STRUCT DEBUG_OBJ_DESCR(9)

💅 struct debug_obj_descr(9) — a Kernel API Manual moment

okay bestie, welcome to the struct debug_obj_descr(9) page — this is page 9 of the Kernel API Manual and it's lowkey one of those little structs that holds the whole debug-objects situation together. it's giving "backstage pass to the show", fr fr. 🌸

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✨ NAME ✨

struct debug_obj_descr — the object-type-specific debug description structure. that's it, that's the vibe check. every object type gets its own little describey-struct so the debug machinery knows who it's dealing with. 🎀

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

struct debug_obj_descr {
    const char              *name;
    void *(*debug_hint)(void *addr);
    bool (*is_static_object)(void *addr);
    bool (*fixup_init)(void *addr, enum debug_obj_state state);
    bool (*fixup_activate)(void *addr, enum debug_obj_state state);
    bool (*fixup_destroy)(void *addr, enum debug_obj_state state);
    bool (*fixup_free)(void *addr, enum debug_obj_state state);
    bool (*fixup_assert_init)(void *addr, enum debug_obj_state state);
};

copy it exactly like that, no cap, i'm not retyping it for you three times 💀

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👑 Members 👑

okay so these are the fields, and yes every single one of them matters, don't skip, i'll know 🫶

• name — the name of the object typee. yes that's a typo in the original and we're keeping it, it's iconic, it's part of the lore. it's the object type's name, that's the whole job. 💖
• debug_hint — a function returning an address, which has an associated kernel symbol, so the object can be identified. iykyk — it's literally the "who dis" function. 🧚
• is_static_object — return true if the obj is static, otherwise return false. that's it. that's the whole function. binary queen. ⭐
• fixup_init — the fixup function that gets called when the init check fails. and listen — all fixup functions must return true if the fixup was successful, otherwise return false. that goes for this one and all the siblings below, no exceptions, periodt. 🔥
• fixup_activate — fixup function, called when the activate check fails.
• fixup_destroy — fixup function, called when the destroy check fails.
• fixup_free — fixup function, called when the free check fails.
• fixup_assert_init — fixup function, called when the assert_init check fails.

so basically the whole squad is "check failed → fixup runs", each one for a different check: init, activate, destroy, free, assert_init. five little firefighter functions in a trench coat. 🚒✨

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• Kernel file ./include/linux/debugobjects.h
• struct debug_obj(9)

go read those too bestie, they're the prequel, you'll be obsessed. 🦋

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and that's the page! 💜 sign-off time: this one lives over in ./include/linux, and it's dated October 2026 — yes, the future, she's ahead of her time. mwah, go fix some objects. 💅🎀