Name: Understanding Data Races in the Linux Kernel - Abhirup Vijay Gunakar, Arizona State University
Start: 2025-08-26T11:55:00+0200
End: 2025-08-26T12:35:00+0200

25-27, August 2025
Amsterdam, Netherlands
View More Details & Registration
Note: The schedule is subject to change.

The Sched app allows you to build your schedule but is not a substitute for your event registration. You must be registered for Open Source Summit Europe 2025 to participate in the sessions. If you have not registered but would like to join us, please go to the event registration page to purchase a registration.

This schedule is automatically displayed in Central European Summer Time, CEST (UTC +2). To see the schedule in your preferred timezone, please select from the drop-down menu to the right.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Timing of sessions and room locations are subject to change.

Tuesday August 26, 2025 11:55 - 12:35 CEST

G104

Data races in the Linux kernel can lead to unpredictable behavior, silent data corruption, and severe security vulnerabilities. In this session, we’ll explore how concurrency works in the kernel, explain the root causes of kernel data races, and illustrate how they can silently destabilize entire systems.

We’ll then dive into the Kernel Concurrency Sanitizer (KCSAN), a specialized tool that helps developers detect data races in kernel code. You’ll learn how KCSAN differs from user-space tools like ThreadSanitizer (TSan), understand its dynamic instrumentation approach, and see how to read typical race reports. We’ll also discuss best practices for preventing kernel data races: consistent use of spinlocks, mutexes, atomics, and lock ordering conventions.

By the end of this talk, you’ll grasp the core challenges of concurrency in the Linux kernel, know how to spot and diagnose data races using KCSAN, and walk away with proven techniques for keeping kernel code race-free and reliable.

Speakers

Abhirup Vijay Gunakar

Systems Security Researcher, Arizona State University

Abhirup Vijay Gunakar is a Systems Security Researcher at Arizona State University, focused on kernel-level concurrency, data-race detection, and serverless architectures. He has explored advanced debugging strategies to enhance the reliability of multithreaded systems including the... Read More →

Tuesday August 26, 2025 11:55 - 12:35 CEST
G104

Linux

Audience Experience Level Intermediate

Open Source Summit Europe 2025

Abhirup Vijay Gunakar

Sign up or log in to save this to your schedule, view media, leave feedback and see who's attending!