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Sarah Sharp2c97a632013-04-13 18:40:55 -07001Background
2==========
3
4The upstream Linux kernel maintainers only fix bugs for specific kernel
5versions. Those versions include the current "release candidate" (or -rc)
6kernel, any "stable" kernel versions, and any "long term" kernels.
7
8Please see https://www.kernel.org/ for a list of supported kernels. Any
9kernel marked with [EOL] is "end of life" and will not have any fixes
10backported to it.
11
12If you've found a bug on a kernel version isn't listed on kernel.org,
13contact your Linux distribution or embedded vendor for support.
14Alternatively, you can attempt to run one of the supported stable or -rc
15kernels, and see if you can reproduce the bug on that. It's preferable
16to reproduce the bug on the latest -rc kernel.
17
18
19How to report Linux kernel bugs
20===============================
21
22
Sarah Sharpd60418b2013-04-13 17:44:55 -070023Identify the problematic subsystem
24----------------------------------
25
26Identifying which part of the Linux kernel might be causing your issue
27increases your chances of getting your bug fixed. Simply posting to the
28generic linux-kernel mailing list (LKML) may cause your bug report to be
29lost in the noise of a mailing list that gets 1000+ emails a day.
30
31Instead, try to figure out which kernel subsystem is causing the issue,
32and email that subsystem's maintainer and mailing list. If the subsystem
33maintainer doesn't answer, then expand your scope to mailing lists like
34LKML.
35
36
37Identify who to notify
38----------------------
39
40Once you know the subsystem that is causing the issue, you should send a
41bug report. Some maintainers prefer bugs to be reported via bugzilla
42(https://bugzilla.kernel.org), while others prefer that bugs be reported
43via the subsystem mailing list.
44
45To find out where to send an emailed bug report, find your subsystem or
46device driver in the MAINTAINERS file. Search in the file for relevant
47entries, and send your bug report to the person(s) listed in the "M:"
48lines, making sure to Cc the mailing list(s) in the "L:" lines. When the
49maintainer replies to you, make sure to 'Reply-all' in order to keep the
50public mailing list(s) in the email thread.
51
52If you know which driver is causing issues, you can pass one of the driver
53files to the get_maintainer.pl script:
54 perl scripts/get_maintainer.pl -f <filename>
55
56If it is a security bug, please copy the Security Contact listed in the
57MAINTAINERS file. They can help coordinate bugfix and disclosure. See
58Documentation/SecurityBugs for more information.
59
60If you can't figure out which subsystem caused the issue, you should file
61a bug in kernel.org bugzilla and send email to
62linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, referencing the bugzilla URL. (For more
63information on the linux-kernel mailing list see
64http://www.tux.org/lkml/).
65
66
Sarah Sharpbf6adaf2013-04-13 18:25:13 -070067Tips for reporting bugs
68-----------------------
69
70If you haven't reported a bug before, please read:
71
72http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html
73http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
74
75It's REALLY important to report bugs that seem unrelated as separate email
76threads or separate bugzilla entries. If you report several unrelated
77bugs at once, it's difficult for maintainers to tease apart the relevant
78data.
79
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070080
Sarah Sharp7883a252013-04-13 19:11:26 -070081Gather information
82------------------
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070083
Sarah Sharp7883a252013-04-13 19:11:26 -070084The most important information in a bug report is how to reproduce the
85bug. This includes system information, and (most importantly)
86step-by-step instructions for how a user can trigger the bug.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070087
Sarah Sharp7883a252013-04-13 19:11:26 -070088If the failure includes an "OOPS:", take a picture of the screen, capture
89a netconsole trace, or type the message from your screen into the bug
90report. Please read "Documentation/oops-tracing.txt" before posting your
91bug report. This explains what you should do with the "Oops" information
92to make it useful to the recipient.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070093
Sarah Sharp7883a252013-04-13 19:11:26 -070094This is a suggested format for a bug report sent via email or bugzilla.
