skb_put_padto(9)

🌸 NAME 🌸

okay so this is skb_put_padto(9) from the Kernel API Manual — and she is literally here to increase size and pad an skbuff up to a minimal size ✨. That’s the name, that’s the vibe, no cap.

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

Bestie, here’s the signature exactly as it is — do not freestyle it:

int skb_put_padto (struct sk_buff *skb , unsigned int len );

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

Two little besties walk into the function:

• skb — the buffer to pad. That’s the one getting the glow-up 💅.
• len — the minimal length. The target, the dream, the number.

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so here’s the tea ☕: skb_put_padto() pads up a buffer to ensure the trailing bytes exist and are blanked. If the buffer already contains sufficient data, it is untouched — she’s not doing extra work for no reason, periodt. Otherwise it is extended.

It returns zero on success. And on error? the skb is freed 😭💀 — like, gone-gone. So pay attention to that return value, bestie, fr fr.

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

The whole linked-up squad, in the same order the page gives them — yes, every single one, I would never leave a reference out 🫶:

• Kernel file ./include/linux/skbuff.h plus skb checksums(9), skb_frag_size(9), skb_frag_size_set(9), skb_frag_size_add(9), skb_frag_size_sub(9), skb_frag_must_loop(9), skb_frag_foreach_page(9)
• struct skb_shared_hwtstamps(9), dataref and headerless skbs(9), Basic sk_buff geometry(9), struct sk_buff(9), skb_pfmemalloc(9), skb_dst(9), skb_dstref_steal(9), skb_dstref_restore(9)
• skb_dst_set(9), skb_dst_set_noref(9), skb_dst_is_noref(9), skb_napi_id(9), skb_unref(9), kfree_skb(9), alloc_skb(9), skb_fclone_busy(9)
• alloc_skb_fclone(9), skb_pad(9), skb_queue_empty(9), skb_queue_empty_lockless(9), skb_queue_is_last(9), skb_queue_is_first(9), skb_queue_next(9), skb_queue_prev(9)
• skb_get(9), skb_cloned(9), skb_header_cloned(9), __skb_header_release(9), skb_shared(9), skb_share_check(9), skb_unshare(9), skb_peek(9)
• __skb_peek(9), skb_peek_next(9), skb_peek_tail(9), skb_queue_len(9), skb_queue_len_lockless(9), __skb_queue_head_init(9), skb_queue_splice(9), skb_queue_splice_init(9)
• skb_queue_splice_tail(9), skb_queue_splice_tail_init(9), __skb_queue_after(9), __skb_queue_head(9), __skb_queue_tail(9), __skb_dequeue(9), __skb_dequeue_tail(9), skb_len_add(9)
• __skb_fill_netmem_desc(9), skb_fill_page_desc(9), skb_fill_page_desc_noacc(9), skb_headroom(9), skb_tailroom(9), skb_availroom(9), skb_reserve(9), skb_tailroom_reserve(9)
• skb_reset_transport_header_careful(9), skb_set_transport_header_careful(9), pskb_trim_unique(9), skb_orphan(9), skb_orphan_frags(9), __skb_queue_purge_reason(9), netdev_alloc_frag(9), netdev_alloc_skb(9)
• __dev_alloc_pages(9), __dev_alloc_page(9), dev_page_is_reusable(9), skb_propagate_pfmemalloc(9), skb_frag_off(9), skb_frag_off_add(9), skb_frag_off_set(9), skb_frag_off_copy(9)
• skb_frag_net_iov(9), skb_frag_page(9), skb_frag_netmem(9), skb_frag_address(9), skb_frag_address_safe(9), skb_frag_phys(9), skb_frag_page_copy(9), __skb_frag_dma_map(9)
• skb_clone_writable(9), skb_cow(9), skb_cow_head(9), skb_padto(9), __skb_put_padto(9), skb_linearize(9), skb_has_shared_frag(9), skb_linearize_cow(9)
• skb_postpull_rcsum(9), skb_postpush_rcsum(9), skb_push_rcsum(9), pskb_trim_rcsum(9), skb_needs_linearize(9), skb_get_timestamp(9), skb_data_move(9), skb_postpull_data_move(9)
• skb_postpush_data_move(9), skb_complete_tx_timestamp(9), skb_tstamp_tx(9), skb_tx_timestamp(9), skb_complete_wifi_ack(9), skb_checksum_complete(9), struct skb_ext(9), skb_checksum_none_assert(9)
• skb_head_is_locked(9)

cute sign-off: source/version is ./include/linux, and the date is October 2026 — mwah 💋