[PATCH v3] bpf/verifier: optimize precision backtracking by skipping precise bits

Qiliang Yuan posted 1 patch 3 weeks ago
kernel/bpf/verifier.c | 27 +++++++++++++++++++++++++--
1 file changed, 25 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
[PATCH v3] bpf/verifier: optimize precision backtracking by skipping precise bits
Posted by Qiliang Yuan 3 weeks ago
Optimize __mark_chain_precision() by skipping registers or stack slots
that are already marked as precise. This prevents redundant history
walks when multiple verification paths converge on the same state.

Centralizing this check in __mark_chain_precision() improves efficiency
for all entry points (mark_chain_precision, propagate_precision) and
simplifies call-site logic.

Performance Results (Extreme Stress Test on 32-core system):
Under system-wide saturation (32 parallel veristat instances) using a
high-stress backtracking payload (~290k insns, 34k states), this
optimization demonstrated significant micro-architectural gains:

- Total Retired Instructions:  -82.2 Billion (-1.94%)
- Total CPU Cycles:            -161.3 Billion (-3.11%)
- Avg. Insns per Verify:       -17.2 Million (-2.84%)
- Page Faults:                 -39.90% (Significant reduction in memory pressure)

The massive reduction in page faults suggests that avoiding redundant
backtracking significantly lowers memory subsystem churn during deep
state history walks.

Verified that total instruction and state counts (per veristat) remain
identical across all tests, confirming logic equivalence.

Suggested-by: Eduard Zingerman <eddyz87@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Qiliang Yuan <realwujing@gmail.com>
---
On Fri, Jan 16, 2026 at 11:27 PM Eduard Zingerman <eddyz87@gmail.com> wrote:
> As I said before, this is a useful change.
> 
> > 4. bpf/verifier: optimize precision backtracking by skipping precise bits
> >    (https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260115152037.449362-1-realwujing@gmail.com/)
> >    Following your suggestion to refactor the logic into the core engine for
> >    better coverage and clarity, I have provided a v2 version of this patch here:
> >    (https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260116045839.23743-1-realwujing@gmail.com/)
> >    This v2 version specifically addresses your feedback by centralizing the
> >    logic and includes a comprehensive performance comparison (veristat results)
> >    in the commit log. It reduces the complexity of redundant backtracking
> >    requests from O(D) (where D is history depth) to O(1) by utilizing the
> >    'precise' flag to skip already-processed states.
> 
> Same as with #1: using veristat duration metric, especially for such
> small programs, is not a reasonable performance analysis.

Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/75807149f7de7a106db0ccda88e5d4439b94a1e7.camel@gmail.com/

Hi Eduard,

Acknowledged. To provide a more robust performance analysis, I have moved away
from veristat duration and instead used hardware performance counters (perf stat)
under system-wide saturation with a custom backtracking stress test. This 
demonstrates the optimization's hardware-level efficiency (retired instructions 
and page faults) more reliably.

Best regards,
Qiliang

Test case (backtrack_stress.c):
#include "vmlinux.h"
#include <bpf/bpf_helpers.h>

struct {
    __uint(type, BPF_MAP_TYPE_ARRAY);
    __uint(max_entries, 1);
    __type(key, __u32);
    __type(value, __u64);
} dummy_map SEC(".maps");

SEC("tc")
int backtrack_stress(struct __sk_buff *skb)
{
    __u32 key = 0;
    __u64 *val = bpf_map_lookup_elem(&dummy_map, &key);
    if (!val) return 0;
    __u64 x = *val;
    
    /* 1. Create a deep dependency chain to fill history for 'x' */
    x += 1; x *= 2; x -= 1; x ^= 0x55;
    x += 1; x *= 2; x -= 1; x ^= 0xAA;
    x += 1; x *= 2; x -= 1; x ^= 0x55;
    x += 1; x *= 2; x -= 1; x ^= 0xAA;

