- Serious issues as reported by a user of a distribution kernel may also
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be considered if they fix a notable performance or interactivity issue.
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As these fixes are not as obvious and have a higher risk of a subtle
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regression they should only be submitted by a distribution kernel
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maintainer and include an addendum linking to a bugzilla entry if it
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exists and additional information on the user-visible impact.
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- New device IDs and quirks are also accepted.
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- No "theoretical race condition" issues, unless an explanation of how the
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race can be exploited is also provided.
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- It cannot contain any "trivial" fixes in it (spelling changes,
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whitespace cleanups, etc).
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- It must follow the Documentation/SubmittingPatches rules.
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- It or an equivalent fix must already exist in Linus' tree (upstream).
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Procedure for submitting patches to the -stable tree:
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- If the patch covers files in net/ or drivers/net please follow netdev stable
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submission guidelines as described in
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Documentation/networking/netdev-FAQ.txt
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- Security patches should not be handled (solely) by the -stable review
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process but should follow the procedures in Documentation/SecurityBugs.
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For all other submissions, choose one of the following procedures:
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--- Option 1 ---
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To have the patch automatically included in the stable tree, add the tag
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Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
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in the sign-off area. Once the patch is merged it will be applied to
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the stable tree without anything else needing to be done by the author
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or subsystem maintainer.
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--- Option 2 ---
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After the patch has been merged to Linus' tree, send an email to
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stable@vger.kernel.org containing the subject of the patch, the commit ID,
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why you think it should be applied, and what kernel version you wish it to
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be applied to.
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--- Option 3 ---
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Send the patch, after verifying that it follows the above rules, to
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stable@vger.kernel.org. You must note the upstream commit ID in the
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changelog of your submission, as well as the kernel version you wish
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it to be applied to.
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Option 1 is probably the easiest and most common. Options 2 and 3 are more
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useful if the patch isn't deemed worthy at the time it is applied to a public
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git tree (for instance, because it deserves more regression testing first).
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Option 3 is especially useful if the patch needs some special handling to apply
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to an older kernel (e.g., if API's have changed in the meantime).
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Additionally, some patches submitted via Option 1 may have additional patch
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prerequisites which can be cherry-picked. This can be specified in the following
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format in the sign-off area:
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Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x: a1f84a3: sched: Check for idle
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Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x: 1b9508f: sched: Rate-limit newidle
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Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x: fd21073: sched: Fix affinity logic
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Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x
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Signed-off-by: Ingo Molnar <mingo@elte.hu>
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The tag sequence has the meaning of:
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git cherry-pick a1f84a3
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git cherry-pick 1b9508f
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git cherry-pick fd21073
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git cherry-pick <this commit>
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Following the submission:
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- The sender will receive an ACK when the patch has been accepted into the
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queue, or a NAK if the patch is rejected. This response might take a few
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days, according to the developer's schedules.
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- If accepted, the patch will be added to the -stable queue, for review by
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other developers and by the relevant subsystem maintainer.
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Review cycle:
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- When the -stable maintainers decide for a review cycle, the patches will be
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sent to the review committee, and the maintainer of the affected area of
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the patch (unless the submitter is the maintainer of the area) and CC: to
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the linux-kernel mailing list.
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- The review committee has 48 hours in which to ACK or NAK the patch.
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- If the patch is rejected by a member of the committee, or linux-kernel
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members object to the patch, bringing up issues that the maintainers and
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members did not realize, the patch will be dropped from the queue.
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- At the end of the review cycle, the ACKed patches will be added to the
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latest -stable release, and a new -stable release will happen.
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- Security patches will be accepted into the -stable tree directly from the
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security kernel team, and not go through the normal review cycle.
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Contact the kernel security team for more details on this procedure.
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Trees:
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- The queues of patches, for both completed versions and in progress
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versions can be found at:
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http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/stable-queue.git
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- The finalized and tagged releases of all stable kernels can be found
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in separate branches per version at:
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http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git
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Review committee:
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- This is made up of a number of kernel developers who have volunteered for
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this task, and a few that haven't.
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