BootLoader may pass a head such as "BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-x.y.z" to kernel parameters. But this head is not recognized by the kernel so will be passed to user space. However, user space init program also doesn't recognized it.
KEXEC may also pass a head such as "kexec" on some architectures.
So the the best way is handle it by the kernel itself, which can avoid such boot warnings:
Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,1)/vmlinuz-6.x root=/dev/sda3 ro console=tty Unknown kernel command line parameters "BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,1)/vmlinuz-6.x", will be passed to user space.
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org Signed-off-by: Huacai Chen chenhuacai@loongson.cn --- init/main.c | 7 +++++++ 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+)
diff --git a/init/main.c b/init/main.c index 225a58279acd..9e0a7e8913c0 100644 --- a/init/main.c +++ b/init/main.c @@ -545,6 +545,7 @@ static int __init unknown_bootoption(char *param, char *val, const char *unused, void *arg) { size_t len = strlen(param); + const char *bootloader[] = { "BOOT_IMAGE", "kexec", NULL };
/* Handle params aliased to sysctls */ if (sysctl_is_alias(param)) @@ -552,6 +553,12 @@ static int __init unknown_bootoption(char *param, char *val,
repair_env_string(param, val);
+ /* Handle bootloader head */ + for (int i = 0; bootloader[i]; i++) { + if (!strncmp(param, bootloader[i], strlen(bootloader[i]))) + return 0; + } + /* Handle obsolete-style parameters */ if (obsolete_checksetup(param)) return 0;
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 06:24:55PM +0800, Huacai Chen wrote:
BootLoader may pass a head such as "BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-x.y.z" to kernel parameters. But this head is not recognized by the kernel so will be passed to user space. However, user space init program also doesn't recognized it.
Then why is it on the kernel command line if it is not recognized?
KEXEC may also pass a head such as "kexec" on some architectures.
That's fine, kexec needs this.
So the the best way is handle it by the kernel itself, which can avoid such boot warnings:
Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,1)/vmlinuz-6.x root=/dev/sda3 ro console=tty Unknown kernel command line parameters "BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,1)/vmlinuz-6.x", will be passed to user space.
Why is this a problem? Don't put stuff that is not needed on the kernel command line :)
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org Signed-off-by: Huacai Chen chenhuacai@loongson.cn
init/main.c | 7 +++++++ 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+)
diff --git a/init/main.c b/init/main.c index 225a58279acd..9e0a7e8913c0 100644 --- a/init/main.c +++ b/init/main.c @@ -545,6 +545,7 @@ static int __init unknown_bootoption(char *param, char *val, const char *unused, void *arg) { size_t len = strlen(param);
- const char *bootloader[] = { "BOOT_IMAGE", "kexec", NULL };
You need to document why these are ok to "swallow" and not warn for.
/* Handle params aliased to sysctls */ if (sysctl_is_alias(param)) @@ -552,6 +553,12 @@ static int __init unknown_bootoption(char *param, char *val, repair_env_string(param, val);
- /* Handle bootloader head */
Handle it how?
confused,
greg k-h
Hi, Greg,
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 7:06 PM Greg KH gregkh@linuxfoundation.org wrote:
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 06:24:55PM +0800, Huacai Chen wrote:
BootLoader may pass a head such as "BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-x.y.z" to kernel parameters. But this head is not recognized by the kernel so will be passed to user space. However, user space init program also doesn't recognized it.
Then why is it on the kernel command line if it is not recognized?
UEFI put it at the beginning of the command line, you can see it from /proc/cmdline, both on x86 and LoongArch.
KEXEC may also pass a head such as "kexec" on some architectures.
That's fine, kexec needs this.
So the the best way is handle it by the kernel itself, which can avoid such boot warnings:
Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,1)/vmlinuz-6.x root=/dev/sda3 ro console=tty Unknown kernel command line parameters "BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,1)/vmlinuz-6.x", will be passed to user space.
Why is this a problem? Don't put stuff that is not needed on the kernel command line :)
Both kernel and user space don't need it, and if it is passed to user space then may cause some problems. For example, if there is init=/bin/bash, then bash will crash with this parameter.
