Replace the symbol needs evaluator with a parser

This patch addresses a design problem with the symbol_needs_eval_context
class. It exposes the problem by introducing two new testsuite test
cases.

To explain the issue, I first need to explain the dwarf_expr_context
class that the symbol_needs_eval_context class derives from.

The intention behind the dwarf_expr_context class is to commonize the
DWARF expression evaluation mechanism for different evaluation
contexts. Currently in gdb, the evaluation context can contain some or
all of the following information: architecture, object file, frame and
compilation unit.

Depending on the information needed to evaluate a given expression,
there are currently three distinct DWARF expression evaluators:

 - Frame: designed to evaluate an expression in the context of a call
   frame information (dwarf_expr_executor class). This evaluator doesn't
   need a compilation unit information.

 - Location description: designed to evaluate an expression in the
   context of a source level information (dwarf_evaluate_loc_desc
   class). This evaluator expects all information needed for the
   evaluation of the given expression to be present.

 - Symbol needs: designed to answer a question about the parts of the
   context information required to evaluate a DWARF expression behind a
   given symbol (symbol_needs_eval_context class). This evaluator
   doesn't need a frame information.

The functional difference between the symbol needs evaluator and the
others is that this evaluator is not meant to interact with the actual
target. Instead, it is supposed to check which parts of the context
information are needed for the given DWARF expression to be evaluated by
the location description evaluator.

The idea is to take advantage of the existing dwarf_expr_context
evaluation mechanism and to fake all required interactions with the
actual target, by returning back dummy values. The evaluation result is
returned as one of three possible values, based on operations found in a
given expression:

- SYMBOL_NEEDS_NONE,
- SYMBOL_NEEDS_REGISTERS and
- SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME.

The problem here is that faking results of target interactions can yield
an incorrect evaluation result.

For example, if we have a conditional DWARF expression, where the
condition depends on a value read from an actual target, and the true
branch of the condition requires a frame information to be evaluated,
while the false branch doesn't, fake target reads could conclude that a
frame information is not needed, where in fact it is. This wrong
information would then cause the expression to be actually evaluated (by
the location description evaluator) with a missing frame information.
This would then crash the debugger.

The gdb.dwarf2/symbol_needs_eval_fail.exp test introduces this
scenario, with the following DWARF expression:

                   DW_OP_addr $some_variable
                   DW_OP_deref

                   # conditional jump to DW_OP_bregx
                   DW_OP_bra 4
                   DW_OP_lit0

                   # jump to DW_OP_stack_value
                   DW_OP_skip 3
                   DW_OP_bregx $dwarf_regnum 0
                   DW_OP_stack_value

This expression describes a case where some variable dictates the
location of another variable. Depending on a value of some_variable, the
variable whose location is described by this expression is either read
from a register or it is defined as a constant value 0. In both cases,
the value will be returned as an implicit location description on the
DWARF stack.

Currently, when the symbol needs evaluator fakes a memory read from the
address behind the some_variable variable, the constant value 0 is used
as the value of the variable A, and the check returns the
SYMBOL_NEEDS_NONE result.

This is clearly a wrong result and it causes the debugger to crash.

The scenario might sound strange to some people, but it comes from a
SIMD/SIMT architecture where $some_variable is an execution mask.  In
any case, it is a valid DWARF expression, and GDB shouldn't crash while
evaluating it. Also, a similar example could be made based on a
condition of the frame base value, where if that value is concluded to
be 0, the variable location could be defaulted to a TLS based memory
address.

The gdb.dwarf2/symbol_needs_eval_timeout.exp test introduces a second
scenario. This scenario is a bit more abstract due to the DWARF
assembler lacking the CFI support, but it exposes a different
manifestation of the same problem. Like in the previous scenario, the
DWARF expression used in the test is valid:

                       DW_OP_lit1
                       DW_OP_addr $some_variable
                       DW_OP_deref

                       # jump to DW_OP_fbreg
                       DW_OP_skip 4
                       DW_OP_drop
                       DW_OP_fbreg 0
                       DW_OP_dup
                       DW_OP_lit0
                       DW_OP_eq

                       # conditional jump to DW_OP_drop
                       DW_OP_bra -9
                       DW_OP_stack_value

Similarly to the previous scenario, the location of a variable A is an
implicit location description with a constant value that depends on a
value held by a global variable. The difference from the previous case
is that DWARF expression contains a loop instead of just one branch. The
end condition of that loop depends on the expectation that a frame base
value is never zero. Currently, the act of faking the target reads will
cause the symbol needs evaluator to get stuck in an infinite loop.

Somebody could argue that we could change the fake reads to return
something else, but that would only hide the real problem.

The general impression seems to be that the desired design is to have
one class that deals with parsing of the DWARF expression, while there
are virtual methods that deal with specifics of some operations.

