From: sashiko-bot@kernel.org
To: "Marc Zyngier" <maz@kernel.org>
Cc: "Oliver Upton" <oupton@kernel.org>,
"Marc Zyngier" <maz@kernel.org>,
kvm@vger.kernel.org, kvmarm@lists.linux.dev
Subject: Re: [PATCH 6/6] KVM: arm64: Add VNCR TLB tracking again
Date: Sat, 01 Aug 2026 13:04:53 +0000 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260801130454.5D9F11F00AC4@smtp.kernel.org> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260801124818.366274-7-maz@kernel.org>
Thank you for your contribution! Sashiko AI review found 3 potential issue(s) to consider:
Pre-existing issues:
- [Critical] Cross-CPU invalidation of VNCR TLBs (e.g., via MMU notifiers) clears the fixmap and resets `vt->cpu` but fails to clear the per-CPU `L1_VNCR_MAPPED` flag on the CPU where the vCPU is running. When the vCPU is subsequently scheduled out, `this_cpu_reset_vncr_fixmap()` checks the local flag, finds it set, and hits a `BUG_ON` because `vt->cpu` is `-1`. This allows unprivileged host userspace to panic the host kernel.
- [High] The fast-path check in `kvm_hyp_handle_tlbi_el2()` skips VNCR TLB invalidation for EL2 TLBI instructions when `E2H` or `TGE` is 0, leaving stale translations in the software VNCR TLB.
- [High] A TOCTOU race exists between lockless guest page table walks and guest TLBI intercepts, allowing stale VNCR translations to survive invalidation.
--
--- Patch [6]: [PATCH 6/6] KVM: arm64: Add VNCR TLB tracking again ---
commit bde680578e8485472440ba4858d93cb92173897d
Author: Marc Zyngier <maz@kernel.org>
Date: Sat Aug 1 12:48:18 2026 +0000
KVM: arm64: Add VNCR TLB tracking again
This patch re-introduces VNCR TLB tracking to force EL2 S1 TLBI handling
onto the slow path when valid VNCR TLBs exist. It uses a VM-wide atomic
counter to track the presence of valid VNCR TLBs, updating it under the
MMU lock.
> diff --git a/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/vhe/switch.c b/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/vhe/switch.c
> index c09b1d411c584..eb59549ec2172 100644
> --- a/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/vhe/switch.c
> +++ b/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/vhe/switch.c
> @@ -424,10 +424,11 @@ static bool kvm_hyp_handle_tlbi_el2(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, u64 *exit_code)
> return false;
>
> /*
> - * If we have to check for any VNCR mapping being invalidated,
> + * If we have to check for any VNCR TLB being invalidated,
> * go back to the slow path for further processing.
> */
> - if (vcpu_el2_e2h_is_set(vcpu) && vcpu_el2_tge_is_set(vcpu))
> + if (vcpu_el2_e2h_is_set(vcpu) && vcpu_el2_tge_is_set(vcpu) &&
> + atomic_read(&vcpu->kvm->arch.vncr_tlb_count))
> return false;
[Severity: High]
This isn't a bug introduced by this patch, but does this check skip VNCR TLB
invalidation for EL2 TLBI instructions when the guest is in nVHE mode?
If a guest running with E2H=0 changes its EL2 page tables for the VNCR_EL2
mapping and issues an EL2 TLBI, this condition evaluates to false.
The fast-path will return true, skipping the slow path that would normally
handle the invalidation. Could this leave stale translations in the software
VNCR TLB?
> diff --git a/arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c b/arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c
> index 8d5b0208ad728..2a7dd9f9fb597 100644
> --- a/arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c
> +++ b/arch/arm64/kvm/nested.c
[ ... ]
> @@ -998,9 +999,11 @@ u16 get_asid_by_regime(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, enum trans_regime regime)
> return asid;
> }
>
> -static void invalidate_vncr(struct vncr_tlb *vt)
> +static void invalidate_vncr(struct kvm *kvm, struct vncr_tlb *vt)
> {
> + BUG_ON(!vt->valid);
> vt->valid = false;
> + atomic_dec(&kvm->arch.vncr_tlb_count);
> if (vt->cpu != -1)
> unmap_l1_vncr(vt);
> }
[Severity: Critical]
This is a pre-existing issue, but does this cross-CPU invalidation path leave
the per-CPU L1_VNCR_MAPPED flag set locally?
