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187 lines
7.6 KiB
187 lines
7.6 KiB
.. _reportingbugs: |
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.. note:: |
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This document is obsolete, and will be replaced by |
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'Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst' in the near future. |
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Reporting bugs |
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++++++++++++++ |
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Background |
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========== |
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The upstream Linux kernel maintainers only fix bugs for specific kernel |
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versions. Those versions include the current "release candidate" (or -rc) |
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kernel, any "stable" kernel versions, and any "long term" kernels. |
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Please see https://www.kernel.org/ for a list of supported kernels. Any |
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kernel marked with [EOL] is "end of life" and will not have any fixes |
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backported to it. |
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If you've found a bug on a kernel version that isn't listed on kernel.org, |
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contact your Linux distribution or embedded vendor for support. |
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Alternatively, you can attempt to run one of the supported stable or -rc |
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kernels, and see if you can reproduce the bug on that. It's preferable |
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to reproduce the bug on the latest -rc kernel. |
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How to report Linux kernel bugs |
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=============================== |
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Identify the problematic subsystem |
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---------------------------------- |
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Identifying which part of the Linux kernel might be causing your issue |
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increases your chances of getting your bug fixed. Simply posting to the |
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generic linux-kernel mailing list (LKML) may cause your bug report to be |
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lost in the noise of a mailing list that gets 1000+ emails a day. |
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Instead, try to figure out which kernel subsystem is causing the issue, |
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and email that subsystem's maintainer and mailing list. If the subsystem |
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maintainer doesn't answer, then expand your scope to mailing lists like |
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LKML. |
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Identify who to notify |
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---------------------- |
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Once you know the subsystem that is causing the issue, you should send a |
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bug report. Some maintainers prefer bugs to be reported via bugzilla |
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(https://bugzilla.kernel.org), while others prefer that bugs be reported |
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via the subsystem mailing list. |
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To find out where to send an emailed bug report, find your subsystem or |
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device driver in the MAINTAINERS file. Search in the file for relevant |
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entries, and send your bug report to the person(s) listed in the "M:" |
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lines, making sure to Cc the mailing list(s) in the "L:" lines. When the |
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maintainer replies to you, make sure to 'Reply-all' in order to keep the |
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public mailing list(s) in the email thread. |
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If you know which driver is causing issues, you can pass one of the driver |
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files to the get_maintainer.pl script:: |
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perl scripts/get_maintainer.pl -f <filename> |
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If it is a security bug, please copy the Security Contact listed in the |
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MAINTAINERS file. They can help coordinate bugfix and disclosure. See |
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:ref:`Documentation/admin-guide/security-bugs.rst <securitybugs>` for more information. |
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If you can't figure out which subsystem caused the issue, you should file |
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a bug in kernel.org bugzilla and send email to |
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[email protected], referencing the bugzilla URL. (For more |
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information on the linux-kernel mailing list see |
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http://vger.kernel.org/lkml/). |
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Tips for reporting bugs |
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----------------------- |
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If you haven't reported a bug before, please read: |
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https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html |
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http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html |
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It's REALLY important to report bugs that seem unrelated as separate email |
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threads or separate bugzilla entries. If you report several unrelated |
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bugs at once, it's difficult for maintainers to tease apart the relevant |
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data. |
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Gather information |
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------------------ |
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The most important information in a bug report is how to reproduce the |
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bug. This includes system information, and (most importantly) |
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step-by-step instructions for how a user can trigger the bug. |
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If the failure includes an "OOPS:", take a picture of the screen, capture |
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a netconsole trace, or type the message from your screen into the bug |
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report. Please read "Documentation/admin-guide/bug-hunting.rst" before posting your |
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bug report. This explains what you should do with the "Oops" information |
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to make it useful to the recipient. |
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This is a suggested format for a bug report sent via email or bugzilla. |
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Having a standardized bug report form makes it easier for you not to |
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overlook things, and easier for the developers to find the pieces of |
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information they're really interested in. If some information is not |
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relevant to your bug, feel free to exclude it. |
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First run the ver_linux script included as scripts/ver_linux, which |
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reports the version of some important subsystems. Run this script with |
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the command ``awk -f scripts/ver_linux``. |
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Use that information to fill in all fields of the bug report form, and |
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post it to the mailing list with a subject of "PROBLEM: <one line |
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summary from [1.]>" for easy identification by the developers:: |
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[1.] One line summary of the problem: |
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[2.] Full description of the problem/report: |
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[3.] Keywords (i.e., modules, networking, kernel): |
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[4.] Kernel information |
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[4.1.] Kernel version (from /proc/version): |
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[4.2.] Kernel .config file: |
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[5.] Most recent kernel version which did not have the bug: |
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[6.] Output of Oops.. message (if applicable) with symbolic information |
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resolved (see Documentation/admin-guide/bug-hunting.rst) |
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[7.] A small shell script or example program which triggers the |
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problem (if possible) |
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[8.] Environment |
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[8.1.] Software (add the output of the ver_linux script here) |
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[8.2.] Processor information (from /proc/cpuinfo): |
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[8.3.] Module information (from /proc/modules): |
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[8.4.] Loaded driver and hardware information (/proc/ioports, /proc/iomem) |
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[8.5.] PCI information ('lspci -vvv' as root) |
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[8.6.] SCSI information (from /proc/scsi/scsi) |
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[8.7.] Other information that might be relevant to the problem |
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(please look in /proc and include all information that you |
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think to be relevant): |
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[X.] Other notes, patches, fixes, workarounds: |
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Follow up |
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========= |
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Expectations for bug reporters |
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------------------------------ |
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Linux kernel maintainers expect bug reporters to be able to follow up on |
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bug reports. That may include running new tests, applying patches, |
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recompiling your kernel, and/or re-triggering your bug. The most |
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frustrating thing for maintainers is for someone to report a bug, and then |
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never follow up on a request to try out a fix. |
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That said, it's still useful for a kernel maintainer to know a bug exists |
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on a supported kernel, even if you can't follow up with retests. Follow |
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up reports, such as replying to the email thread with "I tried the latest |
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kernel and I can't reproduce my bug anymore" are also helpful, because |
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maintainers have to assume silence means things are still broken. |
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Expectations for kernel maintainers |
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----------------------------------- |
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Linux kernel maintainers are busy, overworked human beings. Some times |
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they may not be able to address your bug in a day, a week, or two weeks. |
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If they don't answer your email, they may be on vacation, or at a Linux |
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conference. Check the conference schedule at https://LWN.net for more info: |
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https://lwn.net/Calendar/ |
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In general, kernel maintainers take 1 to 5 business days to respond to |
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bugs. The majority of kernel maintainers are employed to work on the |
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kernel, and they may not work on the weekends. Maintainers are scattered |
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around the world, and they may not work in your time zone. Unless you |
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have a high priority bug, please wait at least a week after the first bug |
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report before sending the maintainer a reminder email. |
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The exceptions to this rule are regressions, kernel crashes, security holes, |
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or userspace breakage caused by new kernel behavior. Those bugs should be |
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addressed by the maintainers ASAP. If you suspect a maintainer is not |
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responding to these types of bugs in a timely manner (especially during a |
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merge window), escalate the bug to LKML and Linus Torvalds. |
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Thank you! |
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[Some of this is taken from Frohwalt Egerer's original linux-kernel FAQ]
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