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org Signed-off-by: Huacai Chen chenhuacai@loongson.cn
init/main.c | 7 +++++++ 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+)
diff --git a/init/main.c b/init/main.c index 225a58279acd..9e0a7e8913c0 100644 --- a/init/main.c +++ b/init/main.c @@ -545,6 +545,7 @@ static int __init unknown_bootoption(char *param, char *val, const char *unused, void *arg) { size_t len = strlen(param);
const char *bootloader[] = { "BOOT_IMAGE", "kexec", NULL };You need to document why these are ok to "swallow" and not warn for.
Because they are bootloader heads, not really a wrong parameter. We only need a warning if there is a wrong parameter.
/* Handle params aliased to sysctls */ if (sysctl_is_alias(param))@@ -552,6 +553,12 @@ static int __init unknown_bootoption(char *param, char *val,
repair_env_string(param, val);
/* Handle bootloader head */Handle it how?
argv_init and envp_init arrays will be passed to userspace, so just return early (before argv_init and envp_init handling) can avoid it being passed.
Huacai
confused,
greg k-h
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 08:34:25PM +0800, Huacai Chen wrote:
Hi, Greg,
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 7:06 PM Greg KH gregkh@linuxfoundation.org wrote:
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 06:24:55PM +0800, Huacai Chen wrote:
BootLoader may pass a head such as "BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-x.y.z" to kernel parameters. But this head is not recognized by the kernel so will be passed to user space. However, user space init program also doesn't recognized it.
Then why is it on the kernel command line if it is not recognized?
UEFI put it at the beginning of the command line, you can see it from /proc/cmdline, both on x86 and LoongArch.
Then fix UEFI :)
My boot command line doesn't have that on x86, perhaps you need to fix your bootloader?
KEXEC may also pass a head such as "kexec" on some architectures.
That's fine, kexec needs this.
So the the best way is handle it by the kernel itself, which can avoid such boot warnings:
Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,1)/vmlinuz-6.x root=/dev/sda3 ro console=tty Unknown kernel command line parameters "BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,1)/vmlinuz-6.x", will be passed to user space.
Why is this a problem? Don't put stuff that is not needed on the kernel command line :)
Both kernel and user space don't need it, and if it is passed to user space then may cause some problems. For example, if there is init=/bin/bash, then bash will crash with this parameter.
Again, fix the bootloader to not do this, why is the kernel responsible for this?
What has suddenly changed to now require this when we never have needed it before?
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org Signed-off-by: Huacai Chen chenhuacai@loongson.cn
init/main.c | 7 +++++++ 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+)
diff --git a/init/main.c b/init/main.c index 225a58279acd..9e0a7e8913c0 100644 --- a/init/main.c +++ b/init/main.c @@ -545,6 +545,7 @@ static int __init unknown_bootoption(char *param, char *val, const char *unused, void *arg) { size_t len = strlen(param);
const char *bootloader[] = { "BOOT_IMAGE", "kexec", NULL };You need to document why these are ok to "swallow" and not warn for.
Because they are bootloader heads, not really a wrong parameter. We only need a warning if there is a wrong parameter.
Again, fix the bootloader.
/* Handle params aliased to sysctls */ if (sysctl_is_alias(param))@@ -552,6 +553,12 @@ static int __init unknown_bootoption(char *param, char *val,
repair_env_string(param, val);
/* Handle bootloader head */Handle it how?
argv_init and envp_init arrays will be passed to userspace, so just return early (before argv_init and envp_init handling) can avoid it being passed.
You need to document this way better.
But again, please just fix your bootloader to not pass on lines to the kernel that it can not parse.
thanks,
greg k-h
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 8:41 PM Greg KH gregkh@linuxfoundation.org wrote:
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 08:34:25PM +0800, Huacai Chen wrote:
Hi, Greg,
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 7:06 PM Greg KH gregkh@linuxfoundation.org wrote:
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 06:24:55PM +0800, Huacai Chen wrote:
BootLoader may pass a head such as "BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-x.y.z" to kernel parameters. But this head is not recognized by the kernel so will be passed to user space. However, user space init program also doesn't recognized it.