    /* 2. Create many states via conditional branches */
#define CHECK_X(n) if (x == n) { x += 1; } if (x == n + 1) { x -= 1; }
#define CHECK_X10(n)  CHECK_X(n) CHECK_X(n+2) CHECK_X(n+4) CHECK_X(n+6) CHECK_X(n+8) \
                      CHECK_X(n+10) CHECK_X(n+12) CHECK_X(n+14) CHECK_X(n+16) CHECK_X(n+18)
#define CHECK_X100(n) CHECK_X10(n) CHECK_X10(n+20) CHECK_X10(n+40) CHECK_X10(n+60) CHECK_X10(n+80) \
                      CHECK_X10(n+100) CHECK_X10(n+120) CHECK_X10(n+140) CHECK_X10(n+160) CHECK_X10(n+180)

    CHECK_X100(0)
    CHECK_X100(200)
    CHECK_X100(400)
    CHECK_X100(600)
    CHECK_X100(800)
    CHECK_X100(1000)

    /* 3. Trigger mark_chain_precision() multiple times on 'x' */
    #pragma clang loop unroll(full)
    for (int i = 0; i < 500; i++) {
        if (x == (2000 + i)) { 
            x += 1;
        }
    }

    return x;
}

char _license[] SEC("license") = "GPL";

How to Test:
-----------
1. Compile the BPF program (from kernel root):
   clang -O2 -target bpf \
         -I./tools/testing/selftests/bpf/ \
         -I./tools/lib/ \
         -I./tools/include/uapi/ \
         -I./tools/testing/selftests/bpf/include \
         -c backtrack_stress.c -o backtrack_stress.bpf.o

2. System-wide saturation profiling (32 cores):
   # Start perf in background
   sudo perf stat -a -- sleep 60 &
   # Start 32 parallel loops of veristat
   for i in {1..32}; do (while true; do ./veristat backtrack_stress.bpf.o > /dev/null; done &); done

Raw Performance Data:
---------------------
Baseline (6.19.0-rc5-baseline, git commit 944aacb68baf):
File                    Program           Verdict  Duration (us)   Insns  States  Program size  Jited size
----------------------  ----------------  -------  -------------  ------  ------  ------------  ----------
backtrack_stress.bpf.o  backtrack_stress  success         197924  289939   34331          5437       28809
----------------------  ----------------  -------  -------------  ------  ------  ------------  ----------

         1,388,149      context-switches                 #    722.5 cs/sec  cs_per_second     
      1,921,399.69 msec cpu-clock                        #     32.0 CPUs  CPUs_utilized       
            25,113      cpu-migrations                   #     13.1 migrations/sec  migrations_per_second
         8,108,516      page-faults                      #   4220.1 faults/sec  page_faults_per_second
    97,445,724,421      branch-misses                    #      8.1 %  branch_miss_rate         (50.07%)
   903,852,287,721      branches                         #    470.4 M/sec  branch_frequency     (66.76%)
 5,190,519,089,751      cpu-cycles                       #      2.7 GHz  cycles_frequency       (66.81%)
 4,230,500,391,043      instructions                     #      0.8 instructions  insn_per_cycle  (66.76%)
 1,853,856,616,836      stalled-cycles-frontend          #     0.36 frontend_cycles_idle        (66.52%)

      60.031936126 seconds time elapsed

Patched (6.19.0-rc5-optimized):
File                    Program           Verdict  Duration (us)   Insns  States  Program size  Jited size
----------------------  ----------------  -------  -------------  ------  ------  ------------  ----------
backtrack_stress.bpf.o  backtrack_stress  success         214600  289939   34331          5437       28809
----------------------  ----------------  -------  -------------  ------  ------  ------------  ----------

         1,433,270      context-switches                 #    745.9 cs/sec  cs_per_second     
      1,921,604.54 msec cpu-clock                        #     32.0 CPUs  CPUs_utilized       
            22,795      cpu-migrations                   #     11.9 migrations/sec  migrations_per_second
         4,873,895      page-faults                      #   2536.4 faults/sec  page_faults_per_second
    97,038,959,375      branch-misses                    #      8.1 %  branch_miss_rate         (50.07%)
   890,170,312,491      branches                         #    463.2 M/sec  branch_frequency     (66.76%)
 5,029,192,994,167      cpu-cycles                       #      2.6 GHz  cycles_frequency       (66.81%)
 4,148,237,426,723      instructions                     #      0.8 instructions  insn_per_cycle  (66.77%)
 1,818,457,318,301      stalled-cycles-frontend          #     0.36 frontend_cycles_idle        (66.51%)

