linux/drivers/usb
Alan Stern 4a2a8a2cce usbfs: private mutex for open, release, and remove
The usbfs code doesn't provide sufficient mutual exclusion among open,
release, and remove.  Release vs. remove is okay because they both
acquire the device lock, but open is not exclusive with either one.  All
three routines modify the udev->filelist linked list, so they must not
run concurrently.

Apparently someone gave this a minimum amount of thought in the past by
explicitly acquiring the BKL at the start of the usbdev_open routine.
Oddly enough, there's a comment pointing out that locking is unnecessary
because chrdev_open already has acquired the BKL.

But this ignores the point that the files in /proc/bus/usb/* are not
char device files; they are regular files and so they don't get any
special locking.  Furthermore it's necessary to acquire the same lock in
the release and remove routines, which the code does not do.

Yet another problem arises because the same file_operations structure is
accessible through both the /proc/bus/usb/* and /dev/usb/usbdev* file
nodes.  Even when one of them has been removed, it's still possible for
userspace to open the other.  So simple locking around the individual
remove routines is insufficient; we need to lock the entire
usb_notify_remove_device notifier chain.

Rather than rely on the BKL, this patch (as723) introduces a new private
mutex for the purpose.  Holding the BKL while invoking a notifier chain
doesn't seem like a good idea.


Signed-off-by: Alan Stern <stern@rowland.harvard.edu>
Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@suse.de>
2006-09-27 11:58:49 -07:00
..
atm [PATCH] USBATM: remove no-longer needed #include 2006-06-21 15:04:09 -07:00
class [PATCH] USB: update for acm in quirks and debug 2006-07-12 16:03:21 -07:00
core usbfs: private mutex for open, release, and remove 2006-09-27 11:58:49 -07:00
gadget USB: Allow compile in g_ether, fix typo 2006-09-27 11:58:48 -07:00
host USB: move <linux/usb_otg.h> to <linux/usb/otg.h> 2006-09-27 11:58:48 -07:00
image [SCSI] fix up request buffer reference in various scsi drivers 2006-06-06 11:07:25 -04:00
input USB: Add driver for PhidgetMotorControl 2006-09-27 11:58:49 -07:00
misc USB: Phidgets should check create_device_file() return value 2006-09-27 11:58:49 -07:00
mon [PATCH] inode_diet: Replace inode.u.generic_ip with inode.i_private 2006-09-27 08:26:17 -07:00
net USB: Support for ELECOM LD-USB20 in pegasus 2006-08-31 18:04:30 -07:00
serial USB: ark3116: Formatting cleanups 2006-09-27 11:58:49 -07:00
storage USB: unusual_dev entry for Sony P990i 2006-09-27 11:58:48 -07:00
Kconfig USB OHCI controller support for PNX4008 2006-09-27 11:58:48 -07:00
Makefile [PATCH] USB: rename Cypress CY7C63xxx driver to proper name and fix up some tiny things 2006-07-12 16:03:21 -07:00
README
usb-skeleton.c Remove obsolete #include <linux/config.h> 2006-06-30 19:25:36 +02:00

To understand all the Linux-USB framework, you'll use these resources:

    * This source code.  This is necessarily an evolving work, and
      includes kerneldoc that should help you get a current overview.
      ("make pdfdocs", and then look at "usb.pdf" for host side and
      "gadget.pdf" for peripheral side.)  Also, Documentation/usb has
      more information.

    * The USB 2.0 specification (from www.usb.org), with supplements
      such as those for USB OTG and the various device classes.
      The USB specification has a good overview chapter, and USB
      peripherals conform to the widely known "Chapter 9".

    * Chip specifications for USB controllers.  Examples include
      host controllers (on PCs, servers, and more); peripheral
      controllers (in devices with Linux firmware, like printers or
      cell phones); and hard-wired peripherals like Ethernet adapters.

    * Specifications for other protocols implemented by USB peripheral
      functions.  Some are vendor-specific; others are vendor-neutral
      but just standardized outside of the www.usb.org team.

Here is a list of what each subdirectory here is, and what is contained in
them.

core/		- This is for the core USB host code, including the
		  usbfs files and the hub class driver ("khubd").

host/		- This is for USB host controller drivers.  This
		  includes UHCI, OHCI, EHCI, and others that might
		  be used with more specialized "embedded" systems.

gadget/		- This is for USB peripheral controller drivers and
		  the various gadget drivers which talk to them.


Individual USB driver directories.  A new driver should be added to the
first subdirectory in the list below that it fits into.

image/		- This is for still image drivers, like scanners or
		  digital cameras.
input/		- This is for any driver that uses the input subsystem,
		  like keyboard, mice, touchscreens, tablets, etc.
media/		- This is for multimedia drivers, like video cameras,
		  radios, and any other drivers that talk to the v4l
		  subsystem.
net/		- This is for network drivers.
serial/		- This is for USB to serial drivers.
storage/	- This is for USB mass-storage drivers.
class/		- This is for all USB device drivers that do not fit
		  into any of the above categories, and work for a range
		  of USB Class specified devices. 
misc/		- This is for all USB device drivers that do not fit
		  into any of the above categories.