[Bugme-new] [Bug 6698] New: unregister_netdevice hangs indefinitely from /proc/sys/net/ipv6/conf/all/forwarding

[bugme-daemon at bugzilla.kernel.org]

http://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=6698

           Summary: unregister_netdevice hangs indefinitely from
                    /proc/sys/net/ipv6/conf/all/forwarding
    Kernel Version: 2.6.17-rc6
            Status: NEW
          Severity: normal
             Owner: yoshfuji at linux-ipv6.org
         Submitter: kernelbmw at lsmod.de


Most recent kernel where this bug did not occur: none known (yet)
Distribution: reproduced on Debian/stable, SuSE/10.0, SuSE/10.1
Hardware Environment: reproduced on UML, i386, x86/64
Software Environment: reproduced with openvpn and UML tap devices
Problem Description: after adding IPv6 to my previously working openvpn
tunneling setup, a (really old) IPv6-related bug started to occurr:
http://lkml.org/lkml/2003/8/21/1
I also reproduced this bug with kernel 2.6.15.1(vanilla,uml) and
2.6.16.13(SuSE-version,x86/64) and linux-2.6.13 (SuSE-version,i386)

Steps to reproduce:
echo 0 > /proc/sys/net/ipv6/conf/all/forwarding # this is important initialization

Have (any version of) openvpn open a tunnel using a tap (virtual ethernet)
device. In the "up" script do:
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv6/conf/all/forwarding
this can be easily tested with these lines:
apt-get install openvpn
modprobe tun
mknod /dev/net/tun c 10 200
echo 0 > /proc/sys/net/ipv6/conf/all/forwarding
echo "echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv6/conf/all/forwarding" > /tmp/up ; chmod a+x /tmp/up
openvpn --dev-type tap --remote tunnel.lsmod.de 5003 --ifconfig 10.9.0.2
255.255.255.0 --dev-node /dev/net/tun --up /tmp/up
# at this point you can verify your tunnel setup by ping 10.9.0.1
# on the server I have this: openvpn --dev-type tap --ifconfig 10.9.0.1
255.255.255.0 --port 5003 --dev-node /dev/net/tun --float
# you need UDP port 5003 to pass through your firewall for this


Alternatively get an user-mode-linux(UML) binary and do something along the
lines of:
apt-get install uml-utilities
TAP=`tunctl -b`
ifconfig $TAP 192.168.121.1 netmask 255.255.255.252
echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv6/conf/all/forwarding
/path/to/linux eth0=tuntap,$TAP ... # booting up to the point where the tap dev
is really bound (at "ifconfig eth0 192.168.121.2" within the UML)
tunctl -d $TAP


After 20 seconds kill the openvpn or linux process.
This hangs indefinitely, leaving the openvpn process in "D" state.
syslog states every 10 secs:
unregister_netdevice: waiting for tap0 to become free.  Usage count = 1

The kernel will then hang "ifconfig" and "ip" commands, probably because the
waiting-for-tap0 still holds a mutex.

After a dozen reboots of trying I found a work-around: replacing the critical
line with
(sleep 2 ; echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv6/conf/all/forwarding )&

A sleep 1 does not suffice.
Doing the echo before calling openvpn also works fine, so there seems to be a
timing problem or race condition during initialization of the IPv6 on the newly
created tap0 device.

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