* [PATCH] KVM: x86: Emulate SYSENTER in 64-bit mode for Intel-compatible vCPUs
@ 2026-10-21 2:10 Hao Zhang
0 siblings, 0 replies; only message in thread
From: Hao Zhang @ 2026-10-21 2:10 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: Sean Christopherson; +Cc: Paolo Bonzini, kvm, linux-kernel
From: Hao Zhang <zhanghao1@kylinos.cn>
Intel allows SYSENTER in both IA-32e submodes, whereas AMD raises #UD
in either submode. On AMD hosts, KVM intercepts #UD and emulates
SYSENTER to support Intel-compatible vCPUs.
However, em_sysenter() unconditionally rejects execution from 64-bit
mode. As a result, a valid SYSENTER in an Intel-compatible guest can
fail emulation instead of entering the guest's kernel. For a
non-nested guest at CPL0, this results in a
KVM_INTERNAL_ERROR_EMULATION exit to userspace even when
KVM_CAP_EXIT_ON_EMULATION_FAILURE is not enabled.
Remove the unconditional rejection. The existing IA-32e path already
loads the full-width SYSENTER EIP and ESP values and installs the
required CS and SS attributes.
Also reject SYSENTER for AMD-compatible vCPUs whenever EFER.LMA is
set, covering both compatibility and 64-bit modes. This preserves
AMD's architectural #UD behavior instead of attempting Intel-style
emulation or reporting an emulation failure.
See the SYSENTER instruction descriptions in Intel SDM Volume 2 and
AMD APM Volume 3.
Signed-off-by: Hao Zhang <zhanghao1@kylinos.cn>
---
arch/x86/kvm/emulate.c | 10 +++-------
1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)
diff --git a/arch/x86/kvm/emulate.c b/arch/x86/kvm/emulate.c
index c1b21282187f..695957ebd871 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kvm/emulate.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kvm/emulate.c
@@ -2413,17 +2413,13 @@ static int em_sysenter(struct x86_emulate_ctxt *ctxt)
return emulate_gp(ctxt, 0);
/*
- * Intel's architecture allows SYSENTER in compatibility mode, but AMD
- * does not. Note, AMD does allow SYSENTER in legacy protected mode.
+ * Intel allows SYSENTER in both IA-32e submodes, but AMD does not
+ * allow SYSENTER in either. Both allow it in legacy protected mode.
*/
- if ((ctxt->mode != X86EMUL_MODE_PROT64) && (efer & EFER_LMA) &&
+ if ((efer & EFER_LMA) &&
!ctxt->ops->guest_cpuid_is_intel_compatible(ctxt))
return emulate_ud(ctxt);
- /* sysenter/sysexit have not been tested in 64bit mode. */
- if (ctxt->mode == X86EMUL_MODE_PROT64)
- return X86EMUL_UNHANDLEABLE;
-
ops->get_msr(ctxt, MSR_IA32_SYSENTER_CS, &msr_data);
if ((msr_data & 0xfffc) == 0x0)
return emulate_gp(ctxt, 0);
base-commit: 6c377d19d4a5116d9bec5203aa3c6c11523e7898
--
2.15.0
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2026-10-21 2:10 [PATCH] KVM: x86: Emulate SYSENTER in 64-bit mode for Intel-compatible vCPUs Hao Zhang
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