diff --git a/Documentation/mm/process_addrs.rst b/Documentation/mm/process_addrs.rst
index e8618fbc62c9..5aef4fd0e0e9 100644
--- a/Documentation/mm/process_addrs.rst
+++ b/Documentation/mm/process_addrs.rst
@@ -3,3 +3,816 @@
 =================
 Process Addresses
 =================
+
+.. toctree::
+   :maxdepth: 3
+
+
+Userland memory ranges are tracked by the kernel via Virtual Memory Areas or
+'VMA's of type :c:struct:`!struct vm_area_struct`.
+
+Each VMA describes a virtually contiguous memory range with identical
+attributes, each described by a :c:struct:`!struct vm_area_struct`
+object. Userland access outside of VMAs is invalid except in the case where an
+adjacent stack VMA could be extended to contain the accessed address.
+
+All VMAs are contained within one and only one virtual address space, described
+by a :c:struct:`!struct mm_struct` object which is referenced by all tasks (that is,
+threads) which share the virtual address space. We refer to this as the
+:c:struct:`!mm`.
+
+Each mm object contains a maple tree data structure which describes all VMAs
+within the virtual address space.
+
+.. note:: An exception to this is the 'gate' VMA which is provided by
+          architectures which use :c:struct:`!vsyscall` and is a global static
+          object which does not belong to any specific mm.
+
+-------
+Locking
+-------
+
+The kernel is designed to be highly scalable against concurrent read operations
+on VMA **metadata** so a complicated set of locks are required to ensure memory
+corruption does not occur.
+
+.. note:: Locking VMAs for their metadata does not have any impact on the memory
+          they describe nor the page tables that map them.
+
+Terminology
+-----------
+
+* **mmap locks** - Each MM has a read/write semaphore :c:member:`!mmap_lock`
+  which locks at a process address space granularity which can be acquired via
+  :c:func:`!mmap_read_lock`, :c:func:`!mmap_write_lock` and variants.
+* **VMA locks** - The VMA lock is at VMA granularity (of course) which behaves
+  as a read/write semaphore in practice. A VMA read lock is obtained via
+  :c:func:`!lock_vma_under_rcu` (and unlocked via :c:func:`!vma_end_read`) and a
+  write lock via :c:func:`!vma_start_write` (all VMA write locks are unlocked
+  automatically when the mmap write lock is released). To take a VMA write lock
+  you **must** have already acquired an :c:func:`!mmap_write_lock`.
+* **rmap locks** - When trying to access VMAs through the reverse mapping via a
+  :c:struct:`!struct address_space` or :c:struct:`!struct anon_vma` object
+  (reachable from a folio via :c:member:`!folio->mapping`) VMAs must be stabilised via
+  :c:func:`!anon_vma_[try]lock_read` or :c:func:`!anon_vma_[try]lock_write` for
+  anonymous memory and :c:func:`!i_mmap_[try]lock_read` or
+  :c:func:`!i_mmap_[try]lock_write` for file-backed memory. We refer to these
+  locks as the reverse mapping locks, or 'rmap locks' for brevity.
+
+We discuss page table locks separately in the dedicated section below.
+
+The first thing **any** of these locks achieve is to **stabilise** the VMA
+within the MM tree. That is, guaranteeing that the VMA object will not be
+deleted from under you nor modified (except for some specific fields
+described below).
+
+Stabilising a VMA also keeps the address space described by it around.
+
+Using address space locks
+-------------------------
+
+If you want to **read** VMA metadata fields or just keep the VMA stable, you
+must do one of the following:
+
+* Obtain an mmap read lock at the MM granularity via :c:func:`!mmap_read_lock` (or a
+  suitable variant), unlocking it with a matching :c:func:`!mmap_read_unlock` when
+  you're done with the VMA, *or*
+* Try to obtain a VMA read lock via :c:func:`!lock_vma_under_rcu`. This tries to
+  acquire the lock atomically so might fail, in which case fall-back logic is
+  required to instead obtain an mmap read lock if this returns :c:macro:`!NULL`,
+  *or*
+* Acquire an rmap lock before traversing the locked interval tree (whether
+  anonymous or file-backed) to obtain the required VMA.
+
+If you want to **write** VMA metadata fields, then things vary depending on the
+field (we explore each VMA field in detail below). For the majority you must:
+
+* Obtain an mmap write lock at the MM granularity via :c:func:`!mmap_write_lock` (or a
+  suitable variant), unlocking it with a matching :c:func:`!mmap_write_unlock` when
+  you're done with the VMA, *and*
+* Obtain a VMA write lock via :c:func:`!vma_start_write` for each VMA you wish to
+  modify, which will be released automatically when :c:func:`!mmap_write_unlock` is
+  called.
+* If you want to be able to write to **any** field, you must also hide the VMA
+  from the reverse mapping by obtaining an **rmap write lock**.
