Procedure for submitting patches to the -stable tree:
- - Send the patch, after verifying that it follows the above rules, to
- stable@vger.kernel.org. You must note the upstream commit ID in the
- changelog of your submission, as well as the kernel version you wish
- it to be applied to.
- - To have the patch automatically included in the stable tree, add the tag
+ - If the patch covers files in net/ or drivers/net please follow netdev stable
+ submission guidelines as described in
+ Documentation/networking/netdev-FAQ.txt
+ - Security patches should not be handled (solely) by the -stable review
+ process but should follow the procedures in Documentation/SecurityBugs.
+
+For all other submissions, choose one of the following procedures:
+
+ --- Option 1 ---
+
+ To have the patch automatically included in the stable tree, add the tag
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
in the sign-off area. Once the patch is merged it will be applied to
the stable tree without anything else needing to be done by the author
or subsystem maintainer.
- - If the patch requires other patches as prerequisites which can be
- cherry-picked than this can be specified in the following format in
- the sign-off area:
+
+ --- Option 2 ---
+
+ After the patch has been merged to Linus' tree, send an email to
+ stable@vger.kernel.org containing the subject of the patch, the commit ID,
+ why you think it should be applied, and what kernel version you wish it to
+ be applied to.
+
+ --- Option 3 ---
+
+ Send the patch, after verifying that it follows the above rules, to
+ stable@vger.kernel.org. You must note the upstream commit ID in the
+ changelog of your submission, as well as the kernel version you wish
+ it to be applied to.
+
+Option 1 is *strongly* preferred, is the easiest and most common. Options 2 and
+3 are more useful if the patch isn't deemed worthy at the time it is applied to
+a public git tree (for instance, because it deserves more regression testing
+first). Option 3 is especially useful if the patch needs some special handling
+to apply to an older kernel (e.g., if API's have changed in the meantime).
+
+Note that for Option 3, if the patch deviates from the original upstream patch
+(for example because it had to be backported) this must be very clearly
+documented and justified in the patch description.
+
+The upstream commit ID must be specified with a separate line above the commit
+text, like this:
+
+ commit <sha1> upstream.
+
+Additionally, some patches submitted via Option 1 may have additional patch
+prerequisites which can be cherry-picked. This can be specified in the following
+format in the sign-off area:
Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x: a1f84a3: sched: Check for idle
Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x: 1b9508f: sched: Rate-limit newidle
git cherry-pick fd21073
git cherry-pick <this commit>
+Also, some patches may have kernel version prerequisites. This can be
+specified in the following format in the sign-off area:
+
+ Cc: <stable@vger.kernel.org> # 3.3.x-
+
+ The tag has the meaning of:
+ git cherry-pick <this commit>
+
+ For each "-stable" tree starting with the specified version.
+
+Following the submission:
+
- The sender will receive an ACK when the patch has been accepted into the
queue, or a NAK if the patch is rejected. This response might take a few
days, according to the developer's schedules.
- If accepted, the patch will be added to the -stable queue, for review by
other developers and by the relevant subsystem maintainer.
- - Security patches should not be sent to this alias, but instead to the
- documented security@kernel.org address.
Review cycle: