… > +++ b/fs/exfat/namei.c > @@ -1077,10 +1077,14 @@ static int exfat_rename_file(struct inode *inode, struct exfat_chain *p_dir, > > epold = exfat_get_dentry(sb, p_dir, oldentry + 1, &old_bh, > §or_old); > + if (!epold) > + return -EIO; … Can it become helpful to annotate such null pointer checks for branch prediction? Would you like to indicate a likelihood in any way? Regards, Markus