Then why is it on the kernel command line if it is not recognized?
UEFI put it at the beginning of the command line, you can see it from /proc/cmdline, both on x86 and LoongArch.
Then fix UEFI :)
My boot command line doesn't have that on x86, perhaps you need to fix your bootloader?
Not only UEFI, Grub also do this, for many years, not now. I don't know why they do this, but I think at least it is not a bug. For example, maybe it just tells user the path of kernel image via /proc/cmdline.
[chenhuacai@kernelserver linux-official.git]$ uname -a Linux kernelserver 6.12.0-84.el10.x86_64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Tue May 13 13:39:02 UTC 2025 x86_64 GNU/Linux [chenhuacai@kernelserver linux-official.git]$ cat /proc/cmdline BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,gpt2)/vmlinuz-6.12.0-84.el10.x86_64 root=UUID=c8fcb11a-0f2f-48e5-a067-4cec1d18a721 ro crashkernel=2G-64G:256M,64G-:512M resume=UUID=1c320fec-3274-4b5b-9adf-a06 42e7943c0 rhgb quiet
KEXEC may also pass a head such as "kexec" on some architectures.
That's fine, kexec needs this.
So the the best way is handle it by the kernel itself, which can avoid such boot warnings:
Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,1)/vmlinuz-6.x root=/dev/sda3 ro console=tty Unknown kernel command line parameters "BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,1)/vmlinuz-6.x", will be passed to user space.
Why is this a problem? Don't put stuff that is not needed on the kernel command line :)
Both kernel and user space don't need it, and if it is passed to user space then may cause some problems. For example, if there is init=/bin/bash, then bash will crash with this parameter.
Again, fix the bootloader to not do this, why is the kernel responsible for this?
What has suddenly changed to now require this when we never have needed it before?
Because init=/bin/bash is not a usual use case, so in most cases it is just a warning in dmesg. But once we see it, we need to fix it.
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org Signed-off-by: Huacai Chen chenhuacai@loongson.cn
init/main.c | 7 +++++++ 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+)
diff --git a/init/main.c b/init/main.c index 225a58279acd..9e0a7e8913c0 100644 --- a/init/main.c +++ b/init/main.c @@ -545,6 +545,7 @@ static int __init unknown_bootoption(char *param, char *val, const char *unused, void *arg) { size_t len = strlen(param);
const char *bootloader[] = { "BOOT_IMAGE", "kexec", NULL };You need to document why these are ok to "swallow" and not warn for.
Because they are bootloader heads, not really a wrong parameter. We only need a warning if there is a wrong parameter.
Again, fix the bootloader.
But I don't think this is a bootloader bug.
/* Handle params aliased to sysctls */ if (sysctl_is_alias(param))@@ -552,6 +553,12 @@ static int __init unknown_bootoption(char *param, char *val,
repair_env_string(param, val);
/* Handle bootloader head */Handle it how?
argv_init and envp_init arrays will be passed to userspace, so just return early (before argv_init and envp_init handling) can avoid it being passed.
You need to document this way better.
But again, please just fix your bootloader to not pass on lines to the kernel that it can not parse.
OK, I will update the document, but again, I don't think this is a bootloader bug.
Huacai
thanks,
greg k-h
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 08:51:28PM +0800, Huacai Chen wrote:
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 8:41 PM Greg KH gregkh@linuxfoundation.org wrote:
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 08:34:25PM +0800, Huacai Chen wrote:
Hi, Greg,
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 7:06 PM Greg KH gregkh@linuxfoundation.org wrote:
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 06:24:55PM +0800, Huacai Chen wrote:
BootLoader may pass a head such as "BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-x.y.z" to kernel parameters. But this head is not recognized by the kernel so will be passed to user space. However, user space init program also doesn't recognized it.
Then why is it on the kernel command line if it is not recognized?
UEFI put it at the beginning of the command line, you can see it from /proc/cmdline, both on x86 and LoongArch.