If an MMU notifier on CPU B calls kvm_invalidate_vncr_ipa() which reaches
invalidate_vncr(), unmap_l1_vncr() will clear the fixmap and set vt->cpu = -1.
When CPU A (which was running the vCPU) exits the guest and calls
this_cpu_reset_vncr_fixmap(), won't it see its local L1_VNCR_MAPPED flag still
set and trigger BUG_ON(vcpu->arch.vncr_tlb->cpu != smp_processor_id()) because
vt->cpu is now -1?
[ ... ]
> @@ -1460,6 +1471,8 @@ static int kvm_translate_vncr(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, bool *is_gmem)
> vt->valid = true;
> vt->cpu = -1;
>
> + atomic_inc(&vcpu->kvm->arch.vncr_tlb_count);
> +
> kvm_make_request(KVM_REQ_MAP_L1_VNCR_EL2, vcpu);
> kvm_release_faultin_page(vcpu->kvm, page, false, vt->wr.pw && vt->hpa_writable);
> }
[Severity: High]
This is a pre-existing issue, but is there a time-of-check to time-of-use race
between the lockless guest page table walk and guest TLBI intercepts here?
CPU1 locklessly resolves the guest virtual address via __kvm_translate_va()
earlier in kvm_translate_vncr().
Before CPU1 acquires the mmu_lock and increments vncr_tlb_count, CPU2 could
modify the guest page table and issue a TLBI.
The TLBI on CPU2 would see vncr_tlb_count == 0 (or vt->valid == false) and
complete. CPU1 would then acquire mmu_lock, pass the mmu_invalidate_retry()
check (which only tracks host MMU notifiers), and install the stale
translation.
Could this result in caching a stale VNCR mapping?
--
Sashiko AI review · https://sashiko.dev/#/patchset/20260801124818.366274-1-maz@kernel.org?part=6
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-08-01 13:04 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 18+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-08-01 12:48 [PATCH 0/6] KVM: arm64: VNCR TLB invalidation fixes Marc Zyngier
2026-08-01 12:48 ` [PATCH 1/6] KVM: arm64: Remove VM-wide VNCR mapping counter Marc Zyngier
2026-08-01 13:08 ` sashiko-bot
2026-08-01 13:19 ` Marc Zyngier
2026-08-01 12:48 ` [PATCH 2/6] KVM: arm64: Handle negative S1 walk levels in VNCR TLB size evaluation Marc Zyngier
2026-08-01 13:02 ` sashiko-bot
2026-08-01 13:20 ` Marc Zyngier
2026-08-01 12:48 ` [PATCH 3/6] KVM: arm64: Consider SCTLR_EL2.M when mapping the L1 VNCR page Marc Zyngier
2026-08-01 13:10 ` sashiko-bot
2026-08-01 12:48 ` [PATCH 4/6] KVM: arm64: Correctly handle end of VA space TLBI invalidation Marc Zyngier
2026-08-01 13:03 ` sashiko-bot
2026-08-01 13:40 ` Marc Zyngier
2026-08-01 12:48 ` [PATCH 5/6] KVM: arm64: Couple VNCR fixmap clearing and CPU number invalidation Marc Zyngier
2026-08-01 13:02 ` sashiko-bot
2026-08-01 14:51 ` Marc Zyngier
2026-08-01 12:48 ` [PATCH 6/6] KVM: arm64: Add VNCR TLB tracking again Marc Zyngier
2026-08-01 13:04 ` sashiko-bot [this message]
2026-08-01 17:01 ` Marc Zyngier
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