+
+VMA locks are special in that you must obtain an mmap **write** lock **first**
+in order to obtain a VMA **write** lock. A VMA **read** lock however can be
+obtained without any other lock (:c:func:`!lock_vma_under_rcu` will acquire then
+release an RCU lock to lookup the VMA for you).
+
+.. note:: The primary users of VMA read locks are page fault handlers, which
+          means that without a VMA write lock, page faults will run concurrent with
+          whatever you are doing.
+
+Examining all valid lock states:
+
+.. table::
+
+   ========= ======== ========= ======= ===== =========== ==========
+   mmap lock VMA lock rmap lock Stable? Read? Write most? Write all?
+   ========= ======== ========= ======= ===== =========== ==========
+   \-        \-       \-        N       N     N           N
+   \-        R        \-        Y       Y     N           N
+   \-        \-       R/W       Y       Y     N           N
+   R/W       \-/R     \-/R/W    Y       Y     N           N
+   W         W        \-/R      Y       Y     Y           N
+   W         W        W         Y       Y     Y           Y
+   ========= ======== ========= ======= ===== =========== ==========
+
+.. warning:: While it's possible to obtain a VMA lock while holding an mmap read lock,
+             attempting to do the reverse is invalid as it can result in deadlock - if
+             another task already holds an mmap write lock and attempts to acquire a VMA
+             write lock that will deadlock on the VMA read lock.
+
+All of these locks behave as read/write semaphores in practice, so you can
+obtain either a read or a write lock for each of these.
+
+.. note:: Generally speaking, a read/write semaphore is a class of lock which
+          permits concurrent readers. However a write lock can only be obtained
+          once all readers have left the critical region (and pending readers
+          made to wait).
+
+          This renders read locks on a read/write semaphore concurrent with other
+          readers and write locks exclusive against all others holding the semaphore.
+
+VMA fields
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+We can subdivide :c:struct:`!struct vm_area_struct` fields by their purpose, which makes it
+easier to explore their locking characteristics:
+
+.. note:: We exclude VMA lock-specific fields here to avoid confusion, as these
+          are in effect an internal implementation detail.
+
+.. table:: Virtual layout fields
+
+   ===================== ======================================== ===========
+   Field                 Description                              Write lock
+   ===================== ======================================== ===========
+   :c:member:`!vm_start` Inclusive start virtual address of range mmap write,
+                         VMA describes.                           VMA write,
+                                                                  rmap write.
+   :c:member:`!vm_end`   Exclusive end virtual address of range   mmap write,
+                         VMA describes.                           VMA write,
+                                                                  rmap write.
+   :c:member:`!vm_pgoff` Describes the page offset into the file, mmap write,
+                         the original page offset within the      VMA write,
+                         virtual address space (prior to any      rmap write.
+                         :c:func:`!mremap`), or PFN if a PFN map
+                         and the architecture does not support
+                         :c:macro:`!CONFIG_ARCH_HAS_PTE_SPECIAL`.
+   ===================== ======================================== ===========
+
+These fields describes the size, start and end of the VMA, and as such cannot be
+modified without first being hidden from the reverse mapping since these fields
+are used to locate VMAs within the reverse mapping interval trees.
+
+.. table:: Core fields
+
+   ============================ ======================================== =========================
+   Field                        Description                              Write lock
+   ============================ ======================================== =========================
+   :c:member:`!vm_mm`           Containing mm_struct.                    None - written once on
+                                                                         initial map.
+   :c:member:`!vm_page_prot`    Architecture-specific page table         mmap write, VMA write.
+                                protection bits determined from VMA
+                                flags.
+   :c:member:`!vm_flags`        Read-only access to VMA flags describing N/A
+                                attributes of the VMA, in union with
+                                private writable
+                                :c:member:`!__vm_flags`.
+   :c:member:`!__vm_flags`      Private, writable access to VMA flags    mmap write, VMA write.
+                                field, updated by
+                                :c:func:`!vm_flags_*` functions.
+   :c:member:`!vm_file`         If the VMA is file-backed, points to a   None - written once on
+                                struct file object describing the        initial map.
+                                underlying file, if anonymous then
+                                :c:macro:`!NULL`.
+   :c:member:`!vm_ops`          If the VMA is file-backed, then either   None - Written once on
+                                the driver or file-system provides a     initial map by
+                                :c:struct:`!struct vm_operations_struct` :c:func:`!f_ops->mmap()`.
+                                object describing callbacks to be
+                                invoked on VMA lifetime events.
+   :c:member:`!vm_private_data` A :c:member:`!void *` field for          Handled by driver.
+                                driver-specific metadata.
+   ============================ ======================================== =========================
+
+These are the core fields which describe the MM the VMA belongs to and its attributes.