Then fix UEFI :)
My boot command line doesn't have that on x86, perhaps you need to fix your bootloader?
Not only UEFI, Grub also do this, for many years, not now. I don't know why they do this, but I think at least it is not a bug. For example, maybe it just tells user the path of kernel image via /proc/cmdline.
[chenhuacai@kernelserver linux-official.git]$ uname -a Linux kernelserver 6.12.0-84.el10.x86_64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Tue May 13 13:39:02 UTC 2025 x86_64 GNU/Linux [chenhuacai@kernelserver linux-official.git]$ cat /proc/cmdline BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,gpt2)/vmlinuz-6.12.0-84.el10.x86_64 root=UUID=c8fcb11a-0f2f-48e5-a067-4cec1d18a721 ro crashkernel=2G-64G:256M,64G-:512M resume=UUID=1c320fec-3274-4b5b-9adf-a06 42e7943c0 rhgb quiet
Sounds like a bootloader bug:
$ cat /proc/cmdline root=/dev/sda2 rw
I suggest fixing the issue there, at the root please.
KEXEC may also pass a head such as "kexec" on some architectures.
That's fine, kexec needs this.
So the the best way is handle it by the kernel itself, which can avoid such boot warnings:
Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,1)/vmlinuz-6.x root=/dev/sda3 ro console=tty Unknown kernel command line parameters "BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,1)/vmlinuz-6.x", will be passed to user space.
Why is this a problem? Don't put stuff that is not needed on the kernel command line :)
Both kernel and user space don't need it, and if it is passed to user space then may cause some problems. For example, if there is init=/bin/bash, then bash will crash with this parameter.
Again, fix the bootloader to not do this, why is the kernel responsible for this?
What has suddenly changed to now require this when we never have needed it before?
Because init=/bin/bash is not a usual use case, so in most cases it is just a warning in dmesg. But once we see it, we need to fix it.
Why is this the kernel's fault?
Again, what changed in the kernel to cause this to happen? I think you are seeing bugs in bootloaders, NOT in the kernel. Fix the issue at the root, don't paper over the problem in the kernel for something that is NOT the kernel's fault.
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org Signed-off-by: Huacai Chen chenhuacai@loongson.cn
init/main.c | 7 +++++++ 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+)
diff --git a/init/main.c b/init/main.c index 225a58279acd..9e0a7e8913c0 100644 --- a/init/main.c +++ b/init/main.c @@ -545,6 +545,7 @@ static int __init unknown_bootoption(char *param, char *val, const char *unused, void *arg) { size_t len = strlen(param);
const char *bootloader[] = { "BOOT_IMAGE", "kexec", NULL };You need to document why these are ok to "swallow" and not warn for.
Because they are bootloader heads, not really a wrong parameter. We only need a warning if there is a wrong parameter.
Again, fix the bootloader.
But I don't think this is a bootloader bug.
Seems like it is if nothing changed in the kernel and this just started showing up now :)
Unless you can find a kernel commit that caused this issue?
thanks,
greg k-h
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 9:04 PM Greg KH gregkh@linuxfoundation.org wrote:
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 08:51:28PM +0800, Huacai Chen wrote:
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 8:41 PM Greg KH gregkh@linuxfoundation.org wrote:
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 08:34:25PM +0800, Huacai Chen wrote:
Hi, Greg,
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 7:06 PM Greg KH gregkh@linuxfoundation.org wrote:
On Fri, Jul 11, 2025 at 06:24:55PM +0800, Huacai Chen wrote:
BootLoader may pass a head such as "BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-x.y.z" to kernel parameters. But this head is not recognized by the kernel so will be passed to user space. However, user space init program also doesn't recognized it.
Then why is it on the kernel command line if it is not recognized?
UEFI put it at the beginning of the command line, you can see it from /proc/cmdline, both on x86 and LoongArch.
Then fix UEFI :)
My boot command line doesn't have that on x86, perhaps you need to fix your bootloader?
Not only UEFI, Grub also do this, for many years, not now. I don't know why they do this, but I think at least it is not a bug. For example, maybe it just tells user the path of kernel image via /proc/cmdline.