Using an evaluator mechanism here doesn't seem to be correct, because
the act of evaluation relies on accessing the data from the actual
target with the possibility of skipping the evaluation of some parts of
the expression.

To better explain the proposed solution for the issue, I first need to
explain a couple more details behind the current design:

There are multiple places in gdb that handle DWARF expression parsing
for different purposes. Some are in charge of converting the expression
to some other internal representation (decode_location_expression,
disassemble_dwarf_expression and dwarf2_compile_expr_to_ax), some are
analysing the expression for specific information
(compute_stack_depth_worker) and some are in charge of evaluating the
expression in a given context (dwarf_expr_context::execute_stack_op
and decode_locdesc).

The problem is that all those functions have a similar (large) switch
statement that handles each DWARF expression operation. The result of
this is a code duplication and harder maintenance.

As a step into the right direction to solve this problem (at least for
the purpose of a DWARF expression evaluation) the expression parsing was
commonized inside of an evaluator base class (dwarf_expr_context). This
makes sense for all derived classes, except for the symbol needs
evaluator (symbol_needs_eval_context) class.

As described previously the problem with this evaluator is that if the
evaluator is not allowed to access the actual target, it is not really
evaluating.

Instead, the desired function of a symbol needs evaluator seems to fall
more into expression analysis category. This means that a more natural
fit for this evaluator is to be a symbol needs analysis, similar to the
existing compute_stack_depth_worker analysis.

Another problem is that using a heavyweight mechanism of an evaluator
to do an expression analysis seems to be an unneeded overhead. It also
requires a more complicated design of the parent class to support fake
target reads.

The reality is that the whole symbol_needs_eval_context class can be
replaced with a lightweight recursive analysis function, that will give
more correct result without compromising the design of the
dwarf_expr_context class. The analysis treats the expression byte
stream as a DWARF operation graph, where each graph node can be
visited only once and each operation can decide if the frame context
is needed for their evaluation.

The downside of this approach is adding of one more similar switch
statement, but at least this way the new symbol needs analysis will be
a lightweight mechnism and it will provide a correct result for any
given DWARF expression.

A more desired long term design would be to have one class that deals
with parsing of the DWARF expression, while there would be a virtual
methods that deal with specifics of some DWARF operations. Then that
class would be used as a base for all DWARF expression parsing mentioned
at the beginning.

This however, requires a far bigger changes that are out of the scope
of this patch series.

The new analysis requires the DWARF location description for the
argc argument of the main function to change in the assembly file
gdb.python/amd64-py-framefilter-invalidarg.S. Originally, expression
ended with a 0 value byte, which was never reached by the symbol needs
evaluator, because it was detecting a stack underflow when evaluating
the operation before. The new approach does not simulate a DWARF
stack anymore, so the 0 value byte needs to be removed because it
makes the DWARF expression invalid.

gdb/ChangeLog:

        * dwarf2/loc.c (class symbol_needs_eval_context): Remove.
        (dwarf2_get_symbol_read_needs): New function.
        (dwarf2_loc_desc_get_symbol_read_needs): Remove.
        (locexpr_get_symbol_read_needs): Use
        dwarf2_get_symbol_read_needs.

gdb/testsuite/ChangeLog:

        * gdb.python/amd64-py-framefilter-invalidarg.S : Update argc
          DWARF location expression.
        * lib/dwarf.exp (_location): Handle DW_OP_fbreg.
        * gdb.dwarf2/symbol_needs_eval.c: New file.
        * gdb.dwarf2/symbol_needs_eval_fail.exp: New file.
        * gdb.dwarf2/symbol_needs_eval_timeout.exp: New file.

6 files changed, 678 insertions, 116 deletions

diff --git a/gdb/dwarf2/loc.c b/gdb/dwarf2/loc.c
index d57cdc1..cf52b1e 100644
--- a/gdb/dwarf2/loc.c
+++ b/gdb/dwarf2/loc.c
@@ -2789,151 +2789,436 @@ dwarf2_compile_property_to_c (string_file *stream,
 			     data, data + size, per_cu, per_objfile);
 }
 
-
-/* Helper functions and baton for dwarf2_loc_desc_get_symbol_read_needs.  */
+/* Compute the correct symbol_needs_kind value for the location
+   expression in EXPR.
+
+   Implemented by traversing the logical control flow graph of the
+   expression.  */
 
-class symbol_needs_eval_context : public dwarf_expr_context
+static enum symbol_needs_kind
+dwarf2_get_symbol_read_needs (gdb::array_view<const gdb_byte> expr,
+			      dwarf2_per_cu_data *per_cu,
+			      dwarf2_per_objfile *per_objfile,
+			      bfd_endian byte_order,
+			      int addr_size,
+			      int ref_addr_size,
+			      int depth = 0)
 {
-public:
-  symbol_needs_eval_context (dwarf2_per_objfile *per_objfile)
-    : dwarf_expr_context (per_objfile)
-  {}
+  enum symbol_needs_kind symbol_needs = SYMBOL_NEEDS_NONE;
 