+
+.. table:: Config-specific fields
+
+   ================================= ===================== ======================================== ===============
+   Field                             Configuration option  Description                              Write lock
+   ================================= ===================== ======================================== ===============
+   :c:member:`!anon_name`            CONFIG_ANON_VMA_NAME  A field for storing a                    mmap write,
+                                                           :c:struct:`!struct anon_vma_name`        VMA write.
+                                                           object providing a name for anonymous
+                                                           mappings, or :c:macro:`!NULL` if none
+                                                           is set or the VMA is file-backed.
+   :c:member:`!swap_readahead_info`  CONFIG_SWAP           Metadata used by the swap mechanism      mmap read,
+                                                           to perform readahead. This field is      swap-specific
+                                                           accessed atomically.                     lock.
+   :c:member:`!vm_policy`            CONFIG_NUMA           :c:type:`!mempolicy` object which        mmap write,
+                                                           describes the NUMA behaviour of the      VMA write.
+                                                           VMA.
+   :c:member:`!numab_state`          CONFIG_NUMA_BALANCING :c:type:`!vma_numab_state` object which  mmap read,
+                                                           describes the current state of           numab-specific
+                                                           NUMA balancing in relation to this VMA.  lock.
+                                                           Updated under mmap read lock by
+                                                           :c:func:`!task_numa_work`.
+   :c:member:`!vm_userfaultfd_ctx`   CONFIG_USERFAULTFD    Userfaultfd context wrapper object of    mmap write,
+                                                           type :c:type:`!vm_userfaultfd_ctx`,      VMA write.
+                                                           either of zero size if userfaultfd is
+                                                           disabled, or containing a pointer
+                                                           to an underlying
+                                                           :c:type:`!userfaultfd_ctx` object which
+                                                           describes userfaultfd metadata.
+   ================================= ===================== ======================================== ===============
+
+These fields are present or not depending on whether the relevant kernel
+configuration option is set.
+
+.. table:: Reverse mapping fields
+
+   =================================== ========================================= ============================
+   Field                               Description                               Write lock
+   =================================== ========================================= ============================
+   :c:member:`!shared.rb`              A red/black tree node used, if the        mmap write, VMA write,
+                                       mapping is file-backed, to place the VMA  i_mmap write.
+                                       in the
+                                       :c:member:`!struct address_space->i_mmap`
+                                       red/black interval tree.
+   :c:member:`!shared.rb_subtree_last` Metadata used for management of the       mmap write, VMA write,
+                                       interval tree if the VMA is file-backed.  i_mmap write.
+   :c:member:`!anon_vma_chain`         List of pointers to both forked/CoW’d     mmap read, anon_vma write.
+                                       :c:type:`!anon_vma` objects and
+                                       :c:member:`!vma->anon_vma` if it is
+                                       non-:c:macro:`!NULL`.
+   :c:member:`!anon_vma`               :c:type:`!anon_vma` object used by        When :c:macro:`NULL` and
+                                       anonymous folios mapped exclusively to    setting non-:c:macro:`NULL`:
+                                       this VMA. Initially set by                mmap read, page_table_lock.
+                                       :c:func:`!anon_vma_prepare` serialised
+                                       by the :c:macro:`!page_table_lock`. This  When non-:c:macro:`NULL` and
+                                       is set as soon as any page is faulted in. setting :c:macro:`NULL`:
+                                                                                 mmap write, VMA write,
+                                                                                 anon_vma write.
+   =================================== ========================================= ============================
+
+These fields are used to both place the VMA within the reverse mapping, and for
+anonymous mappings, to be able to access both related :c:struct:`!struct anon_vma` objects
+and the :c:struct:`!struct anon_vma` in which folios mapped exclusively to this VMA should
+reside.
+
+.. note:: If a file-backed mapping is mapped with :c:macro:`!MAP_PRIVATE` set
+          then it can be in both the :c:type:`!anon_vma` and :c:type:`!i_mmap`
+          trees at the same time, so all of these fields might be utilised at
+          once.
+
+Page tables
+-----------
+
+We won't speak exhaustively on the subject but broadly speaking, page tables map
+virtual addresses to physical ones through a series of page tables, each of
+which contain entries with physical addresses for the next page table level
+(along with flags), and at the leaf level the physical addresses of the
+underlying physical data pages or a special entry such as a swap entry,
+migration entry or other special marker. Offsets into these pages are provided
+by the virtual address itself.
+
+In Linux these are divided into five levels - PGD, P4D, PUD, PMD and PTE. Huge
+pages might eliminate one or two of these levels, but when this is the case we
+typically refer to the leaf level as the PTE level regardless.
+
+.. note:: In instances where the architecture supports fewer page tables than
+	  five the kernel cleverly 'folds' page table levels, that is stubbing
+	  out functions related to the skipped levels. This allows us to
+	  conceptually act is if there were always five levels, even if the
+	  compiler might, in practice, eliminate any code relating to missing
+	  ones.
