text_poke_kgdb(9)

💅 text_poke_kgdb — like, the kgdb edition of kernel API manual, bestie 🫶

okay so picture this: it's text_poke_kgdb(9), and she's the one who updates instructions on a live kernel — but only when kgdb is the one driving. main character energy, but make it ✨debugger✨.

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🌸 NAME 🌸

text_poke_kgdb — update instructions on a live kernel, but specifically by kgdb 💖

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

void * text_poke_kgdb (void *addr , const void *opcode , size_t len );

like yes, that's the whole vibe. no cap.

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• addr — the address you're gonna modify, bestie. that's the spot 👀
• opcode — the source of the copy, i.e. where the bytes come from 🍓
• len — length to copy. how many bytes we're moving, periodt.

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so here's the tea ☕ — when you're not doing early patching, the only thing allowed is an atomic text poke/set. literally only atomic. 🫶

what does that mean in practice, you ask? two things, and they're both non-negotiable:

1. the size must be writable atomically — so the byte count has to be something the CPU can slam in one shot 💅
2. the address must be aligned in a way that permits an atomic write — alignment is not optional, she's a whole requirement 🌈

and on top of all that, it also makes sure we fit on a single page. one page. that's the budget. don't go over it 🙈

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🔥 CONTEXT 🔥

this one's important, so like, listen — this should only be used by kgdb, because kgdb ensures no other core is running. 😭

and yeah, that's true despite the fact that it does not hold the text_mutex. like, no mutex, no problem, because kgdb already made sure everyone else is sitting down and behaving. iykyk 👑

fr fr: don't go calling this from anywhere else. it's kgdb's function, and kgdb's function only. 💀

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🌟 SEE ALSO 🌟

• Kernel file ./arch/x86/kernel/alternative.c
• text_poke_early(9)
• text_poke(9)
• text_poke_copy(9)
• text_poke_set(9)
• smp_text_poke_batch_finish(9)
• smp_text_poke_batch_add(9)
• smp_text_poke_single(9)

like, the whole poke squad. obsessed. 💜

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and that's the page, bestie 🧚 — brought to you straight out of ./arch/x86/kernel, dated October 2026, and it's literally called text_poke_kgdb(9). slay, go patch something. 💅✨