[PATCH v6 01/39] KVM: arm64: vgic-v3: Drop userspace write sanitization for ID_AA64PFR0.GIC on GICv5

Sascha Bischoff
2026-03-17T11:41:22Z

Drop a check that blocked userspace writes to ID_AA64PFR0_EL1 for
writes that set the GIC field to 0 (NI) on GICv5 hosts. There is no
such check for GICv3 native systems, and having inconsistent behaviour
both complicates the logic and risks breaking existing userspace
software that expects to be able to write the register.

This means that userspace is now able to create a GICv3 guest on GICv5
hosts, and disable the guest from seeing that it has a GICv3. This
matches the already existing behaviour for GICv3-native VMs.

Signed-off-by: Sascha Bischoff <sascha.bischoff@arm.com>
---
arch/arm64/kvm/sys_regs.c | 8 --------
1 file changed, 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/arch/arm64/kvm/sys_regs.c b/arch/arm64/kvm/sys_regs.c
index 1b4cacb6e918a..4b9f4e5d946b1 100644
--- a/arch/arm64/kvm/sys_regs.c
+++ b/arch/arm64/kvm/sys_regs.c
@@ -2177,14 +2177,6 @@ static int set_id_aa64pfr0_el1(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu,
(vcpu_has_nv(vcpu) && !FIELD_GET(ID_AA64PFR0_EL1_EL2, user_val)))
return -EINVAL;

- /*
- * If we are running on a GICv5 host and support FEAT_GCIE_LEGACY, then
- * we support GICv3. Fail attempts to do anything but set that to IMP.
- */
- if (vgic_is_v3_compat(vcpu->kvm) &&
- FIELD_GET(ID_AA64PFR0_EL1_GIC_MASK, user_val) != ID_AA64PFR0_EL1_GIC_IMP)
- return -EINVAL;
-
return set_id_reg(vcpu, rd, user_val);
}

--
2.34.1