      60.032523872 seconds time elapsed

 kernel/bpf/verifier.c | 27 +++++++++++++++++++++++++--
 1 file changed, 25 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/kernel/bpf/verifier.c b/kernel/bpf/verifier.c
index 3135643d5695..250f1dc0298e 100644
--- a/kernel/bpf/verifier.c
+++ b/kernel/bpf/verifier.c
@@ -4765,14 +4765,37 @@ static int __mark_chain_precision(struct bpf_verifier_env *env,
 	 * slot, but don't set precise flag in current state, as precision
 	 * tracking in the current state is unnecessary.
 	 */
-	func = st->frame[bt->frame];
 	if (regno >= 0) {
-		reg = &func->regs[regno];
+		reg = &st->frame[bt->frame]->regs[regno];
 		if (reg->type != SCALAR_VALUE) {
 			verifier_bug(env, "backtracking misuse");
 			return -EFAULT;
 		}
+		if (reg->precise)
+			return 0;
 		bt_set_reg(bt, regno);
+	} else {
+		for (fr = bt->frame; fr >= 0; fr--) {
+			u32 reg_mask = bt_frame_reg_mask(bt, fr);
+			u64 stack_mask = bt_frame_stack_mask(bt, fr);
+			DECLARE_BITMAP(mask, 64);
+
+			func = st->frame[fr];
+			if (reg_mask) {
+				bitmap_from_u64(mask, reg_mask);
+				for_each_set_bit(i, mask, 32) {
+					if (func->regs[i].precise)
+						bt_clear_frame_reg(bt, fr, i);
+				}
+			}
+			if (stack_mask) {
+				bitmap_from_u64(mask, stack_mask);
+				for_each_set_bit(i, mask, 64) {
+					if (func->stack[i].spilled_ptr.precise)
+						bt_clear_frame_slot(bt, fr, i);
+				}
+			}
+		}
 	}
 
 	if (bt_empty(bt))
-- 
2.39.5
Re: [PATCH v3] bpf/verifier: optimize precision backtracking by skipping precise bits
Posted by Eduard Zingerman 2 weeks, 4 days ago
On Sat, 2026-01-17 at 18:09 +0800, Qiliang Yuan wrote:

Hi Qiliang,

> 2. System-wide saturation profiling (32 cores):
>    # Start perf in background
>    sudo perf stat -a -- sleep 60 &
>    # Start 32 parallel loops of veristat
>    for i in {1..32}; do (while true; do ./veristat backtrack_stress.bpf.o > /dev/null; done &); done

I'm not sure system-wide testing is helpful in this context.
I'd suggest collecting stats for a single process, e.g. as follows:

  perf stat -B --all-kernel -r10 -- ./veristat -q pyperf180.bpf.o

(Note: pyperf180 is a reasonably complex test for many purposes).
And then collecting profiling data:

  perf record -o <somewhere-where-mmap-is-possible> \
              --all-kernel --call-graph=dwarf --vmlinux=<path-to-vmlinux> \
	      -- ./veristat -q pyperf180.bpf.o

And then inspecting the profiling data using `perf report`.
What I see in stats corroborates with Yonghong's findings:

  W/o the patch:
            ...
          22293282      branch-misses                    #      2.8 %  branch_miss_rate         ( +-  1.25% )  (50.10%)
         594485451      branches                         #   1012.5 M/sec  branch_frequency     ( +-  1.68% )  (66.67%)
        1544503960      cpu-cycles                       #      2.6 GHz  cycles_frequency       ( +-  0.18% )  (67.02%)
        3305212994      instructions                     #      2.1 instructions  insn_per_cycle  ( +-  2.04% )  (67.11%)
         587496908      stalled-cycles-frontend          #     0.38 frontend_cycles_idle        ( +-  1.21% )  (66.39%)

           0.60033 +- 0.00173 seconds time elapsed  ( +-  0.29% )

  With the patch
            ...
          22397789      branch-misses                    #      2.8 %  branch_miss_rate         ( +-  1.27% )  (50.37%)
         596289399      branches                         #   1004.8 M/sec  branch_frequency     ( +-  1.59% )  (66.95%)
        1546060617      cpu-cycles                       #      2.6 GHz  cycles_frequency       ( +-  0.16% )  (66.67%)
        3325745352      instructions                     #      2.2 instructions  insn_per_cycle  ( +-  1.76% )  (66.61%)
         588040713      stalled-cycles-frontend          #     0.38 frontend_cycles_idle        ( +-  1.23% )  (66.48%)

           0.60697 +- 0.00201 seconds time elapsed  ( +-  0.33% )

So, I'd suggest shelving this change for now.

