From: sashiko-bot@kernel.org
To: "Oliver Upton" <oupton@kernel.org>
Cc: kvmarm@lists.linux.dev, "Marc Zyngier" <maz@kernel.org>
Subject: Re: [PATCH 16/22] KVM: arm64: nv: Expose FEAT_HAFDBS
Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2026 19:01:09 +0000 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260623190109.CC8981F00A3A@smtp.kernel.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260623184201.1518871-17-oupton@kernel.org>
Thank you for your contribution! Sashiko AI review found 1 potential issue(s) to consider:
Pre-existing issues:
- [High] KVM will double-fault on the first write to any DBM-enabled page in a nested guest due to stale dirty state evaluation.
--
commit 559268b60f71702530e79a26ecefcf5b5cf06620
Author: Oliver Upton <oupton@kernel.org>
KVM: arm64: nv: Expose FEAT_HAFDBS
This commit enables FEAT_HAFDBS (Hardware Access Flag and Dirty Bit Management)
for nested virtual machines by advertising DBM support to the guest.
> diff --git a/arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c b/arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c
> index 4d128003ae7a5..2408d604a1e18 100644
> --- a/arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c
> +++ b/arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c
> @@ -1790,7 +1790,7 @@ u64 limit_nv_id_reg(struct kvm *kvm, u32 reg, u64 val)
> if (test_bit(KVM_ARM_VCPU_HAS_EL2_E2H0, kvm->arch.vcpu_features))
> val &= ~ID_AA64MMFR1_EL1_VH;
>
> - val = ID_REG_LIMIT_FIELD_ENUM(val, ID_AA64MMFR1_EL1, HAFDBS, AF);
> + val = ID_REG_LIMIT_FIELD_ENUM(val, ID_AA64MMFR1_EL1, HAFDBS, DBM);
[Severity: High]
This is a pre-existing issue, but exposing DBM here appears to cause a
performance regression where a nested guest will double-fault on the first
write to any DBM-enabled page.
In walk_nested_s2_pgd(), the code evaluates the stale descriptor before
atomic-swapping the dirty bit into memory:
arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c:walk_nested_s2_pgd() {
...
compute_s2_permissions(vcpu, wi, &ws, out);
out->level = ws.level;
out->desc = ws.desc;
ret = handle_desc_update(vcpu, wi, &ws, out, access);
if (ret)
return ret;
...
}
If handle_desc_update() successfully updates the descriptor, it returns 0
without updating out->dirty or out->desc:
arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c:handle_desc_update() {
...
ret = __kvm_at_swap_desc(vcpu->kvm, ws->desc_pa, old, new);
if (!ret || ret == -EAGAIN)
return ret;
out->esr = ESR_ELx_FSC_SEA_TTW(ws->level);
out->desc = ws->desc;
return 1;
}
Because out->dirty remains false after the successful update, does
adjust_nested_fault_perms() strip the writable permission, forcing a second
VM exit when the guest resumes?
Should walk_nested_s2_pgd() or handle_desc_update() be modified to re-evaluate
the permissions upon success before enabling DBM?
--
Sashiko AI review · https://sashiko.dev/#/patchset/20260623184201.1518871-1-oupton@kernel.org?part=16
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-06-23 19:01 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 40+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-06-23 18:41 [PATCH 00/22] KVM: arm64: nv: Implement FEAT_HAFDBS, FEAT_HAFT Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 01/22] KVM: arm64: nv: Introduce struct for stage-2 walk step Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 02/22] KVM: arm64: nv: Consolidate computation of stage-2 permissions Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:57 ` sashiko-bot
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 03/22] KVM: arm64: nv: Get rid of kvm_s2_trans*() accessors Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 04/22] KVM: arm64: nv: Only shadow writable-dirty guest descs as writable Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:58 ` sashiko-bot
2026-06-23 20:05 ` Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 05/22] KVM: arm64: nv: Pass an access descriptor for stage-2 walks Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 19:06 ` sashiko-bot
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 06/22] KVM: arm64: nv: Use a helper for stage-2 descriptor updates Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 07/22] KVM: arm64: nv: Set dirty state at stage-2 Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 19:03 ` sashiko-bot
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 08/22] KVM: arm64: nv: Treat DBM as writable " Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:55 ` sashiko-bot
2026-06-23 20:08 ` Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 09/22] KVM: arm64: Compute S1 permissions as part of s1_walk() Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 10/22] KVM: arm64: Plumb through access descriptor for stage-1 Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 11/22] KVM: arm64: Use a struct for stage-1 walk context Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 12/22] KVM: arm64: Create helper for stage-1 descriptor updates Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:55 ` sashiko-bot
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 13/22] KVM: arm64: Set dirty state at stage-1 Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:54 ` sashiko-bot
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 14/22] KVM: arm64: Grant write permission when DBM is set at S1 Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:57 ` sashiko-bot
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 15/22] KVM: arm64: Don't update descriptors for "non-arch" access Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 16/22] KVM: arm64: nv: Expose FEAT_HAFDBS Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 19:01 ` sashiko-bot [this message]
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 17/22] KVM: arm64: Set Access flag on table descriptors at stage-1 Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 20:56 ` sashiko-bot
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 18/22] KVM: arm64: nv: Set access flag on table descriptors at stage-2 Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 19:05 ` sashiko-bot
2026-06-23 20:14 ` Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 19/22] KVM: arm64: nv: Expose FEAT_HAFT Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 19:05 ` sashiko-bot
2026-06-23 18:41 ` [PATCH 20/22] KVM: arm64: selftests: Only test AF behavior for emulated AT insns Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:42 ` [PATCH 21/22] KVM: arm64: selftests: Test AT emulation for FEAT_HAFT Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 19:05 ` sashiko-bot
2026-06-23 20:17 ` Oliver Upton
2026-06-23 18:42 ` [PATCH 22/22] HACK: KVM: arm64: nv: Set the dirty state for CMOs that fetch for write Oliver Upton
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