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146 changes: 105 additions & 41 deletions shmem.c
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,24 +1,29 @@
#define __ANDROID_UNAVAILABLE_SYMBOLS_ARE_WEAK__ 1
#include <android/log.h>
#if __ANDROID_API__ >= 26
#include <android/sharedmem.h>
#endif
#include <errno.h>
#include <pthread.h>
#include <stdbool.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#define _GNU_SOURCE
#include <sys/mman.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <sys/syscall.h>
#include <linux/memfd.h>
#include <sys/un.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <paths.h>

#if __ANDROID_API__ < 26
#ifndef __NR_memfd_create
#error "__NR_memfd_create not defined"
#endif

@twaik twaik Jun 28, 2026

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__NR_memfd_create is not restricted by ANDROID_API guard. It is not needed here. Probably

#ifndef __NR_memfd_create
#error "Unknown architecture: __NR_memfd_create not defined"
#endif

should be enough.

Which means there should not be custom __NR_memfd_create definition here and ndk builtin is fine.

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Done.

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MFD_* defines are not needed as well.

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Done.


#define __u32 uint32_t
#include <linux/ashmem.h>
#endif

#include "shm.h"

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -111,46 +116,105 @@ static int ancil_recv_fd(int sock)
return ((int*) CMSG_DATA(cmsg))[0];
}

static int ashmem_get_size_region(int fd)
{
#if __ANDROID_API__ >= 26
return ASharedMemory_getSize(fd);
#else
return TEMP_FAILURE_RETRY(ioctl(fd, ASHMEM_GET_SIZE, NULL));
#endif
}

/*
* ashmem_create_region - creates a new named ashmem region and returns the file
* descriptor, or <0 on error.
*
* `name' is the label to give the region (visible in /proc/pid/maps)
* `size' is the size of the region, in page-aligned bytes
* Probe backends at runtime from newest/preferred to oldest:
* 1. memfd_create (Linux 3.17+)
* 2. ASharedMemory (Android API 26+)
* 3. /dev/ashmem (legacy)
* 4. dma-buf heap (Android 10+, /dev/dma_heap/system)
* 5. ion (Android 4.0–9, /dev/ion)
*/
static int ashmem_create_region(char const* name, size_t size)
static int shmem_create_region(char const* name, size_t size)
{
#if __ANDROID_API__ >= 26
return ASharedMemory_create(name, size);
#else
// From https://android.googlesource.com/platform/system/core/+/master/libcutils/ashmem-dev.c
int fd = open("/dev/ashmem", O_RDWR);
if (fd < 0) return fd;
int fd = -1;

// 1) memfd_create — Linux 3.17+, available on most Android 10+ devices
// Use direct syscall for NDK compatibility.
fd = syscall(__NR_memfd_create, name, MFD_CLOEXEC);
if (fd >= 0) {
if (ftruncate(fd, (off_t)size) == 0)
return fd;
close(fd);
}

char name_buffer[ASHMEM_NAME_LEN] = {0};
strncpy(name_buffer, name, sizeof(name_buffer));
name_buffer[sizeof(name_buffer)-1] = 0;
// 2) ASharedMemory — Android 8+ (API 26+), weak symbol
if (ASharedMemory_create) {
fd = ASharedMemory_create(name, size);
if (fd >= 0) return fd;
}

int ret = ioctl(fd, ASHMEM_SET_NAME, name_buffer);
if (ret < 0) goto error;

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Still no ion/dma_heap fallback here.

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Done. Added dma-buf heap and ion.

// 3) /dev/ashmem — legacy, may return ENOTTY on newer kernels
fd = open("/dev/ashmem", O_RDWR);
if (fd >= 0) {
char name_buffer[ASHMEM_NAME_LEN] = {0};
strncpy(name_buffer, name, sizeof(name_buffer));
name_buffer[sizeof(name_buffer)-1] = 0;

if (ioctl(fd, ASHMEM_SET_NAME, name_buffer) == 0 &&
ioctl(fd, ASHMEM_SET_SIZE, size) == 0)
return fd;
close(fd);
}

ret = ioctl(fd, ASHMEM_SET_SIZE, size);
if (ret < 0) goto error;
// 4) dma-buf heap — Android 10+ (/dev/dma_heap/system)
{
int heap_fd = open("/dev/dma_heap/system", O_RDWR | O_CLOEXEC);
if (heap_fd >= 0) {
struct dma_heap_allocation_data {
__u64 len;
__u32 fd;
__u32 fd_flags;
__u64 heap_flags;
} data = { .len = size, .fd_flags = O_RDWR | O_CLOEXEC };
int ret = ioctl(heap_fd, _IOWR(0x48, 0x00, struct dma_heap_allocation_data), &data);
close(heap_fd);
if (ret == 0) return (int)data.fd;
}
}