If you take a look at the profiling data, you'd notice that low
hanging fruit is actually improving bpf_patch_insn_data(),
It takes ~40% of time, at-least for this program.
This was actually discussed a very long time ago [1].
If you are interested in speeding up verifier,
maybe consider taking a look?

Best regards,
Eduard Zingerman.

[1] https://lore.kernel.org/bpf/CAEf4BzY_E8MSL4mD0UPuuiDcbJhh9e2xQo2=5w+ppRWWiYSGvQ@mail.gmail.com/
Re: [PATCH v3] bpf/verifier: optimize precision backtracking by skipping precise bits
Posted by Yonghong Song 2 weeks, 5 days ago

On 1/17/26 2:09 AM, Qiliang Yuan wrote:
> Optimize __mark_chain_precision() by skipping registers or stack slots
> that are already marked as precise. This prevents redundant history
> walks when multiple verification paths converge on the same state.
>
> Centralizing this check in __mark_chain_precision() improves efficiency
> for all entry points (mark_chain_precision, propagate_precision) and
> simplifies call-site logic.
>
> Performance Results (Extreme Stress Test on 32-core system):
> Under system-wide saturation (32 parallel veristat instances) using a
> high-stress backtracking payload (~290k insns, 34k states), this
> optimization demonstrated significant micro-architectural gains:
>
> - Total Retired Instructions:  -82.2 Billion (-1.94%)
> - Total CPU Cycles:            -161.3 Billion (-3.11%)
> - Avg. Insns per Verify:       -17.2 Million (-2.84%)
> - Page Faults:                 -39.90% (Significant reduction in memory pressure)
>
> The massive reduction in page faults suggests that avoiding redundant
> backtracking significantly lowers memory subsystem churn during deep
> state history walks.
>
> Verified that total instruction and state counts (per veristat) remain
> identical across all tests, confirming logic equivalence.
>
> Suggested-by: Eduard Zingerman <eddyz87@gmail.com>
> Signed-off-by: Qiliang Yuan <realwujing@gmail.com>
> ---
> On Fri, Jan 16, 2026 at 11:27 PM Eduard Zingerman <eddyz87@gmail.com> wrote:
>> As I said before, this is a useful change.
>>
>>> 4. bpf/verifier: optimize precision backtracking by skipping precise bits
>>>     (https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260115152037.449362-1-realwujing@gmail.com/)
>>>     Following your suggestion to refactor the logic into the core engine for
>>>     better coverage and clarity, I have provided a v2 version of this patch here:
>>>     (https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260116045839.23743-1-realwujing@gmail.com/)
>>>     This v2 version specifically addresses your feedback by centralizing the
>>>     logic and includes a comprehensive performance comparison (veristat results)
>>>     in the commit log. It reduces the complexity of redundant backtracking
>>>     requests from O(D) (where D is history depth) to O(1) by utilizing the
>>>     'precise' flag to skip already-processed states.
>> Same as with #1: using veristat duration metric, especially for such
>> small programs, is not a reasonable performance analysis.
> Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/75807149f7de7a106db0ccda88e5d4439b94a1e7.camel@gmail.com/
>
> Hi Eduard,
>
> Acknowledged. To provide a more robust performance analysis, I have moved away
> from veristat duration and instead used hardware performance counters (perf stat)
> under system-wide saturation with a custom backtracking stress test. This
> demonstrates the optimization's hardware-level efficiency (retired instructions
> and page faults) more reliably.
>
> Best regards,
> Qiliang
>
> Test case (backtrack_stress.c):
> #include "vmlinux.h"
> #include <bpf/bpf_helpers.h>
>
> struct {
>      __uint(type, BPF_MAP_TYPE_ARRAY);
>      __uint(max_entries, 1);
>      __type(key, __u32);
>      __type(value, __u64);
> } dummy_map SEC(".maps");
>
> SEC("tc")
> int backtrack_stress(struct __sk_buff *skb)
> {
>      __u32 key = 0;
>      __u64 *val = bpf_map_lookup_elem(&dummy_map, &key);
>      if (!val) return 0;
>      __u64 x = *val;
>      
>      /* 1. Create a deep dependency chain to fill history for 'x' */
>      x += 1; x *= 2; x -= 1; x ^= 0x55;
>      x += 1; x *= 2; x -= 1; x ^= 0xAA;
>      x += 1; x *= 2; x -= 1; x ^= 0x55;
>      x += 1; x *= 2; x -= 1; x ^= 0xAA;
>
>      /* 2. Create many states via conditional branches */
> #define CHECK_X(n) if (x == n) { x += 1; } if (x == n + 1) { x -= 1; }
> #define CHECK_X10(n)  CHECK_X(n) CHECK_X(n+2) CHECK_X(n+4) CHECK_X(n+6) CHECK_X(n+8) \
>                        CHECK_X(n+10) CHECK_X(n+12) CHECK_X(n+14) CHECK_X(n+16) CHECK_X(n+18)
> #define CHECK_X100(n) CHECK_X10(n) CHECK_X10(n+20) CHECK_X10(n+40) CHECK_X10(n+60) CHECK_X10(n+80) \
>                        CHECK_X10(n+100) CHECK_X10(n+120) CHECK_X10(n+140) CHECK_X10(n+160) CHECK_X10(n+180)
>
>      CHECK_X100(0)
>      CHECK_X100(200)
>      CHECK_X100(400)
>      CHECK_X100(600)
>      CHECK_X100(800)
>      CHECK_X100(1000)
>
>      /* 3. Trigger mark_chain_precision() multiple times on 'x' */
>      #pragma clang loop unroll(full)
>      for (int i = 0; i < 500; i++) {
>          if (x == (2000 + i)) {
>              x += 1;
>          }
>      }