+
+There are free key operations typically performed on page tables:
+
+1. **Traversing** page tables - Simply reading page tables in order to traverse
+   them. This only requires that the VMA is kept stable, so a lock which
+   establishes this suffices for traversal (there are also lockless variants
+   which eliminate even this requirement, such as :c:func:`!gup_fast`).
+2. **Installing** page table mappings - Whether creating a new mapping or
+   modifying an existing one. This requires that the VMA is kept stable via an
+   mmap or VMA lock (explicitly not rmap locks).
+3. **Zapping/unmapping** page table entries - This is what the kernel calls
+   clearing page table mappings at the leaf level only, whilst leaving all page
+   tables in place. This is a very common operation in the kernel performed on
+   file truncation, the :c:macro:`!MADV_DONTNEED` operation via
+   :c:func:`!madvise`, and others. This is performed by a number of functions
+   including :c:func:`!unmap_mapping_range` and :c:func:`!unmap_mapping_pages`
+   among others. The VMA need only be kept stable for this operation.
+4. **Freeing** page tables - When finally the kernel removes page tables from a
+   userland process (typically via :c:func:`!free_pgtables`) extreme care must
+   be taken to ensure this is done safely, as this logic finally frees all page
+   tables in the specified range, ignoring existing leaf entries (it assumes the
+   caller has both zapped the range and prevented any further faults or
+   modifications within it).
+
+**Traversing** and **zapping** ranges can be performed holding any one of the
+locks described in the terminology section above - that is the mmap lock, the
+VMA lock or either of the reverse mapping locks.
+
+That is - as long as you keep the relevant VMA **stable** - you are good to go
+ahead and perform these operations on page tables (though internally, kernel
+operations that perform writes also acquire internal page table locks to
+serialise - see the page table implementation detail section for more details).
+
+When **installing** page table entries, the mmap or VMA lock mut be held to keep
+the VMA stable. We explore why this is in the page table locking details section
+below.
+
+**Freeing** page tables is an entirely internal memory management operation and
+has special requirements (see the page freeing section below for more details).
+
+.. warning:: When **freeing** page tables, it must not be possible for VMAs
+             containing the ranges those page tables map to be accessible via
+             the reverse mapping.
+
+             The :c:func:`!free_pgtables` function removes the relevant VMAs
+             from the reverse mappings, but no other VMAs can be permitted to be
+             accessible and span the specified range.
+
+Lock ordering
+-------------
+
+As we have multiple locks across the kernel which may or may not be taken at the
+same time as explicit mm or VMA locks, we have to be wary of lock inversion, and
+the **order** in which locks are acquired and released becomes very important.
+
+.. note:: Lock inversion occurs when two threads need to acquire multiple locks,
+   but in doing so inadvertently cause a mutual deadlock.
+
+   For example, consider thread 1 which holds lock A and tries to acquire lock B,
+   while thread 2 holds lock B and tries to acquire lock A.
+
+   Both threads are now deadlocked on each other. However, had they attempted to
+   acquire locks in the same order, one would have waited for the other to
+   complete its work and no deadlock would have occurred.
+
+The opening comment in :c:macro:`!mm/rmap.c` describes in detail the required
+ordering of locks within memory management code:
+
+.. code-block::
+
+  inode->i_rwsem        (while writing or truncating, not reading or faulting)
+    mm->mmap_lock
+      mapping->invalidate_lock (in filemap_fault)
+        folio_lock
+          hugetlbfs_i_mmap_rwsem_key (in huge_pmd_share, see hugetlbfs below)
+            vma_start_write
+              mapping->i_mmap_rwsem
+                anon_vma->rwsem
+                  mm->page_table_lock or pte_lock
+                    swap_lock (in swap_duplicate, swap_info_get)
+                      mmlist_lock (in mmput, drain_mmlist and others)
+                      mapping->private_lock (in block_dirty_folio)
+                          i_pages lock (widely used)
+                            lruvec->lru_lock (in folio_lruvec_lock_irq)
+                      inode->i_lock (in set_page_dirty's __mark_inode_dirty)
+                      bdi.wb->list_lock (in set_page_dirty's __mark_inode_dirty)
+                        sb_lock (within inode_lock in fs/fs-writeback.c)
+                        i_pages lock (widely used, in set_page_dirty,
+                                  in arch-dependent flush_dcache_mmap_lock,
+                                  within bdi.wb->list_lock in __sync_single_inode)
+
+There is also a file-system specific lock ordering comment located at the top of
+:c:macro:`!mm/filemap.c`:
+
+.. code-block::
+
+  ->i_mmap_rwsem                (truncate_pagecache)
+    ->private_lock              (__free_pte->block_dirty_folio)
+      ->swap_lock               (exclusive_swap_page, others)
