]> git.ipfire.org Git - thirdparty/linux.git/commit
writeback: fix 100% CPU usage when dirtytime_expire_interval is 0
authorLaveesh Bansal <laveeshb@laveeshbansal.com>
Tue, 6 Jan 2026 14:50:58 +0000 (14:50 +0000)
committerChristian Brauner <brauner@kernel.org>
Mon, 12 Jan 2026 10:07:25 +0000 (11:07 +0100)
commit543467d6fe97e27e22a26e367fda972dbefebbff
tree2d211adfce23d780e88f3f9a00ca95372a6994d7
parentc644bce62b9c6b441143a03c910f986109c47001
writeback: fix 100% CPU usage when dirtytime_expire_interval is 0

When vm.dirtytime_expire_seconds is set to 0, wakeup_dirtytime_writeback()
schedules delayed work with a delay of 0, causing immediate execution.
The function then reschedules itself with 0 delay again, creating an
infinite busy loop that causes 100% kworker CPU usage.

Fix by:
- Only scheduling delayed work in wakeup_dirtytime_writeback() when
  dirtytime_expire_interval is non-zero
- Cancelling the delayed work in dirtytime_interval_handler() when
  the interval is set to 0
- Adding a guard in start_dirtytime_writeback() for defensive coding

Tested by booting kernel in QEMU with virtme-ng:
- Before fix: kworker CPU spikes to ~73%
- After fix: CPU remains at normal levels
- Setting interval back to non-zero correctly resumes writeback

Fixes: a2f4870697a5 ("fs: make sure the timestamps for lazytime inodes eventually get written")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Closes: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=220227
Signed-off-by: Laveesh Bansal <laveeshb@laveeshbansal.com>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260106145059.543282-2-laveeshb@laveeshbansal.com
Reviewed-by: Jan Kara <jack@suse.cz>
Signed-off-by: Christian Brauner <brauner@kernel.org>
fs/fs-writeback.c