-  enum symbol_needs_kind needs;
-  struct dwarf2_per_cu_data *per_cu;
+  /* If the expression is empty, we have nothing to do.  */
+  if (expr.empty ())
+    return symbol_needs;
 
-  /* Reads from registers do require a frame.  */
-  CORE_ADDR read_addr_from_reg (int regnum) override
-  {
-    needs = SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME;
-    return 1;
-  }
+  const gdb_byte *expr_end = expr.data () + expr.size ();
 
-  /* "get_reg_value" callback: Reads from registers do require a
-     frame.  */
+  /* List of operations to visit.  Operations in this list are not visited yet,
+     so are not in VISITED_OPS (and vice-versa).  */
+  std::vector<const gdb_byte *> ops_to_visit;
 
-  struct value *get_reg_value (struct type *type, int regnum) override
-  {
-    needs = SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME;
-    return value_zero (type, not_lval);
-  }
+  /* Operations already visited.  */
+  std::unordered_set<const gdb_byte *> visited_ops;
 
-  /* Reads from memory do not require a frame.  */
-  void read_mem (gdb_byte *buf, CORE_ADDR addr, size_t len) override
-  {
-    memset (buf, 0, len);
-  }
+  /* Insert OP in OPS_TO_VISIT if it is within the expression's range and
+     hasn't been visited yet.  */
+  auto insert_in_ops_to_visit
+    = [expr_end, &visited_ops, &ops_to_visit] (const gdb_byte *op_ptr)
+      {
+	if (op_ptr >= expr_end)
+	  return;
 
-  /* Frame-relative accesses do require a frame.  */
-  void get_frame_base (const gdb_byte **start, size_t *length) override
-  {
-    static gdb_byte lit0 = DW_OP_lit0;
+	if (visited_ops.find (op_ptr) != visited_ops.end ())
+	  return;
 
-    *start = &lit0;
-    *length = 1;
+	ops_to_visit.push_back (op_ptr);
+      };
 
-    needs = SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME;
-  }
+  /* Expressions can invoke other expressions with DW_OP_call*.  Protect against
+     a loop of calls.  */
+  const int max_depth = 256;
 
-  /* CFA accesses require a frame.  */
-  CORE_ADDR get_frame_cfa () override
-  {
-    needs = SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME;
-    return 1;
-  }
+  if (depth > max_depth)
+    error (_("DWARF-2 expression error: Loop detected."));
 
-  CORE_ADDR get_frame_pc () override
-  {
-    needs = SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME;
-    return 1;
-  }
+  depth++;
 
-  /* Thread-local accesses require registers, but not a frame.  */
-  CORE_ADDR get_tls_address (CORE_ADDR offset) override
-  {
-    if (needs <= SYMBOL_NEEDS_REGISTERS)
-      needs = SYMBOL_NEEDS_REGISTERS;
-    return 1;
-  }
+  /* Initialize the to-visit list with the first operation.  */
+  insert_in_ops_to_visit (&expr[0]);
 
-  /* Helper interface of per_cu_dwarf_call for
-     dwarf2_loc_desc_get_symbol_read_needs.  */
+  while (!ops_to_visit.empty ())
+    {
+      /* Pop one op to visit, mark it as visited.  */
+      const gdb_byte *op_ptr = ops_to_visit.back ();
+      ops_to_visit.pop_back ();
+      gdb_assert (visited_ops.find (op_ptr) == visited_ops.end ());
+      visited_ops.insert (op_ptr);
 
-  void dwarf_call (cu_offset die_offset) override
-  {
-    per_cu_dwarf_call (this, die_offset, per_cu, per_objfile);
-  }
+      dwarf_location_atom op = (dwarf_location_atom) *op_ptr;
 
-  /* Helper interface of sect_variable_value for
-     dwarf2_loc_desc_get_symbol_read_needs.  */
+      /* Most operations have a single possible following operation
+	 (they are not conditional branches).  The code below updates
+	 OP_PTR to point to that following operation, which is pushed
+	 back to OPS_TO_VISIT, if needed, at the bottom.  Here, leave
+	 OP_PTR pointing just after the operand.  */
+      op_ptr++;
 
-  struct value *dwarf_variable_value (sect_offset sect_off) override
-  {
-    return sect_variable_value (this, sect_off, per_cu, per_objfile);
-  }
+      /* The DWARF expression might have a bug causing an infinite
+	 loop.  In that case, quitting is the only way out.  */
+      QUIT;
 