>
>      return x;
> }
>
> char _license[] SEC("license") = "GPL";
>
> How to Test:
> -----------
> 1. Compile the BPF program (from kernel root):
>     clang -O2 -target bpf \
>           -I./tools/testing/selftests/bpf/ \
>           -I./tools/lib/ \
>           -I./tools/include/uapi/ \
>           -I./tools/testing/selftests/bpf/include \
>           -c backtrack_stress.c -o backtrack_stress.bpf.o
>
> 2. System-wide saturation profiling (32 cores):
>     # Start perf in background
>     sudo perf stat -a -- sleep 60 &
>     # Start 32 parallel loops of veristat
>     for i in {1..32}; do (while true; do ./veristat backtrack_stress.bpf.o > /dev/null; done &); done
>
> Raw Performance Data:
> ---------------------
> Baseline (6.19.0-rc5-baseline, git commit 944aacb68baf):
> File                    Program           Verdict  Duration (us)   Insns  States  Program size  Jited size
> ----------------------  ----------------  -------  -------------  ------  ------  ------------  ----------
> backtrack_stress.bpf.o  backtrack_stress  success         197924  289939   34331          5437       28809
> ----------------------  ----------------  -------  -------------  ------  ------  ------------  ----------
>
>           1,388,149      context-switches                 #    722.5 cs/sec  cs_per_second
>        1,921,399.69 msec cpu-clock                        #     32.0 CPUs  CPUs_utilized
>              25,113      cpu-migrations                   #     13.1 migrations/sec  migrations_per_second
>           8,108,516      page-faults                      #   4220.1 faults/sec  page_faults_per_second
>      97,445,724,421      branch-misses                    #      8.1 %  branch_miss_rate         (50.07%)
>     903,852,287,721      branches                         #    470.4 M/sec  branch_frequency     (66.76%)
>   5,190,519,089,751      cpu-cycles                       #      2.7 GHz  cycles_frequency       (66.81%)
>   4,230,500,391,043      instructions                     #      0.8 instructions  insn_per_cycle  (66.76%)
>   1,853,856,616,836      stalled-cycles-frontend          #     0.36 frontend_cycles_idle        (66.52%)
>
>        60.031936126 seconds time elapsed
>
> Patched (6.19.0-rc5-optimized):
> File                    Program           Verdict  Duration (us)   Insns  States  Program size  Jited size
> ----------------------  ----------------  -------  -------------  ------  ------  ------------  ----------
> backtrack_stress.bpf.o  backtrack_stress  success         214600  289939   34331          5437       28809
> ----------------------  ----------------  -------  -------------  ------  ------  ------------  ----------
>
>           1,433,270      context-switches                 #    745.9 cs/sec  cs_per_second
>        1,921,604.54 msec cpu-clock                        #     32.0 CPUs  CPUs_utilized
>              22,795      cpu-migrations                   #     11.9 migrations/sec  migrations_per_second
>           4,873,895      page-faults                      #   2536.4 faults/sec  page_faults_per_second
>      97,038,959,375      branch-misses                    #      8.1 %  branch_miss_rate         (50.07%)
>     890,170,312,491      branches                         #    463.2 M/sec  branch_frequency     (66.76%)
>   5,029,192,994,167      cpu-cycles                       #      2.6 GHz  cycles_frequency       (66.81%)
>   4,148,237,426,723      instructions                     #      0.8 instructions  insn_per_cycle  (66.77%)
>   1,818,457,318,301      stalled-cycles-frontend          #     0.36 frontend_cycles_idle        (66.51%)
>
>        60.032523872 seconds time elapsed
>
>   kernel/bpf/verifier.c | 27 +++++++++++++++++++++++++--
>   1 file changed, 25 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/kernel/bpf/verifier.c b/kernel/bpf/verifier.c
> index 3135643d5695..250f1dc0298e 100644
> --- a/kernel/bpf/verifier.c
> +++ b/kernel/bpf/verifier.c
> @@ -4765,14 +4765,37 @@ static int __mark_chain_precision(struct bpf_verifier_env *env,
>   	 * slot, but don't set precise flag in current state, as precision
>   	 * tracking in the current state is unnecessary.
>   	 */
> -	func = st->frame[bt->frame];
>   	if (regno >= 0) {
> -		reg = &func->regs[regno];
> +		reg = &st->frame[bt->frame]->regs[regno];
>   		if (reg->type != SCALAR_VALUE) {
>   			verifier_bug(env, "backtracking misuse");
>   			return -EFAULT;
>   		}
> +		if (reg->precise)
> +			return 0;
>   		bt_set_reg(bt, regno);
> +	} else {
> +		for (fr = bt->frame; fr >= 0; fr--) {
> +			u32 reg_mask = bt_frame_reg_mask(bt, fr);
> +			u64 stack_mask = bt_frame_stack_mask(bt, fr);
> +			DECLARE_BITMAP(mask, 64);
> +
> +			func = st->frame[fr];
> +			if (reg_mask) {
> +				bitmap_from_u64(mask, reg_mask);
> +				for_each_set_bit(i, mask, 32) {
> +					if (func->regs[i].precise)
> +						bt_clear_frame_reg(bt, fr, i);
> +				}
> +			}
> +			if (stack_mask) {
> +				bitmap_from_u64(mask, stack_mask);
> +				for_each_set_bit(i, mask, 64) {
> +					if (func->stack[i].spilled_ptr.precise)
> +						bt_clear_frame_slot(bt, fr, i);
> +				}
> +			}
> +		}
>   	}
>   
>   	if (bt_empty(bt))

