Re: kern/52056: mount -u / causes a kernel assertion

[Matt Sporleder <msporleder%gmail.com@localhost>]

The following reply was made to PR kern/52056; it has been noted by GNATS.

From: Matt Sporleder <msporleder%gmail.com@localhost>
To: Robert Elz <kre%munnari.OZ.AU@localhost>
Cc: =?utf-8?Q?Jarom=C3=ADr_Dole=C4=8Dek?= <jaromir.dolecek%gmail.com@localhost>,
 gnats-bugs%netbsd.org@localhost, kern-bug-people%netbsd.org@localhost, current-users%netbsd.org@localhost,
 netbsd-bugs%netbsd.org@localhost, Martin Husemann <martin%netbsd.org@localhost>
Subject: Re: kern/52056: mount -u / causes a kernel assertion
Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2017 18:39:11 -0500

 > On Mar 10, 2017, at 6:00 PM, Robert Elz <kre%munnari.OZ.AU@localhost> wrote:
 >=20
 > In messages related to PR  kern/52056 (in gnats) and on netbsd-bugs@n.o
 > (I am adding current-users as this needs opinions from a wider community).=
 
 >=20
 > The PR is mostly about kernel issues, this issue with mount -u is only
 > relevant because that happened to trigger the kernel, if -u worked
 > differently, the actual problem from the PR might not have been noticed.
 >=20
 >    Date:        Fri, 10 Mar 2017 15:00:13 +0100
 >    From:        =3D?UTF-8?B?SmFyb23DrXIgRG9sZcSNZWs=3D?=3D <jaromir.dolece=
 k%gmail.com@localhost>
 >    Message-ID:  <CAMnsW54zJHN1Kj_-bg8HJ11WSfFzcy9XT0Ebap52GJCRL3fMQQ@mail.=
 gmail.com>
 >=20
 >  | Some volunteer for checking why the -u doesn't work as advertized?
 >=20
 > The issue is that the man page (mount(8)) says that -u takes options from
 > fstab, then the command line -o options, and then -r or -w - but the code
 > does not do that, fstab options are ignored with -u, only options from the=
 
 > command line are used.
 >=20
 > It kind of seems to be deliberate - though I have no idea why.
 >=20
 > Back in the early days (until mid 1994) it seems to have worked as the
 > man page states - the relevant text in the man page has been essentially
 > unchanged since version 1.1.    When 4.4-lite was incorporated in June 199=
 4
 > the code changed, and the following lines appeared ...
 >=20
 >            /* If it's an update, ignore the fstab file options. */
 >            fs->fs_mntops =3D NULL;
 >=20
 > (in the code processing the -u case).   The code was restructured in 1998,=
 
 > but this was not altered in substance - the comment was deleted though.
 >=20
 > It has remained essentially unchanged ever since.
 >=20
 > So, it appears that 4.4-lite made this change, and apparently intentionall=
 y,
 > but I have no idea why.
 >=20
 > Changing it is trivial, if that is desired.   The question now is, which
 > should be fixed, the man page, or the code?
 >=20
 > One last thing that's interesting, back in Nov 1997, a correction to the
 > man page has this as its commit log message ...
 >=20
 >    Add a clarification how the missing data are looked up if either
 >    mount source or target are omitted. Adresses PR 3240.
 >    XXX This is not the complete truth. Things change with the -u
 >    option. Should be fixed in "mount.c".
 >=20
 > The actual change that commit made is not relevant here, but the XXX
 > note indicates that way back then this issue was known, and at least one
 > developer thought it should be fixed in the source.
 >=20
 > So, does anyone believe that we should change the man page, and note that
 > options from fstab are ignored with -u, or should the code be changed so
 > that it works as the man page has (always) advertised (but which it hasn't=
 
 > done for the past (almost) 23 years.)
 >=20
 > kre
 >=20
 
 What do the other BSDs do in this case?=