-  /* DW_OP_entry_value accesses require a caller, therefore a
-     frame.  */
+      switch (op)
+	{
+	case DW_OP_lit0:
+	case DW_OP_lit1:
+	case DW_OP_lit2:
+	case DW_OP_lit3:
+	case DW_OP_lit4:
+	case DW_OP_lit5:
+	case DW_OP_lit6:
+	case DW_OP_lit7:
+	case DW_OP_lit8:
+	case DW_OP_lit9:
+	case DW_OP_lit10:
+	case DW_OP_lit11:
+	case DW_OP_lit12:
+	case DW_OP_lit13:
+	case DW_OP_lit14:
+	case DW_OP_lit15:
+	case DW_OP_lit16:
+	case DW_OP_lit17:
+	case DW_OP_lit18:
+	case DW_OP_lit19:
+	case DW_OP_lit20:
+	case DW_OP_lit21:
+	case DW_OP_lit22:
+	case DW_OP_lit23:
+	case DW_OP_lit24:
+	case DW_OP_lit25:
+	case DW_OP_lit26:
+	case DW_OP_lit27:
+	case DW_OP_lit28:
+	case DW_OP_lit29:
+	case DW_OP_lit30:
+	case DW_OP_lit31:
+	case DW_OP_stack_value:
+	case DW_OP_dup:
+	case DW_OP_drop:
+	case DW_OP_swap:
+	case DW_OP_over:
+	case DW_OP_rot:
+	case DW_OP_deref:
+	case DW_OP_abs:
+	case DW_OP_neg:
+	case DW_OP_not:
+	case DW_OP_and:
+	case DW_OP_div:
+	case DW_OP_minus:
+	case DW_OP_mod:
+	case DW_OP_mul:
+	case DW_OP_or:
+	case DW_OP_plus:
+	case DW_OP_shl:
+	case DW_OP_shr:
+	case DW_OP_shra:
+	case DW_OP_xor:
+	case DW_OP_le:
+	case DW_OP_ge:
+	case DW_OP_eq:
+	case DW_OP_lt:
+	case DW_OP_gt:
+	case DW_OP_ne:
+	case DW_OP_GNU_push_tls_address:
+	case DW_OP_nop:
+	case DW_OP_GNU_uninit:
+	case DW_OP_push_object_address:
+	  break;
 
-  void push_dwarf_reg_entry_value (enum call_site_parameter_kind kind,
-				   union call_site_parameter_u kind_u,
-				   int deref_size) override
-  {
-    needs = SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME;
+	case DW_OP_form_tls_address:
+	  if (symbol_needs <= SYMBOL_NEEDS_REGISTERS)
+	    symbol_needs = SYMBOL_NEEDS_REGISTERS;
+	  break;
 
-    /* The expression may require some stub values on DWARF stack.  */
-    push_address (0, 0);
-  }
+	case DW_OP_convert:
+	case DW_OP_GNU_convert:
+	case DW_OP_reinterpret:
+	case DW_OP_GNU_reinterpret:
+	case DW_OP_addrx:
+	case DW_OP_GNU_addr_index:
+	case DW_OP_GNU_const_index:
+	case DW_OP_constu:
+	case DW_OP_plus_uconst:
+	case DW_OP_piece:
+	  op_ptr = safe_skip_leb128 (op_ptr, expr_end);
+	  break;
 
-  /* DW_OP_addrx and DW_OP_GNU_addr_index doesn't require a frame.  */
+	case DW_OP_consts:
+	  op_ptr = safe_skip_leb128 (op_ptr, expr_end);
+	  break;
 
-  CORE_ADDR get_addr_index (unsigned int index) override
-  {
-    /* Nothing to do.  */
-    return 1;
-  }
+	case DW_OP_bit_piece:
+	  op_ptr = safe_skip_leb128 (op_ptr, expr_end);
+	  op_ptr = safe_skip_leb128 (op_ptr, expr_end);
+	  break;
 
-  /* DW_OP_push_object_address has a frame already passed through.  */
+	case DW_OP_deref_type:
+	case DW_OP_GNU_deref_type:
+	  op_ptr++;
+	  op_ptr = safe_skip_leb128 (op_ptr, expr_end);
+	  break;
 
-  CORE_ADDR get_object_address () override
-  {
-    /* Nothing to do.  */
-    return 1;
-  }
-};
+	case DW_OP_addr:
+	  op_ptr += addr_size;
+	  break;
 
-/* Compute the correct symbol_needs_kind value for the location
-   expression at DATA (length SIZE).  */
+	case DW_OP_const1u:
+	case DW_OP_const1s:
+	  op_ptr += 1;
+	  break;
 
-static enum symbol_needs_kind
-dwarf2_loc_desc_get_symbol_read_needs (const gdb_byte *data, size_t size,
-				       dwarf2_per_cu_data *per_cu,
-				       dwarf2_per_objfile *per_objfile)
-{
-  scoped_value_mark free_values;
+	case DW_OP_const2u:
+	case DW_OP_const2s:
+	  op_ptr += 2;
+	  break;
 
