Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst

Source file repositories/reference/linux-study-clean/Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst

File Facts

System
Linux kernel
Corpus path
Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
Extension
.rst
Size
9052 bytes
Lines
235
Domain
Support Tooling And Documentation
Bucket
Documentation
Inferred role
Support Tooling And Documentation: documentation
Status
atlas-only

Why This File Exists

Repository support layer: documentation, build tooling, samples, user-space helper tools, generated initramfs support, licenses, and validation utilities.

Dependency Surface

Detected Declarations

Annotated Snippet

.. _stable_kernel_rules:

Everything you ever wanted to know about Linux -stable releases
===============================================================

Rules on what kind of patches are accepted, and which ones are not, into the
"-stable" tree:

- It or an equivalent fix must already exist in Linux mainline (upstream).
- It must be obviously correct and tested.
- It cannot be bigger than 100 lines, with context.
- It must follow the
  :ref:`Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst <submittingpatches>`
  rules.
- It must either fix a real bug that bothers people or just add a device ID.
  To elaborate on the former:

  - It fixes a problem like an oops, a hang, data corruption, a real security
    issue, a hardware quirk, a build error (but not for things marked
    CONFIG_BROKEN), or some "oh, that's not good" issue.
  - Serious issues as reported by a user of a distribution kernel may also
    be considered if they fix a notable performance or interactivity issue.
    As these fixes are not as obvious and have a higher risk of a subtle
    regression they should only be submitted by a distribution kernel
    maintainer and include an addendum linking to a bugzilla entry if it
    exists and additional information on the user-visible impact.
  - No "This could be a problem..." type of things like a "theoretical race
    condition", unless an explanation of how the bug can be exploited is also
    provided.
  - No "trivial" fixes without benefit for users (spelling changes, whitespace
    cleanups, etc).


Procedure for submitting patches to the -stable tree
----------------------------------------------------

.. note::

   Security patches should not be handled (solely) by the -stable review
   process but should follow the procedures in
   :ref:`Documentation/process/security-bugs.rst <securitybugs>`.

There are three options to submit a change to -stable trees:

1. Add a 'stable tag' to the description of a patch you then submit for
   mainline inclusion.
2. Ask the stable team to pick up a patch already mainlined.
3. Submit a patch to the stable team that is equivalent to a change already
   mainlined.

The sections below describe each of the options in more detail.

:ref:`option_1` is **strongly** preferred, it is the easiest and most common.
:ref:`option_2` is mainly meant for changes where backporting was not considered
at the time of submission. :ref:`option_3` is an alternative to the two earlier
options for cases where a mainlined patch needs adjustments to apply in older
series (for example due to API changes).

When using option 2 or 3 you can ask for your change to be included in specific
stable series. When doing so, ensure the fix or an equivalent is applicable,
submitted, or already present in all newer stable trees still supported. This is
meant to prevent regressions that users might later encounter on updating, if
e.g. a fix merged for 5.19-rc1 would be backported to 5.10.y, but not to 5.15.y.

.. _option_1:

Option 1
********

To have a patch you submit for mainline inclusion later automatically picked up

Annotation

Implementation Notes