From: Zhuoying Cai <zycai@linux.ibm.com>
To: thuth@redhat.com, berrange@redhat.com,
richard.henderson@linaro.org, jrossi@linux.ibm.com,
qemu-s390x@nongnu.org, qemu-devel@nongnu.org
Cc: david@kernel.org, walling@linux.ibm.com, jjherne@linux.ibm.com,
pasic@linux.ibm.com, borntraeger@linux.ibm.com,
farman@linux.ibm.com, mjrosato@linux.ibm.com, iii@linux.ibm.com,
eblake@redhat.com, armbru@redhat.com, zycai@linux.ibm.com,
alifm@linux.ibm.com, brueckner@linux.ibm.com
Subject: [PATCH v8 30/30] docs/system/s390x: Add secure IPL documentation
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2026 15:43:51 -0500 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260212204352.1044699-31-zycai@linux.ibm.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260212204352.1044699-1-zycai@linux.ibm.com>
Add documentation for secure IPL
Signed-off-by: Collin Walling <walling@linux.ibm.com>
Signed-off-by: Zhuoying Cai <zycai@linux.ibm.com>
---
docs/system/s390x/secure-ipl.rst | 96 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 file changed, 96 insertions(+)
diff --git a/docs/system/s390x/secure-ipl.rst b/docs/system/s390x/secure-ipl.rst
index e0af086c38..275aa422c7 100644
--- a/docs/system/s390x/secure-ipl.rst
+++ b/docs/system/s390x/secure-ipl.rst
@@ -1,5 +1,21 @@
.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later
+s390 Secure IPL
+===============
+
+Secure IPL, also known as secure boot, enables s390-ccw virtual machines to
+verify the integrity of guest kernels.
+
+For technical details of this feature, see ``docs/specs/s390x-secure-ipl.rst``.
+
+This document explains how to use secure IPL with s390x in QEMU. It covers
+new command line options for providing certificates and enabling secure IPL,
+the different IPL modes (Normal, Audit, and Secure), and system requirements.
+
+A quickstart guide is provided to demonstrate how to generate certificates,
+sign images, and start a guest in Secure Mode.
+
+
Secure IPL Command Line Options
===============================
@@ -78,3 +94,83 @@ Configuration:
.. code-block:: shell
qemu-system-s390x -machine s390-ccw-virtio,secure-boot=on,boot-certs.0.path=/.../qemu/certs,boot-certs.1.path=/another/path/cert.pem ...
+
+
+Constraints
+===========
+
+The following constraints apply when attempting to secure IPL an s390 guest:
+
+- z16 or "qemu" CPU model
+- certificates must be in X.509 PEM format
+- only support for SCSI scheme of virtio-blk/virtio-scsi devices
+- a boot device must be specified
+- any unsupported devices (e.g., ECKD and VFIO) or non-eligible devices (e.g.,
+ network) will cause the entire boot process terminating early with an error
+ logged to the console.
+
+
+Secure IPL Quickstart
+=====================
+
+Build QEMU with gnutls enabled
+-------------------------------
+
+.. code-block:: shell
+
+ ./configure … --enable-gnutls
+
+Generate certificate (e.g. via certtool)
+----------------------------------------
+
+A private key is required before generating a certificate. This key must be kept
+secure and confidential.
+
+Use an RSA private key for signing.
+
+.. code-block:: shell
+
+ certtool --generate-privkey > key.pem
+
+A self-signed certificate requires the organization name. Use the ``cert.info``
+template to pre-fill values and avoid interactive prompts from certtool.
+
+.. code-block:: shell
+
+ cat > cert.info <<EOF
+ cn = "My Name"
+ expiration_days = 36500
+ cert_signing_key
+ EOF
+
+ certtool --generate-self-signed \
+ --load-privkey key.pem \
+ --template cert.info \
+ --hash=SHA256 \
+ --outfile cert.pem
+
+Sign Images (e.g. via sign-file)
+--------------------------------
+
+- signing must be performed on a KVM guest filesystem
+- sign-file script used in the example below is located within the kernel source
+ repo
+
+.. code-block:: shell
+
+ ./sign-file sha256 key.pem cert.pem /boot/vmlinuz-…
+ ./sign-file sha256 key.pem cert.pem /usr/lib/s390-tools/stage3.bin
+
+Run zipl with secure boot enabled
+---------------------------------
+
+.. code-block:: shell
+
+ zipl --secure 1 -V
+
+Command line options for starting the guest
+----------------------------
+
+.. code-block:: shell
+
+ qemu-system-s390x -machine s390-ccw-virtio,secure-boot=on,boot-certs.0.path=cert.pem ...
