Background:
/dev/mcelog is a clear-on-read interface. It is currently possible for
multiple users to open and read() the device. Users are protected from
each other during any one read, but not across reads.
Description:
This patch adds support for O_EXCL to /dev/mcelog. If a user opens the
device with O_EXCL, no other user may open the device (EBUSY). Likewise,
any user that tries to open the device with O_EXCL while another user has
the device will fail (EBUSY).
Result:
Applications can get exclusive access to /dev/mcelog. Applications that
do not care will be unchanged.
Alternatives:
A simpler choice would be to only allow one open() at all, regardless of
O_EXCL.
Testing:
I wrote an application that opens /dev/mcelog with O_EXCL and observed
that any other app that tried to open /dev/mcelog would fail until the
exclusive app had closed the device.
Caveats:
None.
Signed-off-by: Tim Hockin <thockin@google.com> Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org> Signed-off-by: Andi Kleen <ak@suse.de> Signed-off-by: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>