-  symbol_needs_eval_context ctx (per_objfile);
+	case DW_OP_const4s:
+	case DW_OP_const4u:
+	  op_ptr += 4;
+	  break;
 
-  ctx.needs = SYMBOL_NEEDS_NONE;
-  ctx.per_cu = per_cu;
-  ctx.gdbarch = per_objfile->objfile->arch ();
-  ctx.addr_size = per_cu->addr_size ();
-  ctx.ref_addr_size = per_cu->ref_addr_size ();
+	case DW_OP_const8s:
+	case DW_OP_const8u:
+	  op_ptr += 8;
+	  break;
+
+	case DW_OP_reg0:
+	case DW_OP_reg1:
+	case DW_OP_reg2:
+	case DW_OP_reg3:
+	case DW_OP_reg4:
+	case DW_OP_reg5:
+	case DW_OP_reg6:
+	case DW_OP_reg7:
+	case DW_OP_reg8:
+	case DW_OP_reg9:
+	case DW_OP_reg10:
+	case DW_OP_reg11:
+	case DW_OP_reg12:
+	case DW_OP_reg13:
+	case DW_OP_reg14:
+	case DW_OP_reg15:
+	case DW_OP_reg16:
+	case DW_OP_reg17:
+	case DW_OP_reg18:
+	case DW_OP_reg19:
+	case DW_OP_reg20:
+	case DW_OP_reg21:
+	case DW_OP_reg22:
+	case DW_OP_reg23:
+	case DW_OP_reg24:
+	case DW_OP_reg25:
+	case DW_OP_reg26:
+	case DW_OP_reg27:
+	case DW_OP_reg28:
+	case DW_OP_reg29:
+	case DW_OP_reg30:
+	case DW_OP_reg31:
+	case DW_OP_regx:
+	case DW_OP_breg0:
+	case DW_OP_breg1:
+	case DW_OP_breg2:
+	case DW_OP_breg3:
+	case DW_OP_breg4:
+	case DW_OP_breg5:
+	case DW_OP_breg6:
+	case DW_OP_breg7:
+	case DW_OP_breg8:
+	case DW_OP_breg9:
+	case DW_OP_breg10:
+	case DW_OP_breg11:
+	case DW_OP_breg12:
+	case DW_OP_breg13:
+	case DW_OP_breg14:
+	case DW_OP_breg15:
+	case DW_OP_breg16:
+	case DW_OP_breg17:
+	case DW_OP_breg18:
+	case DW_OP_breg19:
+	case DW_OP_breg20:
+	case DW_OP_breg21:
+	case DW_OP_breg22:
+	case DW_OP_breg23:
+	case DW_OP_breg24:
+	case DW_OP_breg25:
+	case DW_OP_breg26:
+	case DW_OP_breg27:
+	case DW_OP_breg28:
+	case DW_OP_breg29:
+	case DW_OP_breg30:
+	case DW_OP_breg31:
+	case DW_OP_bregx:
+	case DW_OP_fbreg:
+	case DW_OP_call_frame_cfa:
+	case DW_OP_entry_value:
+	case DW_OP_GNU_entry_value:
+	case DW_OP_GNU_parameter_ref:
+	case DW_OP_regval_type:
+	case DW_OP_GNU_regval_type:
+	  symbol_needs = SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME;
+	  break;
+
+	case DW_OP_implicit_value:
+	  {
+	    uint64_t uoffset;
+	    op_ptr = safe_read_uleb128 (op_ptr, expr_end, &uoffset);
+	    op_ptr += uoffset;
+	    break;
+	  }
+
+	case DW_OP_implicit_pointer:
+	case DW_OP_GNU_implicit_pointer:
+	  op_ptr += ref_addr_size;
+	  op_ptr = safe_skip_leb128 (op_ptr, expr_end);
+	  break;
+
+	case DW_OP_deref_size:
+	case DW_OP_pick:
+	  op_ptr++;
+	  break;
+
+	case DW_OP_skip:
+	  {
+	    int64_t offset = extract_signed_integer (op_ptr, 2, byte_order);
+	    op_ptr += 2;
+	    op_ptr += offset;
+	    break;
+	  }
+
+	case DW_OP_bra:
+	  {
+	    /* This is the only operation that pushes two operations in
+	       the to-visit list, so handle it all here.  */
+	    LONGEST offset = extract_signed_integer (op_ptr, 2, byte_order);
+	    op_ptr += 2;
+
+	    insert_in_ops_to_visit (op_ptr + offset);
+	    insert_in_ops_to_visit (op_ptr);
+	    continue;
+	  }
 
-  ctx.eval (data, size);
+	case DW_OP_call2:
+	case DW_OP_call4:
+	  {
+	    unsigned int len = op == DW_OP_call2 ? 2 : 4;
+	    cu_offset cu_off
+	      = (cu_offset) extract_unsigned_integer (op_ptr, len, byte_order);
+	    op_ptr += len;
 