Here is another data point. I applied this patch to latest bpf-next
and adding printk()'s like below:
...
+               if (reg->precise) {
+                       printk("%s %s %d\n", __FILE__, __func__, __LINE__);
+                       return 0;
+               }
...
+               for (fr = bt->frame; fr >= 0; fr--) {
+                       u32 reg_mask = bt_frame_reg_mask(bt, fr);
+                       u64 stack_mask = bt_frame_stack_mask(bt, fr);
+                       DECLARE_BITMAP(mask, 64);
+
+                       func = st->frame[fr];
+                       if (reg_mask) {
+                               bitmap_from_u64(mask, reg_mask);
+                               for_each_set_bit(i, mask, 32) {
+                                       if (func->regs[i].precise) {
+                                               printk("%s %s %d\n", __FILE__, __func__, __LINE__);
+                                               bt_clear_frame_reg(bt, fr, i);
+                                       }
+                               }
+                       }
+                       if (stack_mask) {
+                               bitmap_from_u64(mask, stack_mask);
+                               for_each_set_bit(i, mask, 64) {
+                                       if (func->stack[i].spilled_ptr.precise) {
+                                               printk("%s %s %d\n", __FILE__, __func__, __LINE__);
+                                               bt_clear_frame_slot(bt, fr, i);
+                                       }
+                               }
+                       }