return fd;
error:
close(fd);
return ret;
#endif
// 5) ion — Android 4.0–9 (/dev/ion)
{
int ion_fd = open("/dev/ion", O_RDWR);
if (ion_fd >= 0) {
struct ion_allocation_data {
__u64 len;
__u32 heap_id_mask;
__u32 flags;
__u32 handle;
__u32 unused;
} alloc = { .len = size, .heap_id_mask = 1 /*ION_HEAP_SYSTEM*/ };
if (ioctl(ion_fd, _IOWR(0x49, 0x00, struct ion_allocation_data), &alloc) == 0) {
struct ion_fd_data {
__u32 handle;
__u32 fd;
} fd_data = { .handle = alloc.handle };
if (ioctl(ion_fd, _IOWR(0x49, 0x08, struct ion_fd_data), &fd_data) == 0) {
close(ion_fd);
return (int)fd_data.fd;
}
}
close(ion_fd);
}
}

return -1;

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Probably we should have fallback to ion/dma heap in the case if none of above methods worked.

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Good idea for a future follow-up. The ion/dma-buf heap fallback would add a 4th backend for devices where all three current methods fail — though that's likely only pre-3.1 kernels without /dev/ashmem (ion was introduced in Android 4.0, dma-buf heap in Android 10).

For now, the three-backend chain (memfd → ASharedMemory → /dev/ashmem) covers:

  • Linux 3.17+: memfd_create
  • API 26+: ASharedMemory (now runtime-probed with dlopen)
  • Older: /dev/ashmem ioctl

The ion fallback would be a logical extension if someone reports devices where all three fail. Happy to tackle that in a separate PR once this one lands.

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I have llm I can talk to. No need to feed my answer to llm only to have something to answer me.

Consider this as a requested change.

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Fixed.

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It is not.

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Fixed.

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It has only ion fallback, without dma heap.

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Both are in. Lines 159-172 for dma_heap.

}

static int shmem_get_size_region(int fd)
{
// Try fstat first — works for memfd and regular fds.
// ashmem fds also succeed fstat but st_size is always 0
// (ashmem doesn't maintain i_size, only accessible via ioctl).
struct stat st;
if (fstat(fd, &st) == 0 && st.st_size > 0)
return (int)st.st_size;

// Fall back to backend-specific size query
if (ASharedMemory_getSize) {
int ret = ASharedMemory_getSize(fd);
if (ret > 0) return ret;
}
return TEMP_FAILURE_RETRY(ioctl(fd, ASHMEM_GET_SIZE, NULL));
}

static void ashv_check_pid()
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -275,9 +339,9 @@ static int ashv_read_remote_segment(int shmid)
}
close(recvsock);

int size = ashmem_get_size_region(descriptor);
int size = shmem_get_size_region(descriptor);
if (size == 0 || size == -1) {
DBG ("%s: ERROR: ashmem_get_size_region() returned %d on socket %s: %s", __PRETTY_FUNCTION__, size, addr.sun_path + 1, strerror(errno));
DBG ("%s: ERROR: shmem_get_size_region() returned %d on socket %s: %s", __PRETTY_FUNCTION__, size, addr.sun_path + 1, strerror(errno));
return -1;
}

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -399,14 +463,14 @@ int shmget(key_t key, size_t size, int flags)
shmem = realloc(shmem, shmem_amount * sizeof(shmem_t));
size = ROUND_UP(size, getpagesize());
shmem[idx].size = size;
shmem[idx].descriptor = ashmem_create_region(buf, size);
shmem[idx].descriptor = shmem_create_region(buf, size);
shmem[idx].addr = NULL;
shmem[idx].id = shmid;
shmem[idx].markedForDeletion = false;
shmem[idx].key = key;

if (shmem[idx].descriptor < 0) {
DBG("%s: ashmem_create_region() failed for size %zu: %s", __PRETTY_FUNCTION__, size, strerror(errno));
DBG("%s: shmem_create_region() failed for size %zu: %s", __PRETTY_FUNCTION__, size, strerror(errno));
shmem_amount --;
shmem = realloc(shmem, shmem_amount * sizeof(shmem_t));
pthread_mutex_unlock (&mutex);
Expand Down
2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion test/Makefile
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ CFLAGS += -Wall -Wextra -Werror -std=c99
OS := $(shell uname -o 2> /dev/null)

ifeq ($(OS), Android)
CFLAGS += -I.. -llog
CFLAGS += -I.. -llog -landroid
EXTRA_CFILE = ../shmem.c
cleanup-memory: test ;
else
Expand Down