-  bool in_reg = ctx.location == DWARF_VALUE_REGISTER;
+	    auto get_frame_pc = [&symbol_needs] ()
+	      {
+		symbol_needs = SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME;
+		return 0;
+	      };
 
-  /* If the location has several pieces, and any of them are in
-     registers, then we will need a frame to fetch them from.  */
-  for (dwarf_expr_piece &p : ctx.pieces)
-    if (p.location == DWARF_VALUE_REGISTER)
-      in_reg = true;
+	    struct dwarf2_locexpr_baton baton
+	      = dwarf2_fetch_die_loc_cu_off (cu_off, per_cu,
+					     per_objfile,
+					     get_frame_pc);
 
-  if (in_reg)
-    ctx.needs = SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME;
+	    /* If SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME is returned from the previous call,
+	       we dont have to check the baton content.  */
+	    if (symbol_needs != SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME)
+	      {
+		gdbarch *arch = baton.per_objfile->objfile->arch ();
+		gdb::array_view<const gdb_byte> sub_expr (baton.data,
+							  baton.size);
+		symbol_needs
+		  = dwarf2_get_symbol_read_needs (sub_expr,
+						  baton.per_cu,
+						  baton.per_objfile,
+						  gdbarch_byte_order (arch),
+						  baton.per_cu->addr_size (),
+						  baton.per_cu->ref_addr_size (),
+						  depth);
+	      }
+	    break;
+	  }
 
-  return ctx.needs;
+	case DW_OP_GNU_variable_value:
+	  {
+	    sect_offset sect_off
+	      = (sect_offset) extract_unsigned_integer (op_ptr,
+							ref_addr_size,
+							byte_order);
+	    op_ptr += ref_addr_size;
+
+	    struct type *die_type
+	      = dwarf2_fetch_die_type_sect_off (sect_off, per_cu,
+						per_objfile);
+
+	    if (die_type == NULL)
+	      error (_("Bad DW_OP_GNU_variable_value DIE."));
+
+	    /* Note: Things still work when the following test is
+	       removed.  This test and error is here to conform to the
+	       proposed specification.  */
+	    if (die_type->code () != TYPE_CODE_INT
+	       && die_type->code () != TYPE_CODE_PTR)
+	      error (_("Type of DW_OP_GNU_variable_value DIE must be "
+		       "an integer or pointer."));
+
+	    auto get_frame_pc = [&symbol_needs] ()
+	      {
+		symbol_needs = SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME;
+		return 0;
+	      };
+
+	    struct dwarf2_locexpr_baton baton
+	      = dwarf2_fetch_die_loc_sect_off (sect_off, per_cu,
+					       per_objfile,
+					       get_frame_pc, true);
+
+	    /* If SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME is returned from the previous call,
+	       we dont have to check the baton content.  */
+	    if (symbol_needs != SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME)
+	      {
+		gdbarch *arch = baton.per_objfile->objfile->arch ();
+		gdb::array_view<const gdb_byte> sub_expr (baton.data,
+							  baton.size);
+		symbol_needs
+		  = dwarf2_get_symbol_read_needs (sub_expr,
+						  baton.per_cu,
+						  baton.per_objfile,
+						  gdbarch_byte_order (arch),
+						  baton.per_cu->addr_size (),
+						  baton.per_cu->ref_addr_size (),
+						  depth);
+	      }
+	    break;
+	  }
+
+	case DW_OP_const_type:
+	case DW_OP_GNU_const_type:
+	  {
+	    uint64_t uoffset;
+	    op_ptr = safe_read_uleb128 (op_ptr, expr_end, &uoffset);
+	    gdb_byte offset = *op_ptr++;
+	    op_ptr += offset;
+	    break;
+	  }
+
+	default:
+	  error (_("Unhandled DWARF expression opcode 0x%x"), op);
+	}
+
+      /* If it is known that a frame information is
+	 needed we can stop parsing the expression.  */
+      if (symbol_needs == SYMBOL_NEEDS_FRAME)
+	break;
+
+      insert_in_ops_to_visit (op_ptr);
+    }
+
+  return symbol_needs;
 }
 
 /* A helper function that throws an unimplemented error mentioning a
@@ -3775,9 +4060,15 @@ locexpr_get_symbol_read_needs (struct symbol *symbol)
   struct dwarf2_locexpr_baton *dlbaton
     = (struct dwarf2_locexpr_baton *) SYMBOL_LOCATION_BATON (symbol);
 
-  return dwarf2_loc_desc_get_symbol_read_needs (dlbaton->data, dlbaton->size,
-						dlbaton->per_cu,
-						dlbaton->per_objfile);
+  gdbarch *arch = dlbaton->per_objfile->objfile->arch ();
+  gdb::array_view<const gdb_byte> expr (dlbaton->data, dlbaton->size);
+
+  return dwarf2_get_symbol_read_needs (expr,
+				       dlbaton->per_cu,
+				       dlbaton->per_objfile,
+				       gdbarch_byte_order (arch),
+				       dlbaton->per_cu->addr_size (),
+				       dlbaton->per_cu->ref_addr_size ());
 }
 