--
2.52.0
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-02-12 20:46 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 72+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-02-12 20:43 [PATCH v8 00/30] Secure IPL Support for SCSI Scheme of virtio-blk/virtio-scsi Devices Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 01/30] Add boot-certs to s390-ccw-virtio machine type option Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-17 8:30 ` Markus Armbruster
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 02/30] crypto/x509-utils: Refactor with GNUTLS fallback Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 03/30] crypto/x509-utils: Add helper functions for certificate store Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 04/30] hw/s390x/ipl: Create " Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-26 16:02 ` Thomas Huth
2026-02-28 1:45 ` Zhuoying Cai
2026-03-05 21:34 ` Farhan Ali
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 05/30] s390x/diag: Introduce DIAG 320 for Certificate Store Facility Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-27 12:41 ` Thomas Huth
2026-02-28 1:47 ` Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 06/30] s390x/diag: Refactor address validation check from diag308_parm_check Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-27 12:46 ` Thomas Huth
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 07/30] s390x/diag: Implement DIAG 320 subcode 1 Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-27 12:58 ` Thomas Huth
2026-02-28 2:15 ` Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-28 12:51 ` Thomas Huth
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 08/30] crypto/x509-utils: Add helper functions for DIAG 320 subcode 2 Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-28 13:43 ` Thomas Huth
2026-03-03 21:02 ` Zhuoying Cai
2026-03-04 7:26 ` Thomas Huth
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 09/30] s390x/diag: Implement " Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-17 8:18 ` Markus Armbruster
2026-02-17 21:29 ` Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-28 2:25 ` Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-28 14:07 ` Thomas Huth
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 10/30] s390x/diag: Introduce DIAG 508 for secure IPL operations Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 11/30] crypto/x509-utils: Add helper functions for DIAG 508 subcode 1 Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 12/30] s390x/diag: Implement DIAG 508 subcode 1 for signature verification Zhuoying Cai
2026-03-03 20:22 ` Farhan Ali
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 13/30] s390x/ipl: Introduce IPL Information Report Block (IIRB) Zhuoying Cai
2026-03-03 20:38 ` Farhan Ali
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 14/30] pc-bios/s390-ccw: Define memory for IPLB and convert IPLB to pointers Zhuoying Cai
2026-03-02 9:56 ` Thomas Huth
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 15/30] hw/s390x/ipl: Add IPIB flags to IPL Parameter Block Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 16/30] s390x: Guest support for Secure-IPL Facility Zhuoying Cai
2026-03-02 10:03 ` Thomas Huth
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 17/30] pc-bios/s390-ccw: Refactor zipl_run() Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 18/30] pc-bios/s390-ccw: Rework zipl_load_segment function Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 19/30] pc-bios/s390-ccw: Add signature verification for secure IPL in audit mode Zhuoying Cai
2026-03-02 10:48 ` Thomas Huth
2026-03-03 21:46 ` Farhan Ali
2026-03-04 22:17 ` Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 20/30] pc-bios/s390-ccw: Add signed component address overlap checks Zhuoying Cai
2026-03-02 11:01 ` Thomas Huth
2026-03-03 22:07 ` Farhan Ali
2026-03-03 22:36 ` Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 21/30] s390x: Guest support for Secure-IPL Code Loading Attributes Facility (SCLAF) Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-17 8:06 ` Markus Armbruster
2026-02-17 8:19 ` Markus Armbruster
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 22/30] pc-bios/s390-ccw: Add additional security checks for secure boot Zhuoying Cai
2026-03-02 11:24 ` Thomas Huth
2026-03-03 21:17 ` Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 23/30] Add secure-boot to s390-ccw-virtio machine type option Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 24/30] hw/s390x/ipl: Set IPIB flags for secure IPL Zhuoying Cai
2026-03-02 11:34 ` Thomas Huth
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 25/30] pc-bios/s390-ccw: Handle true secure IPL mode Zhuoying Cai
2026-03-02 12:53 ` Thomas Huth
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 26/30] hw/s390x/ipl: Handle secure boot with multiple boot devices Zhuoying Cai
2026-03-02 12:59 ` Thomas Huth
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 27/30] hw/s390x/ipl: Handle secure boot without specifying a boot device Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 28/30] tests/functional/s390x: Add secure IPL functional test Zhuoying Cai
2026-03-02 13:35 ` Thomas Huth
2026-03-03 22:07 ` Zhuoying Cai
2026-02-12 20:43 ` [PATCH v8 29/30] docs/specs: Add secure IPL documentation Zhuoying Cai
2026-03-02 13:45 ` Thomas Huth
2026-02-12 20:43 ` Zhuoying Cai [this message]
2026-02-17 8:06 ` [PATCH v8 30/30] docs/system/s390x: " Markus Armbruster
2026-02-17 8:20 ` Markus Armbruster
2026-02-17 20:29 ` Zhuoying Cai
2026-03-02 16:24 ` Thomas Huth
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