+        ->i_pages lock
+
+  ->i_rwsem
+    ->invalidate_lock           (acquired by fs in truncate path)
+      ->i_mmap_rwsem            (truncate->unmap_mapping_range)
+
+  ->mmap_lock
+    ->i_mmap_rwsem
+      ->page_table_lock or pte_lock     (various, mainly in memory.c)
+        ->i_pages lock  (arch-dependent flush_dcache_mmap_lock)
+
+  ->mmap_lock
+    ->invalidate_lock           (filemap_fault)
+      ->lock_page               (filemap_fault, access_process_vm)
+
+  ->i_rwsem                     (generic_perform_write)
+    ->mmap_lock         (fault_in_readable->do_page_fault)
+
+  bdi->wb.list_lock
+    sb_lock                     (fs/fs-writeback.c)
+    ->i_pages lock              (__sync_single_inode)
+
+  ->i_mmap_rwsem
+    ->anon_vma.lock             (vma_merge)
+
+  ->anon_vma.lock
+    ->page_table_lock or pte_lock       (anon_vma_prepare and various)
+
+  ->page_table_lock or pte_lock
+    ->swap_lock         (try_to_unmap_one)
+    ->private_lock              (try_to_unmap_one)
+    ->i_pages lock              (try_to_unmap_one)
+    ->lruvec->lru_lock  (follow_page_mask->mark_page_accessed)
+    ->lruvec->lru_lock  (check_pte_range->folio_isolate_lru)
+    ->private_lock              (folio_remove_rmap_pte->set_page_dirty)
+    ->i_pages lock              (folio_remove_rmap_pte->set_page_dirty)
+    bdi.wb->list_lock           (folio_remove_rmap_pte->set_page_dirty)
+    ->inode->i_lock             (folio_remove_rmap_pte->set_page_dirty)
+    bdi.wb->list_lock           (zap_pte_range->set_page_dirty)
+    ->inode->i_lock             (zap_pte_range->set_page_dirty)
+    ->private_lock              (zap_pte_range->block_dirty_folio)
+
+Please check the current state of these comments which may have changed since
+the time of writing of this document.
+
+------------------------------
+Locking Implementation Details
+------------------------------
+
+Page table locking details
+--------------------------
+
+In addition to the locks described in the terminology section above, we have
+additional locks dedicated to page tables:
+
+* **Higher level page table locks** - Higher level page tables, that is PGD, P4D
+  and PUD each make use of the process address space granularity
+  :c:member:`!mm->page_table_lock` lock when modified.
+
+* **Fine-grained page table locks** - PMDs and PTEs each have fine-grained locks
+  either kept within the folios describing the page tables or allocated
+  separated and pointed at by the folios if :c:macro:`!ALLOC_SPLIT_PTLOCKS` is
+  set. The PMD spin lock is obtained via :c:func:`!pmd_lock`, however PTEs are
+  mapped into higher memory (if a 32-bit system) and carefully locked via
+  :c:func:`!pte_offset_map_lock`.
+
+These locks represent the minimum required to interact with each page table
+level, but there are further requirements.
+
+Importantly, note that on a **traversal** of page tables, no such locks are
+taken. Whether care is taken on reading the page table entries depends on the
+architecture, see the section on atomicity below.
+
+Locking rules
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+We establish basic locking rules when interacting with page tables:
+
+* When changing a page table entry the page table lock for that page table
+  **must** be held, except if you can safely assume nobody can access the page
+  tables concurrently (such as on invocation of :c:func:`!free_pgtables`).
+* Reads from and writes to page table entries must be *appropriately*
+  atomic. See the section on atomicity below for details.
+* Populating previously empty entries requires that the mmap or VMA locks are
+  held (read or write), doing so with only rmap locks would be dangerous (see
+  the warning below).
+* As mentioned previously, zapping can be performed while simply keeping the VMA
+  stable, that is holding any one of the mmap, VMA or rmap locks.
+* Special care is required for PTEs, as on 32-bit architectures these must be
+  mapped into high memory and additionally, careful consideration must be
+  applied to racing with THP, migration or other concurrent kernel operations
+  that might steal the entire PTE table from under us. All this is handled by
+  :c:func:`!pte_offset_map_lock` (see the section on page table installation
+  below for more details).
+
+.. warning:: Populating previously empty entries is dangerous as, when unmapping
+             VMAs, :c:func:`!vms_clear_ptes` has a window of time between
+             zapping (via :c:func:`!unmap_vmas`) and freeing page tables (via
+             :c:func:`!free_pgtables`), where the VMA is still visible in the
+             rmap tree. :c:func:`!free_pgtables` assumes that the zap has
+             already been performed and removes PTEs unconditionally (along with
+             all other page tables in the freed range), so installing new PTE
+             entries could leak memory and also cause other unexpected and
+             dangerous behaviour.
+
+There are additional rules applicable when moving page tables, which we discuss
+in the section on this topic below.
+
+.. note:: Interestingly, :c:func:`!pte_offset_map_lock` holds an RCU read lock
+          while the PTE page table lock is held.