 /* Return true if DATA points to the end of a piece.  END is one past
diff --git a/gdb/testsuite/gdb.dwarf2/symbol_needs_eval.c b/gdb/testsuite/gdb.dwarf2/symbol_needs_eval.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9740944
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gdb/testsuite/gdb.dwarf2/symbol_needs_eval.c
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+/* This testcase is part of GDB, the GNU debugger.
+
+   Copyright 2017-2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+
+   This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+   it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+   the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or
+   (at your option) any later version.
+
+   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+   but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+   MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+   GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+   along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.  */
+
+int exec_mask = 1;
+
+int
+main (void)
+{
+  asm volatile ("main_label: .globl main_label");
+  return 0;
+}
diff --git a/gdb/testsuite/gdb.dwarf2/symbol_needs_eval_fail.exp b/gdb/testsuite/gdb.dwarf2/symbol_needs_eval_fail.exp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..033e042
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gdb/testsuite/gdb.dwarf2/symbol_needs_eval_fail.exp
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+# Copyright 2017-2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+
+# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+# Test the symbol needs check mechanism if it assumes that faking
+# reads from a target is a safe thing to do.
+#
+# In particular, the test uses a relative branch DWARF operation to
+# hide a register read. If the target reads are indeed faked, the
+# result returned will be wrong.
+
+load_lib dwarf.exp
+
+# This test can only be run on targets which support DWARF-2 and use gas.
+if {![dwarf2_support]} {
+    return 0
+}
+
+# Choose suitable integer registers for the test.
+
+set dwarf_regnum 0
+
+if { [is_aarch64_target] } {
+    set regname x0
+} elseif { [is_aarch32_target]
+	   || [istarget "s390*-*-*" ]
+	   || [istarget "powerpc*-*-*"]
+	   || [istarget "rs6000*-*-aix*"] } {
+    set regname r0
+} elseif { [is_x86_like_target] } {
+    set regname eax
+} elseif { [is_amd64_regs_target] } {
+    set regname rax
+} else {
+    verbose "Skipping ${gdb_test_file_name}."
+    return
+}
+
+standard_testfile symbol_needs_eval.c ${gdb_test_file_name}-dw.S
+
+# Make some DWARF for the test.
+
+set asm_file [standard_output_file $srcfile2]
+Dwarf::assemble $asm_file {
+    global dwarf_regnum regname
+
+    set exec_mask_var [gdb_target_symbol exec_mask]
+
+    cu {} {
+	DW_TAG_compile_unit {
+	    {DW_AT_name symbol_needs_eval.c}
+	    {DW_AT_comp_dir /tmp}
+	} {
+	    declare_labels int_type_label
+
+	    # define int type
+	    int_type_label: DW_TAG_base_type {
+		{DW_AT_name "int"}
+		{DW_AT_encoding @DW_ATE_signed}
+		{DW_AT_byte_size 4 DW_FORM_sdata}
+	    }
+
+	    # define artificial variable a
+	    DW_TAG_variable {
+		{DW_AT_name a}
+		{DW_AT_type :$int_type_label}
+		{DW_AT_location {
+		    DW_OP_addr $exec_mask_var
+		    DW_OP_deref
+
+		    # conditional jump to DW_OP_bregx
+		    DW_OP_bra 4
+		    DW_OP_lit0
+
+		    # jump to DW_OP_stack_value
+		    DW_OP_skip 3
+		    DW_OP_bregx $dwarf_regnum 0
+		    DW_OP_stack_value
+		} SPECIAL_expr}
+		{external 1 flag}
+	    }
+	}
+    }
+}
+
+if { [prepare_for_testing ${testfile}.exp ${testfile} \
+     [list $srcfile $asm_file] {nodebug}] } {
+    return -1
+}
+
+# The variable's location expression requires a frame,
+# so an error should be reported.
+gdb_test "print/d a" "No frame selected." "variable a can't be printed"
+
+if ![runto_main] {
+    return -1
+}
+
+gdb_test_no_output "set var \$$regname = 2" "init reg to 2"
+
+gdb_test "print/d a" " = 2" "a == 2"
