From: Zhuoying Cai <zycai@linux.ibm.com>
To: qemu-s390x@nongnu.org, qemu-devel@nongnu.org
Cc: jrossi@linux.ibm.com, cohuck@redhat.com, berrange@redhat.com,
richard.henderson@linaro.org, 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,
pierrick.bouvier@oss.qualcomm.com, jdaley@linux.ibm.com
Subject: [PATCH v12 35/35] docs/system/s390x: Add secure IPL documentation
Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2026 16:49:21 -0400 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260701204922.1320349-36-zycai@linux.ibm.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260701204922.1320349-1-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>
Reviewed-by: Joshua Daley <jdaley@linux.ibm.com>
---
docs/system/s390x/secure-ipl.rst | 103 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 file changed, 103 insertions(+)
diff --git a/docs/system/s390x/secure-ipl.rst b/docs/system/s390x/secure-ipl.rst
index c8fb887ac0..91c9c4be11 100644
--- a/docs/system/s390x/secure-ipl.rst
+++ b/docs/system/s390x/secure-ipl.rst
@@ -1,5 +1,22 @@
.. 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 the
+:doc:`specs document </specs/s390x-secure-ipl>`.
+
+This document explains how to use secure IPL with s390x in QEMU. It covers
+the 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
-------------------------------
@@ -79,3 +96,89 @@ 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 boot an s390x guest in secure
+mode:
+
+- 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 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
+
+Note: re-signing a component will not verify correctly; the existing signature
+must be stripped before a new one is applied.
+
+Run zipl with secure boot enabled
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+- zipl must be performed on a guest filesystem
+
+.. 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 ...
--
2.54.0
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-07-01 20:54 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 71+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-07-01 20:48 [PATCH v12 00/35] Secure IPL Support for SCSI Scheme of virtio-blk/virtio-scsi Devices Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:48 ` [PATCH v12 01/35] Add boot-certs to s390-ccw-virtio machine type option Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 23:30 ` Jared Rossi
2026-07-02 0:47 ` Matthew Rosato
2026-07-02 17:12 ` Matthew Rosato
2026-07-01 20:48 ` [PATCH v12 02/35] crypto/x509-utils: Refactor with GNUTLS fallback Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:48 ` [PATCH v12 03/35] crypto/x509-utils: Add helper functions for certificate store Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:48 ` [PATCH v12 04/35] hw/s390x/ipl: Create " Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 0:41 ` Jared Rossi
2026-07-01 20:48 ` [PATCH v12 05/35] s390x/diag: Introduce DIAG 320 for Certificate Store Facility Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:48 ` [PATCH v12 06/35] s390x/diag: Refactor address validation check from diag308_parm_check Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:48 ` [PATCH v12 07/35] s390x/diag: Implement DIAG 320 subcode 1 Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 3:52 ` Eric Farman
2026-07-01 20:48 ` [PATCH v12 08/35] crypto/x509-utils: Add helper functions for DIAG 320 subcode 2 Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:48 ` [PATCH v12 09/35] s390x/diag: Implement " Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 23:29 ` Matthew Rosato
2026-07-02 3:41 ` Eric Farman
2026-07-01 20:48 ` [PATCH v12 10/35] hw/s390x: Define finite size for single entry VCEntry Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 1:02 ` Matthew Rosato
2026-07-02 3:54 ` Eric Farman
2026-07-01 20:48 ` [PATCH v12 11/35] s390x/diag: Introduce DIAG 508 for secure IPL operations Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:48 ` [PATCH v12 12/35] crypto/x509-utils: Add helper functions for DIAG 508 subcode 1 Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:48 ` [PATCH v12 13/35] s390x/diag: generalize s390_ipl_read/write to accept void * Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 1:30 ` Jared Rossi
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 14/35] s390x/diag: Implement DIAG 508 subcode 1 for signature verification Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 15/35] s390x/ipl: Introduce IPL Information Report Block (IIRB) Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 1:39 ` Jared Rossi
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 16/35] pc-bios/s390-ccw: Define memory for IPLB and convert IPLB to pointers Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 1:42 ` Jared Rossi
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 17/35] hw/s390x/ipl: Add IPIB flags to IPL Parameter Block Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 1:47 ` Jared Rossi
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 18/35] hw/s390x/ipl: Rework s390_ipl_map_iplb_chain for certificate storage Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 14:56 ` Eric Farman
2026-07-02 15:38 ` Jared Rossi
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 19/35] s390x: Guest support for Secure-IPL Facility Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 20/35] pc-bios/s390-ccw: Refactor zipl_run() Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 21/35] pc-bios/s390-ccw: Rework zipl_load_segment function Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 1:58 ` Jared Rossi
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 22/35] pc-bios/s390-ccw: Introduce ZiplBootMode enum for IPL mode selection Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 2:01 ` Jared Rossi
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 23/35] pc-bios/s390-ccw: Add signature verification for secure IPL in audit mode Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 4:08 ` Eric Farman
2026-07-02 14:13 ` Jared Rossi
2026-07-02 15:26 ` Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 16:11 ` Jared Rossi
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 24/35] pc-bios/s390-ccw: Add signed component address overlap checks Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 2:49 ` Jared Rossi
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 25/35] s390x: Guest support for Secure-IPL Code Loading Attributes Facility (SCLAF) Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 26/35] pc-bios/s390-ccw: Add additional security checks for secure boot Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 16:08 ` Eric Farman
2026-07-02 20:47 ` Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-03 2:27 ` Eric Farman
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 27/35] Add secure-boot to s390-ccw-virtio machine type option Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 28/35] hw/s390x/ipl: Set IPIB flags for secure IPL Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 3:16 ` Jared Rossi
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 29/35] pc-bios/s390-ccw: Handle true secure IPL mode Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 30/35] hw/s390x/ipl: Handle secure boot with multiple boot devices Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 31/35] hw/s390x/ipl: Handle secure boot without specifying a boot device Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 3:28 ` Jared Rossi
2026-07-02 21:15 ` Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 32/35] s390x/ipl: re-apply secure boot flags on DIAG 308 reboot Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 3:47 ` Jared Rossi
2026-07-02 17:25 ` Jason J. Herne
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 33/35] tests/functional/s390x: Add secure IPL functional test Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 1:48 ` Matthew Rosato
2026-07-02 15:38 ` Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 16:06 ` Matthew Rosato
2026-07-01 20:49 ` [PATCH v12 34/35] docs/specs: Add secure IPL documentation Zhuoying Cai
2026-07-02 2:54 ` Matthew Rosato
2026-07-01 20:49 ` Zhuoying Cai [this message]
2026-07-02 3:06 ` [PATCH v12 35/35] docs/system/s390x: " Matthew Rosato
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