+
+Atomicity
+^^^^^^^^^
+
+Regardless of page table locks, the MMU hardware concurrently updates accessed
+and dirty bits (perhaps more, depending on architecture). Additionally, page
+table traversal operations in parallel (though holding the VMA stable) and
+functionality like GUP-fast locklessly traverses (that is reads) page tables,
+without even keeping the VMA stable at all.
+
+When performing a page table traversal and keeping the VMA stable, whether a
+read must be performed once and only once or not depends on the architecture
+(for instance x86-64 does not require any special precautions).
+
+It is on the write side, or if a read informs whether a write takes place (on an
+installation of a page table entry say, for instance in
+:c:func:`!__pud_install`), where special care must always be taken. In these
+cases we can never assume that page table locks give us entirely exclusive
+access, and must retrieve page table entries once and only once.
+
+If we are reading page table entries, then we need only ensure that the compiler
+does not rearrange our loads. This is achieved via :c:func:`!pXXp_get`
+functions - :c:func:`!pgdp_get`, :c:func:`!p4dp_get`, :c:func:`!pudp_get`,
+:c:func:`!pmdp_get`, and :c:func:`!ptep_get`.
+
+Each of these uses :c:func:`!READ_ONCE` to guarantee that the compiler reads
+the page table entry only once.
+
+However, if we wish to manipulate an existing page table entry and care about
+the previously stored data, we must go further and use an hardware atomic
+operation as, for example, in :c:func:`!ptep_get_and_clear`.
+
+Equally, operations that do not rely on the VMA being held stable, such as
+GUP-fast (see :c:func:`!gup_fast` and its various page table level handlers like
+:c:func:`!gup_fast_pte_range`), must very carefully interact with page table
+entries, using functions such as :c:func:`!ptep_get_lockless` and equivalent for
+higher level page table levels.
+
+Writes to page table entries must also be appropriately atomic, as established
+by :c:func:`!set_pXX` functions - :c:func:`!set_pgd`, :c:func:`!set_p4d`,
+:c:func:`!set_pud`, :c:func:`!set_pmd`, and :c:func:`!set_pte`.
+
+Equally functions which clear page table entries must be appropriately atomic,
+as in :c:func:`!pXX_clear` functions - :c:func:`!pgd_clear`,
+:c:func:`!p4d_clear`, :c:func:`!pud_clear`, :c:func:`!pmd_clear`, and
+:c:func:`!pte_clear`.
+
+Page table installation
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Page table installation is performed with the VMA held stable explicitly by an
+mmap or VMA lock in read or write mode (see the warning in the locking rules
+section for details as to why).
+
+When allocating a P4D, PUD or PMD and setting the relevant entry in the above
+PGD, P4D or PUD, the :c:member:`!mm->page_table_lock` must be held. This is
+acquired in :c:func:`!__p4d_alloc`, :c:func:`!__pud_alloc` and
+:c:func:`!__pmd_alloc` respectively.
+
+.. note:: :c:func:`!__pmd_alloc` actually invokes :c:func:`!pud_lock` and
+   :c:func:`!pud_lockptr` in turn, however at the time of writing it ultimately
+   references the :c:member:`!mm->page_table_lock`.
+
+Allocating a PTE will either use the :c:member:`!mm->page_table_lock` or, if
+:c:macro:`!USE_SPLIT_PMD_PTLOCKS` is defined, a lock embedded in the PMD
+physical page metadata in the form of a :c:struct:`!struct ptdesc`, acquired by
+:c:func:`!pmd_ptdesc` called from :c:func:`!pmd_lock` and ultimately
+:c:func:`!__pte_alloc`.
+
+Finally, modifying the contents of the PTE requires special treatment, as the
+PTE page table lock must be acquired whenever we want stable and exclusive
+access to entries contained within a PTE, especially when we wish to modify
+them.
+
+This is performed via :c:func:`!pte_offset_map_lock` which carefully checks to
+ensure that the PTE hasn't changed from under us, ultimately invoking
+:c:func:`!pte_lockptr` to obtain a spin lock at PTE granularity contained within
+the :c:struct:`!struct ptdesc` associated with the physical PTE page. The lock
+must be released via :c:func:`!pte_unmap_unlock`.
+
+.. note:: There are some variants on this, such as
+   :c:func:`!pte_offset_map_rw_nolock` when we know we hold the PTE stable but
+   for brevity we do not explore this.  See the comment for
+   :c:func:`!__pte_offset_map_lock` for more details.
+
+When modifying data in ranges we typically only wish to allocate higher page
+tables as necessary, using these locks to avoid races or overwriting anything,
+and set/clear data at the PTE level as required (for instance when page faulting
+or zapping).
+
+A typical pattern taken when traversing page table entries to install a new
+mapping is to optimistically determine whether the page table entry in the table
+above is empty, if so, only then acquiring the page table lock and checking
+again to see if it was allocated underneath is.