diff --git a/gdb/testsuite/gdb.dwarf2/symbol_needs_eval_timeout.exp b/gdb/testsuite/gdb.dwarf2/symbol_needs_eval_timeout.exp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4189b44
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gdb/testsuite/gdb.dwarf2/symbol_needs_eval_timeout.exp
@@ -0,0 +1,131 @@
+# Copyright 2017-2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+
+# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+# Test the symbol needs check mechanism if it assumes that faking
+# reads from a target is a safe thing to do.
+#
+# In particular, the test uses a relative branch DWARF operation to
+# potentially cause an infinite loop, if the target reads are indeed
+# faked.
+
+load_lib dwarf.exp
+
+# This test can only be run on targets which support DWARF-2 and use gas.
+if {![dwarf2_support]} {
+    return 0
+}
+
+# Choose suitable integer registers for the test.
+
+set dwarf_regnum 0
+
+if { [is_aarch64_target] } {
+    set regname x0
+} elseif { [is_aarch32_target]
+	   || [istarget "s390*-*-*" ]
+	   || [istarget "powerpc*-*-*"]
+	   || [istarget "rs6000*-*-aix*"] } {
+    set regname r0
+} elseif { [is_x86_like_target] } {
+    set regname eax
+} elseif { [is_amd64_regs_target] } {
+    set regname rax
+} else {
+    verbose "Skipping ${gdb_test_file_name}."
+    return
+}
+
+standard_testfile symbol_needs_eval.c ${gdb_test_file_name}-dw.S
+
+# Make some DWARF for the test.
+
+set asm_file [standard_output_file $srcfile2]
+Dwarf::assemble $asm_file {
+    global dwarf_regnum regname
+
+    set exec_mask_var [gdb_target_symbol exec_mask]
+
+    cu {} {
+	DW_TAG_compile_unit {
+	    {DW_AT_name symbol_needs_eval.c}
+	    {DW_AT_comp_dir /tmp}
+	} {
+	    declare_labels int_type_label
+
+	    # define int type
+	    int_type_label: DW_TAG_base_type {
+		{DW_AT_name "int"}
+		{DW_AT_encoding @DW_ATE_signed}
+		{DW_AT_byte_size 4 DW_FORM_sdata}
+	    }
+
+	    # add info for variable exec_mask
+	    DW_TAG_variable {
+		{DW_AT_name exec_mask}
+		{DW_AT_type :$int_type_label}
+		{DW_AT_location {
+		    DW_OP_addr $exec_mask_var
+		} SPECIAL_expr}
+		{external 1 flag}
+	    }
+
+	    # add info for subprogram main
+	    DW_TAG_subprogram {
+		{MACRO_AT_func { main }}
+		{DW_AT_frame_base {
+		    DW_OP_regx $dwarf_regnum
+		} SPECIAL_expr}
+	    } {
+		# define artificial variable a
+		DW_TAG_variable {
+		    {DW_AT_name a}
+		    {DW_AT_type :$int_type_label}
+		    {DW_AT_location {
+			DW_OP_lit1
+			DW_OP_addr $exec_mask_var
+			DW_OP_deref
+
+			# jump to DW_OP_fbreg
+			DW_OP_skip 4
+			DW_OP_drop
+			DW_OP_fbreg 0
+			DW_OP_dup
+			DW_OP_lit0
+			DW_OP_eq
+
+			# conditional jump to DW_OP_drop
+			DW_OP_bra -9
+			DW_OP_stack_value
+		    } SPECIAL_expr}
+		    {external 1 flag}
+		}
+	    }
+	}
+    }
+}
+
+if { [prepare_for_testing ${testfile}.exp ${testfile} \
+	  [list $srcfile $asm_file] {nodebug}] } {
+    return -1
+}
+
+if ![runto_main] {
+    return -1
+}
+
+gdb_test_no_output "set var \$$regname = 2" "init reg to 2"
+gdb_test_no_output "set var exec_mask = 0" "init exec_mask to 0"
+
+gdb_test "print/d a" " = 2" "a == 2"
diff --git a/gdb/testsuite/gdb.python/amd64-py-framefilter-invalidarg.S b/gdb/testsuite/gdb.python/amd64-py-framefilter-invalidarg.S
index 0adc69f..c8cb9e5 100644
--- a/gdb/testsuite/gdb.python/amd64-py-framefilter-invalidarg.S
+++ b/gdb/testsuite/gdb.python/amd64-py-framefilter-invalidarg.S
@@ -102,7 +102,6 @@ die4e:
 	.uleb128 1f - 2f	# DW_AT_location
 2:
 	.byte	0x13	# DW_OP_drop
-	.quad 0
 1:
 #endif
 die5c:
diff --git a/gdb/testsuite/lib/dwarf.exp b/gdb/testsuite/lib/dwarf.exp
index 4e6879a..52886d0 100644
--- a/gdb/testsuite/lib/dwarf.exp
+++ b/gdb/testsuite/lib/dwarf.exp
@@ -1216,6 +1216,10 @@ namespace eval Dwarf {
 		    _op .sleb128 $argvec(offset)
 		}
 
+		DW_OP_fbreg {
+		    _op .sleb128 [lindex $line 1]
+		}
+
 		default {
 		    if {[llength $line] > 1} {
 			error "Unimplemented: operands in location for $opcode"