95Having a standardized bug report form makes it easier for you not to
Tobias Klauser9dcbb322005-09-10 00:26:58 -070096overlook things, and easier for the developers to find the pieces of
Sarah Sharp7883a252013-04-13 19:11:26 -070097information they're really interested in. If some information is not
98relevant to your bug, feel free to exclude it.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -070099
Sarah Sharp3b12c212013-04-13 17:55:18 -0700100First run the ver_linux script included as scripts/ver_linux, which
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700101reports the version of some important subsystems. Run this script with
102the command "sh scripts/ver_linux".
103
104Use that information to fill in all fields of the bug report form, and
105post it to the mailing list with a subject of "PROBLEM: <one line
Tobias Klauser9dcbb322005-09-10 00:26:58 -0700106summary from [1.]>" for easy identification by the developers.
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700107
Tobias Klauser9dcbb322005-09-10 00:26:58 -0700108[1.] One line summary of the problem:
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700109[2.] Full description of the problem/report:
110[3.] Keywords (i.e., modules, networking, kernel):
Randy Dunlap4e229be2006-12-06 20:39:14 -0800111[4.] Kernel information
112[4.1.] Kernel version (from /proc/version):
113[4.2.] Kernel .config file:
Andrew Morton30e835e2005-08-05 11:59:32 -0700114[5.] Most recent kernel version which did not have the bug:
115[6.] Output of Oops.. message (if applicable) with symbolic information
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700116 resolved (see Documentation/oops-tracing.txt)
Andrew Morton30e835e2005-08-05 11:59:32 -0700117[7.] A small shell script or example program which triggers the
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700118 problem (if possible)
Andrew Morton30e835e2005-08-05 11:59:32 -0700119[8.] Environment
120[8.1.] Software (add the output of the ver_linux script here)
121[8.2.] Processor information (from /proc/cpuinfo):
122[8.3.] Module information (from /proc/modules):
123[8.4.] Loaded driver and hardware information (/proc/ioports, /proc/iomem)
124[8.5.] PCI information ('lspci -vvv' as root)
125[8.6.] SCSI information (from /proc/scsi/scsi)
126[8.7.] Other information that might be relevant to the problem
Linus Torvalds1da177e2005-04-16 15:20:36 -0700127 (please look in /proc and include all information that you
128 think to be relevant):
129[X.] Other notes, patches, fixes, workarounds:
130
131
Sarah Sharpbc6bed42013-04-13 19:30:48 -0700132Follow up
133=========
134
135Expectations for bug reporters
136------------------------------
137
138Linux kernel maintainers expect bug reporters to be able to follow up on
139bug reports. That may include running new tests, applying patches,
140recompiling your kernel, and/or re-triggering your bug. The most
141frustrating thing for maintainers is for someone to report a bug, and then
142never follow up on a request to try out a fix.
143
144That said, it's still useful for a kernel maintainer to know a bug exists
145on a supported kernel, even if you can't follow up with retests. Follow
146up reports, such as replying to the email thread with "I tried the latest
147kernel and I can't reproduce my bug anymore" are also helpful, because
148maintainers have to assume silence means things are still broken.
149
150Expectations for kernel maintainers
151-----------------------------------
152
153Linux kernel maintainers are busy, overworked human beings. Some times
154they may not be able to address your bug in a day, a week, or two weeks.
155If they don't answer your email, they may be on vacation, or at a Linux
156conference. Check the conference schedule at LWN.net for more info:
157 https://lwn.net/Calendar/
158
159In general, kernel maintainers take 1 to 5 business days to respond to
160bugs. The majority of kernel maintainers are employed to work on the
161kernel, and they may not work on the weekends. Maintainers are scattered
162around the world, and they may not work in your time zone. Unless you
163have a high priority bug, please wait at least a week after the first bug
164report before sending the maintainer a reminder email.
165
166The exceptions to this rule are regressions, kernel crashes, security holes,
167or userspace breakage caused by new kernel behavior. Those bugs should be
168addressed by the maintainers ASAP. If you suspect a maintainer is not
169responding to these types of bugs in a timely manner (especially during a
170merge window), escalate the bug to LKML and Linus Torvalds.
171
172Thank you!
Sarah Sharpb7ca36a2013-04-13 19:17:08 -0700173
174[Some of this is taken from Frohwalt Egerer's original linux-kernel FAQ]