linux/Documentation/stable_kernel_rules.txt

Everything you ever wanted to know about Linux 2.6 -stable releases.

Rules on what kind of patches are accepted, and which ones are not, into the
"-stable" tree:

 - It must be obviously correct and tested.
 - It cannot be bigger than 100 lines, with context.
 - It must fix only one thing.
 - It must fix a real bug that bothers people (not a, "This could be a
   problem..." type thing).
 - It must fix a problem that causes a build error (but not for things
   marked CONFIG_BROKEN), an oops, a hang, data corruption, a real
   security issue, or some "oh, that's not good" issue.  In short, something
   critical.
 - No "theoretical race condition" issues, unless an explanation of how the
   race can be exploited is also provided.
 - It cannot contain any "trivial" fixes in it (spelling changes,
   whitespace cleanups, etc).
 - It must follow the Documentation/SubmittingPatches rules.
 - It or an equivalent fix must already exist in Linus' tree.  Quote the
   respective commit ID in Linus' tree in your patch submission to -stable.


Procedure for submitting patches to the -stable tree:

 - Send the patch, after verifying that it follows the above rules, to
   stable@kernel.org.
 - The sender will receive an ACK when the patch has been accepted into the
   queue, or a NAK if the patch is rejected.  This response might take a few
   days, according to the developer's schedules.
 - If accepted, the patch will be added to the -stable queue, for review by
   other developers and by the relevant subsystem maintainer.
 - If the stable@kernel.org address is added to a patch, when it goes into
   Linus's tree it will automatically be emailed to the stable team.
 - Security patches should not be sent to this alias, but instead to the
   documented security@kernel.org address.


Review cycle:

 - When the -stable maintainers decide for a review cycle, the patches will be
   sent to the review committee, and the maintainer of the affected area of
   the patch (unless the submitter is the maintainer of the area) and CC: to
   the linux-kernel mailing list.
 - The review committee has 48 hours in which to ACK or NAK the patch.
 - If the patch is rejected by a member of the committee, or linux-kernel
   members object to the patch, bringing up issues that the maintainers and
   members did not realize, the patch will be dropped from the queue.
 - At the end of the review cycle, the ACKed patches will be added to the
   latest -stable release, and a new -stable release will happen.
 - Security patches will be accepted into the -stable tree directly from the
   security kernel team, and not go through the normal review cycle.
   Contact the kernel security team for more details on this procedure.


Review committee:

 - This is made up of a number of kernel developers who have volunteered for
   this task, and a few that haven't.