diff --git a/kernel/cpu.c b/kernel/cpu.c
index 0575197deb4a..a4eb5227a19e 100644
--- a/kernel/cpu.c
+++ b/kernel/cpu.c
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 #include <linux/oom.h>
 #include <linux/rcupdate.h>
 #include <linux/export.h>
+#include <linux/bug.h>
 #include <linux/kthread.h>
 #include <linux/stop_machine.h>
 #include <linux/mutex.h>
@@ -175,6 +176,18 @@ void __ref unregister_cpu_notifier(struct notifier_block *nb)
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL(unregister_cpu_notifier);
 
+/**
+ * clear_tasks_mm_cpumask - Safely clear tasks' mm_cpumask for a CPU
+ * @cpu: a CPU id
+ *
+ * This function walks all processes, finds a valid mm struct for each one and
+ * then clears a corresponding bit in mm's cpumask.  While this all sounds
+ * trivial, there are various non-obvious corner cases, which this function
+ * tries to solve in a safe manner.
+ *
+ * Also note that the function uses a somewhat relaxed locking scheme, so it may
+ * be called only for an already offlined CPU.
+ */
 void clear_tasks_mm_cpumask(int cpu)
 {
 	struct task_struct *p;
@@ -186,10 +199,15 @@ void clear_tasks_mm_cpumask(int cpu)
 	 * Thus, we may use rcu_read_lock() here, instead of grabbing
 	 * full-fledged tasklist_lock.
 	 */
+	WARN_ON(cpu_online(cpu));
 	rcu_read_lock();
 	for_each_process(p) {
 		struct task_struct *t;
 
+		/*
+		 * Main thread might exit, but other threads may still have
+		 * a valid mm. Find one.
+		 */
 		t = find_lock_task_mm(p);
 		if (!t)
 			continue;