On Thu, 31 Oct 2019 18:16:02 -0400 Johannes Weiner <hannes@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Currently, the drop_caches proc file and sysctl read back the last > value written, suggesting this is somehow a stateful setting instead > of a one-time command. Make it write-only, like e.g. compact_memory. > > ... > > --- a/kernel/sysctl.c > +++ b/kernel/sysctl.c > @@ -1474,7 +1474,7 @@ static struct ctl_table vm_table[] = { > .procname = "drop_caches", > .data = &sysctl_drop_caches, > .maxlen = sizeof(int), > - .mode = 0644, > + .mode = 0200, > .proc_handler = drop_caches_sysctl_handler, > .extra1 = SYSCTL_ONE, > .extra2 = &four, hm. Risk: some (odd) userspace code will break. Fixable by manually chmodding it back again. Reward: very little. Is the reward worth the risk?