1.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
2
3============================================================
4Provoking crashes with Linux Kernel Dump Test Module (LKDTM)
5============================================================
6
7The lkdtm module provides an interface to disrupt (and usually crash)
8the kernel at predefined code locations to evaluate the reliability of
9the kernel's exception handling and to test crash dumps obtained using
10different dumping solutions. The module uses KPROBEs to instrument the
11trigger location, but can also trigger the kernel directly without KPROBE
12support via debugfs.
13
14You can select the location of the trigger ("crash point name") and the
15type of action ("crash point type") either through module arguments when
16inserting the module, or through the debugfs interface.
17
18Usage::
19
20	insmod lkdtm.ko [recur_count={>0}] cpoint_name=<> cpoint_type=<>
21			[cpoint_count={>0}]
22
23recur_count
24	Recursion level for the stack overflow test. By default this is
25	dynamically calculated based on kernel configuration, with the
26	goal of being just large enough to exhaust the kernel stack. The
27	value can be seen at `/sys/module/lkdtm/parameters/recur_count`.
28
29cpoint_name
30	Where in the kernel to trigger the action. It can be
31	one of INT_HARDWARE_ENTRY, INT_HW_IRQ_EN, INT_TASKLET_ENTRY,
32	FS_DEVRW, MEM_SWAPOUT, TIMERADD, SCSI_DISPATCH_CMD,
33	IDE_CORE_CP, or DIRECT
34
35cpoint_type
36	Indicates the action to be taken on hitting the crash point.
37	These are numerous, and best queried directly from debugfs. Some
38	of the common ones are PANIC, BUG, EXCEPTION, LOOP, and OVERFLOW.
39	See the contents of `/sys/kernel/debug/provoke-crash/DIRECT` for
40	a complete list.
41
42cpoint_count
43	Indicates the number of times the crash point is to be hit
44	before triggering the action. The default is 10 (except for
45	DIRECT, which always fires immediately).
46
47You can also induce failures by mounting debugfs and writing the type to
48<debugfs>/provoke-crash/<crashpoint>. E.g.::
49
50  mount -t debugfs debugfs /sys/kernel/debug
51  echo EXCEPTION > /sys/kernel/debug/provoke-crash/INT_HARDWARE_ENTRY
52
53The special file `DIRECT` will induce the action directly without KPROBE
54instrumentation. This mode is the only one available when the module is
55built for a kernel without KPROBEs support::
56
57  # Instead of having a BUG kill your shell, have it kill "cat":
58  cat <(echo WRITE_RO) >/sys/kernel/debug/provoke-crash/DIRECT
59