Re: [PATCH] perf: Fix JSON output crash with intel_pt// samples

From: Adrian Hunter
Date: Thu Apr 17 2025 - 02:25:32 EST


Subject usually contains the relevant perf command.
e.g.
perf data: Fix JSON output crash with intel_pt// samples
or
perf data convert: Fix JSON output crash with intel_pt// samples

On 7/04/25 19:22, James O. D. Hunt wrote:
> Current behaviour:
>
> ```bash

Might want to go easy on the backticks.

> $ perf record -e intel_pt// true
> $ perf data convert --to-json /tmp/perf.json
> Segmentation fault (core dumped)
> ```
>
> With fix applied:
>
> ```bash
> $ perf record -e intel_pt// true
> $ perf data convert --to-json /tmp/perf.json
> $ jq < /tmp/perf.json &>/dev/null && echo ok
> ok
> ```
>
> The crash actually occurs in `intel_pt_process_auxtrace_info()` where
> `session->itrace_synth_opts->set` is unconditionally dereferenced. This
> platform-specific code could be changed to fix the issue, but this patch
> fixes the problem generally.
>
> Fixes: f6986c95af84ff2a76847910b4322f542b793bbf ("perf session: Add instruction tracing options")

Full commit hash is not necessary and no one uses it for Fixes tags.
Should be 12+ characters but not much more.

Note it is the wrong commit. The code was added by
commit d0713d4ca3e94 ("perf data: Add JSON export")

> Signed-off-by: James O. D. Hunt <james.o.hunt@xxxxxxxxx>
> ---
> tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c | 6 ++++++
> 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+)
>
> diff --git a/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c b/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c
> index d9f805bf6fb0..b0aaa23659a0 100644
> --- a/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c
> +++ b/tools/perf/util/data-convert-json.c
> @@ -326,6 +326,10 @@ int bt_convert__perf2json(const char *input_name, const char *output_name,
> .force = opts->force,
> };
>
> + struct itrace_synth_opts itrace_synth_opts = {
> + .set = 0,
> + };

The problem is that this sub-command sets up the auxtrace callbacks:

c2c.tool.auxtrace_info = perf_event__process_auxtrace_info;
c2c.tool.auxtrace = perf_event__process_auxtrace;
c2c.tool.auxtrace_error = perf_event__process_auxtrace_error;

but not itrace options.

Other sub-commands either support the --itrace option:
perf script
perf report
perf inject
perf annotate
Or are limited to memory events only:
perf c2c report
perf mem report

In this case it looks like it should either support the --itrace
option or remove the auxtrace callbacks.

> +
> perf_tool__init(&c.tool, /*ordered_events=*/true);
> c.tool.sample = process_sample_event;
> c.tool.mmap = perf_event__process_mmap;
> @@ -377,6 +381,8 @@ int bt_convert__perf2json(const char *input_name, const char *output_name,
> goto err_fclose;
> }
>
> + session->itrace_synth_opts = &itrace_synth_opts;
> +
> if (symbol__init(&session->header.env) < 0) {
> fprintf(stderr, "Symbol init error!\n");
> goto err_session_delete;