+
+This allows for a traversal with page table locks only being taken when
+required. An example of this is :c:func:`!__pud_alloc`.
+
+At the leaf page table, that is the PTE, we can't entirely rely on this pattern
+as we have separate PMD and PTE locks and a THP collapse for instance might have
+eliminated the PMD entry as well as the PTE from under us.
+
+This is why :c:func:`!__pte_offset_map_lock` locklessly retrieves the PMD entry
+for the PTE, carefully checking it is as expected, before acquiring the
+PTE-specific lock, and then *again* checking that the PMD lock is as expected.
+
+If a THP collapse (or similar) were to occur then the lock on both pages would
+be acquired, so we can ensure this is prevented while the PTE lock is held.
+
+Installing entries this way ensures mutual exclusion on write.
+
+Page table freeing
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Tearing down page tables themselves is something that requires significant
+care. There must be no way that page tables designated for removal can be
+traversed or referenced by concurrent tasks.
+
+It is insufficient to simply hold an mmap write lock and VMA lock (which will
+prevent racing faults, and rmap operations), as a file-backed mapping can be
+truncated under the :c:struct:`!struct address_space->i_mmap_rwsem` alone.
+
+As a result, no VMA which can be accessed via the reverse mapping (either
+through the :c:struct:`!struct anon_vma->rb_root` or the :c:member:`!struct
+address_space->i_mmap` interval trees) can have its page tables torn down.
+
+The operation is typically performed via :c:func:`!free_pgtables`, which assumes
+either the mmap write lock has been taken (as specified by its
+:c:member:`!mm_wr_locked` parameter), or that the VMA is already unreachable.
+
+It carefully removes the VMA from all reverse mappings, however it's important
+that no new ones overlap these or any route remain to permit access to addresses
+within the range whose page tables are being torn down.
+
+Additionally, it assumes that a zap has already been performed and steps have
+been taken to ensure that no further page table entries can be installed between
+the zap and the invocation of :c:func:`!free_pgtables`.
+
+Since it is assumed that all such steps have been taken, page table entries are
+cleared without page table locks (in the :c:func:`!pgd_clear`, :c:func:`!p4d_clear`,
+:c:func:`!pud_clear`, and :c:func:`!pmd_clear` functions.
+
+.. note:: It is possible for leaf page tables to be torn down independent of
+          the page tables above it as is done by
+          :c:func:`!retract_page_tables`, which is performed under the i_mmap
+          read lock, PMD, and PTE page table locks, without this level of care.
+
+Page table moving
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Some functions manipulate page table levels above PMD (that is PUD, P4D and PGD
+page tables). Most notable of these is :c:func:`!mremap`, which is capable of
+moving higher level page tables.
+
+In these instances, it is required that **all** locks are taken, that is
+the mmap lock, the VMA lock and the relevant rmap lock.
+
+You can observe this in the :c:func:`!mremap` implementation in the functions
+:c:func:`!take_rmap_locks` and :c:func:`!drop_rmap_locks` which perform the rmap
+side of lock acquisition, invoked ultimately by :c:func:`!move_page_tables`.
+
+VMA lock internals
+------------------
+
+Overview
+^^^^^^^^
+
+VMA read locking is entirely optimistic - if the lock is contended or a competing
+write has started, then we do not obtain a read lock.
+
+A VMA **read** lock is obtained by :c:func:`!lock_vma_under_rcu` function, which
+first calls :c:func:`!rcu_read_lock` to ensure that the VMA is looked up in an
+RCU critical section, then attempts to VMA lock it via
+:c:func:`!vma_start_read`, before releasing the RCU lock via
+:c:func:`!rcu_read_unlock`.
+
+VMA read locks hold the read lock on the :c:member:`!vma->vm_lock` semaphore for
+their duration and the caller of :c:func:`!lock_vma_under_rcu` must release it
+via :c:func:`!vma_end_read`.
+
+VMA **write** locks are acquired via :c:func:`!vma_start_write` in instances where a
+VMA is about to be modified, unlike :c:func:`!vma_start_read` the lock is always
+acquired. An mmap write lock **must** be held for the duration of the VMA write
+lock, releasing or downgrading the mmap write lock also releases the VMA write
+lock so there is no :c:func:`!vma_end_write` function.
+
+Note that a semaphore write lock is not held across a VMA lock. Rather, a
+sequence number is used for serialisation, and the write semaphore is only
+acquired at the point of write lock to update this.
+
+This ensures the semantics we require - VMA write locks provide exclusive write
+access to the VMA.
+
+Implementation details
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+The VMA lock mechanism is designed to be a lightweight means of avoiding the use
+of the heavily contended mmap lock. It is implemented using a combination of a
+read/write semaphore and sequence numbers belonging to the containing
+:c:struct:`!struct mm_struct` and the VMA.