[chenhuacai@kernelserver linux-official.git]$ uname -a Linux kernelserver 6.12.0-84.el10.x86_64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Tue May 13 13:39:02 UTC 2025 x86_64 GNU/Linux [chenhuacai@kernelserver linux-official.git]$ cat /proc/cmdline BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,gpt2)/vmlinuz-6.12.0-84.el10.x86_64 root=UUID=c8fcb11a-0f2f-48e5-a067-4cec1d18a721 ro crashkernel=2G-64G:256M,64G-:512M resume=UUID=1c320fec-3274-4b5b-9adf-a06 42e7943c0 rhgb quiet
Sounds like a bootloader bug:
$ cat /proc/cmdline root=/dev/sda2 rw
I suggest fixing the issue there, at the root please.
Grub pass BOOT_IMAGE for all EFI-based implementations, related commits of Grub: https://cgit.git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/grub.git/commit/?id=16ccb8b138218d568... https://cgit.git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/grub.git/commit/?id=25953e10553dad2e3...
Linux kernel treats BOOT_IMAGE as an "offender" of unknown command line parameters, related commits of kernel: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?i...
There are user space projects that search BOOT_IMAGE from /proc/cmdline: https://github.com/linuxdeepin/deepin-ab-recovery/blob/master/util.go (search getBootOptions) https://github.com/linuxdeepin/deepin-ab-recovery/blob/master/main.go (search getKernelReleaseWithBootOption)
So, we can say Grub pass BOOT_IMAGE is reasonable and there are user space programs that hope it be in /proc/cmdline.
But BOOT_IMAGE should not be passed to the init program. Strings in cmdline contain 4 types: BootLoader head (BOOT_IMAGE, kexec, etc.), kernel parameters, init parameters, wrong parameters.
The first type is handled (ignored) by this patch, the second type is handled (consumed) by the kernel, and the last two types are passed to user space.
If the first type is also passed to user space, there are meaningless warnings, and (maybe) cause problems with the init program.
Huacai
KEXEC may also pass a head such as "kexec" on some architectures.
That's fine, kexec needs this.
So the the best way is handle it by the kernel itself, which can avoid such boot warnings:
Kernel command line: BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,1)/vmlinuz-6.x root=/dev/sda3 ro console=tty Unknown kernel command line parameters "BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,1)/vmlinuz-6.x", will be passed to user space.
Why is this a problem? Don't put stuff that is not needed on the kernel command line :)
Both kernel and user space don't need it, and if it is passed to user space then may cause some problems. For example, if there is init=/bin/bash, then bash will crash with this parameter.
Again, fix the bootloader to not do this, why is the kernel responsible for this?
What has suddenly changed to now require this when we never have needed it before?
Because init=/bin/bash is not a usual use case, so in most cases it is just a warning in dmesg. But once we see it, we need to fix it.
Why is this the kernel's fault?
Again, what changed in the kernel to cause this to happen? I think you are seeing bugs in bootloaders, NOT in the kernel. Fix the issue at the root, don't paper over the problem in the kernel for something that is NOT the kernel's fault.
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org Signed-off-by: Huacai Chen chenhuacai@loongson.cn
init/main.c | 7 +++++++ 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+)
diff --git a/init/main.c b/init/main.c index 225a58279acd..9e0a7e8913c0 100644 --- a/init/main.c +++ b/init/main.c @@ -545,6 +545,7 @@ static int __init unknown_bootoption(char *param, char *val, const char *unused, void *arg) { size_t len = strlen(param);
const char *bootloader[] = { "BOOT_IMAGE", "kexec", NULL };You need to document why these are ok to "swallow" and not warn for.
Because they are bootloader heads, not really a wrong parameter. We only need a warning if there is a wrong parameter.
Again, fix the bootloader.
But I don't think this is a bootloader bug.
Seems like it is if nothing changed in the kernel and this just started showing up now :)
Unless you can find a kernel commit that caused this issue?
thanks,
greg k-h
linux-stable-mirror@lists.linaro.org
-
Greg KH -
Huacai Chen -
Huacai Chen