Option 1¶

To have the patch automatically included in the stable tree, add the tag

Cc: [email protected]

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.

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. Option 2 and Option 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: <[email protected]> # 3.3.x: a1f84a3: sched: Check for idle
Cc: <[email protected]> # 3.3.x: 1b9508f: sched: Rate-limit newidle
Cc: <[email protected]> # 3.3.x: fd21073: sched: Fix affinity logic
Cc: <[email protected]> # 3.3.x
Signed-off-by: Ingo Molnar <[email protected]>

The tag sequence has the meaning of:

git cherry-pick a1f84a3
git cherry-pick 1b9508f
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: <[email protected]> # 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.