I run through the bpf selftests, and didn't see a single printk dump in the above.
So looks like this patch is a noop for me.
Re: [PATCH v3] bpf/verifier: optimize precision backtracking by skipping precise bits
Posted by Alexei Starovoitov 2 weeks, 6 days ago
On Sat, Jan 17, 2026 at 2:09 AM Qiliang Yuan <realwujing@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Test case (backtrack_stress.c):
> #include "vmlinux.h"
> #include <bpf/bpf_helpers.h>
>
> struct {
>     __uint(type, BPF_MAP_TYPE_ARRAY);
>     __uint(max_entries, 1);
>     __type(key, __u32);
>     __type(value, __u64);
> } dummy_map SEC(".maps");
>
> SEC("tc")
> int backtrack_stress(struct __sk_buff *skb)
> {
>     __u32 key = 0;
>     __u64 *val = bpf_map_lookup_elem(&dummy_map, &key);
>     if (!val) return 0;
>     __u64 x = *val;
>
>     /* 1. Create a deep dependency chain to fill history for 'x' */
>     x += 1; x *= 2; x -= 1; x ^= 0x55;
>     x += 1; x *= 2; x -= 1; x ^= 0xAA;
>     x += 1; x *= 2; x -= 1; x ^= 0x55;
>     x += 1; x *= 2; x -= 1; x ^= 0xAA;
>
>     /* 2. Create many states via conditional branches */
> #define CHECK_X(n) if (x == n) { x += 1; } if (x == n + 1) { x -= 1; }
> #define CHECK_X10(n)  CHECK_X(n) CHECK_X(n+2) CHECK_X(n+4) CHECK_X(n+6) CHECK_X(n+8) \
>                       CHECK_X(n+10) CHECK_X(n+12) CHECK_X(n+14) CHECK_X(n+16) CHECK_X(n+18)
> #define CHECK_X100(n) CHECK_X10(n) CHECK_X10(n+20) CHECK_X10(n+40) CHECK_X10(n+60) CHECK_X10(n+80) \
>                       CHECK_X10(n+100) CHECK_X10(n+120) CHECK_X10(n+140) CHECK_X10(n+160) CHECK_X10(n+180)
>
>     CHECK_X100(0)
>     CHECK_X100(200)
>     CHECK_X100(400)
>     CHECK_X100(600)
>     CHECK_X100(800)
>     CHECK_X100(1000)
>
>     /* 3. Trigger mark_chain_precision() multiple times on 'x' */
>     #pragma clang loop unroll(full)
>     for (int i = 0; i < 500; i++) {
>         if (x == (2000 + i)) {
>             x += 1;
>         }
>     }
>
>     return x;
> }

Thanks for the test. It's a good one.

> Baseline (6.19.0-rc5-baseline, git commit 944aacb68baf):
> File                    Program           Verdict  Duration (us)   Insns  States  Program size  Jited size
> ----------------------  ----------------  -------  -------------  ------  ------  ------------  ----------
> backtrack_stress.bpf.o  backtrack_stress  success         197924  289939   34331          5437       28809
> ----------------------  ----------------  -------  -------------  ------  ------  ------------  ----------
...
> Patched (6.19.0-rc5-optimized):
> File                    Program           Verdict  Duration (us)   Insns  States  Program size  Jited size
> ----------------------  ----------------  -------  -------------  ------  ------  ------------  ----------
> backtrack_stress.bpf.o  backtrack_stress  success         214600  289939   34331          5437       28809
> ----------------------  ----------------  -------  -------------  ------  ------  ------------  ----------

but the performance results show that your patch makes
absolutely no difference. Total time is the same and
the verifier is doing exactly the same steps.
Try veristat -v -l2 backtrack_stress.bpf.o | grep mark_precise

and you'll see that the output before and after is the same.

The parallel invocations of veristat only add noise.
4m vs 8m page-faults is a noise. It's not a result of the patch.

pw-bot: cr