+
+Read locks are acquired via :c:func:`!vma_start_read`, which is an optimistic
+operation, i.e. it tries to acquire a read lock but returns false if it is
+unable to do so. At the end of the read operation, :c:func:`!vma_end_read` is
+called to release the VMA read lock.
+
+Invoking :c:func:`!vma_start_read` requires that :c:func:`!rcu_read_lock` has
+been called first, establishing that we are in an RCU critical section upon VMA
+read lock acquisition. Once acquired, the RCU lock can be released as it is only
+required for lookup. This is abstracted by :c:func:`!lock_vma_under_rcu` which
+is the interface a user should use.
+
+Writing requires the mmap to be write-locked and the VMA lock to be acquired via
+:c:func:`!vma_start_write`, however the write lock is released by the termination or
+downgrade of the mmap write lock so no :c:func:`!vma_end_write` is required.
+
+All this is achieved by the use of per-mm and per-VMA sequence counts, which are
+used in order to reduce complexity, especially for operations which write-lock
+multiple VMAs at once.
+
+If the mm sequence count, :c:member:`!mm->mm_lock_seq` is equal to the VMA
+sequence count :c:member:`!vma->vm_lock_seq` then the VMA is write-locked. If
+they differ, then it is not.
+
+Each time the mmap write lock is released in :c:func:`!mmap_write_unlock` or
+:c:func:`!mmap_write_downgrade`, :c:func:`!vma_end_write_all` is invoked which
+also increments :c:member:`!mm->mm_lock_seq` via
+:c:func:`!mm_lock_seqcount_end`.
+
+This way, we ensure that, regardless of the VMA's sequence number, a write lock
+is never incorrectly indicated and that when we release an mmap write lock we
+efficiently release **all** VMA write locks contained within the mmap at the
+same time.
+
+Since the mmap write lock is exclusive against others who hold it, the automatic
+release of any VMA locks on its release makes sense, as you would never want to
+keep VMAs locked across entirely separate write operations. It also maintains
+correct lock ordering.
+
+Each time a VMA read lock is acquired, we acquire a read lock on the
+:c:member:`!vma->vm_lock` read/write semaphore and hold it, while checking that
+the sequence count of the VMA does not match that of the mm.
+
+If it does, the read lock fails. If it does not, we hold the lock, excluding
+writers, but permitting other readers, who will also obtain this lock under RCU.
+
+Importantly, maple tree operations performed in :c:func:`!lock_vma_under_rcu`
+are also RCU safe, so the whole read lock operation is guaranteed to function
+correctly.
+
+On the write side, we acquire a write lock on the :c:member:`!vma->vm_lock`
+read/write semaphore, before setting the VMA's sequence number under this lock,
+also simultaneously holding the mmap write lock.
+
+This way, if any read locks are in effect, :c:func:`!vma_start_write` will sleep
+until these are finished and mutual exclusion is achieved.
+
+After setting the VMA's sequence number, the lock is released, avoiding
+complexity with a long-term held write lock.
+
+This clever combination of a read/write semaphore and sequence count allows for
+fast RCU-based per-VMA lock acquisition (especially on page fault, though
+utilised elsewhere) with minimal complexity around lock ordering.
+
+mmap write lock downgrading
+---------------------------
+
+When an mmap write lock is held one has exclusive access to resources within the
+mmap (with the usual caveats about requiring VMA write locks to avoid races with
+tasks holding VMA read locks).
+
+It is then possible to **downgrade** from a write lock to a read lock via
+:c:func:`!mmap_write_downgrade` which, similar to :c:func:`!mmap_write_unlock`,
+implicitly terminates all VMA write locks via :c:func:`!vma_end_write_all`, but
+importantly does not relinquish the mmap lock while downgrading, therefore
+keeping the locked virtual address space stable.
+
+An interesting consequence of this is that downgraded locks are exclusive
+against any other task possessing a downgraded lock (since a racing task would
+have to acquire a write lock first to downgrade it, and the downgraded lock
+prevents a new write lock from being obtained until the original lock is
+released).
+
+For clarity, we map read (R)/downgraded write (D)/write (W) locks against one
+another showing which locks exclude the others:
+
+.. list-table:: Lock exclusivity
+   :widths: 5 5 5 5
+   :header-rows: 1
+   :stub-columns: 1
+
+   * -
+     - R
+     - D
+     - W
+   * - R
+     - N
+     - N
+     - Y
+   * - D
+     - N
+     - Y
+     - Y
+   * - W
+     - Y
+     - Y
+     - Y
+
+Here a Y indicates the locks in the matching row/column are mutually exclusive,
+and N indicates that they are not.
+
+Stack expansion
+---------------
+
+Stack expansion throws up additional complexities in that we cannot permit there
+to be racing page faults, as a result we invoke :c:func:`!vma_start_write` to
+prevent this in :c:func:`!expand_downwards` or :c:func:`!expand_upwards`.
