* [RFC PATCH 0/2] KVM: arm64: Support BBM level 3
@ 2026-07-17 13:08 Mostafa Saleh
2026-07-17 13:08 ` [RFC PATCH 1/2] KVM: arm64: Add stage2_clean_old_pte() Mostafa Saleh
2026-07-17 13:09 ` [RFC PATCH 2/2] KVM: arm64: Support BBM level 3 Mostafa Saleh
0 siblings, 2 replies; 3+ messages in thread
From: Mostafa Saleh @ 2026-07-17 13:08 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: linux-kernel, kvmarm, linux-arm-kernel
Cc: maz, oupton, seiden, joey.gouly, suzuki.poulose, yuzenghui,
catalin.marinas, will, vdonnefort, tabba, Mostafa Saleh
This patch series adds support for BBM level 3 to KVM pgtable, it
depends on [1]
Motivation
==========
I have been looking into this for the context of:
- Page table sharing between the host CPU stage-2 and the SMMUv3 for
protected KVM.
- Use the pagtable code to populate SMMUv3 stage-2 shadowed
page table [2]
However, BBM level 3 is still useful for CPU only operations as it
avoids intermediately breaking translation.
Design
======
Some of the conditions that BBM level 3 will be useful in (RWHZWS):
1) A change to a PTE memory type, shareability, cacheability or OA
2) Changing from block to table
3) Changing from table to block
At the moment in the hyp page table code:
- For #1) stage2_map_walker_try_leaf(): Replaces a leaf with another
one which does not match the same OA/perms/attrs.
- For #2) Switch block to table is used from:
- kvm_pgtable_stage2_split(): Explicitly splitting a block (used
for dirty logging), where a block is replaced by a table with
the same attributes.
- stage2_map_walk_leaf(): Updating a mapping that is partially
part of an existing block.
- #3) Does not exist in the code at the moment as coalescing is not
supported.
The first patch is a preparation to be able to clean up the old pte
for BBML3, the second patch adds the main logic.
Initially, I encapsulated the full logic of BBM in one function,
which was not readable, due to different ordering and dealing with
CMO, TLBI.
Instead, I kept the logic into 2 functions, where BBML3 is added in
the make step.
One interesting case, as BBML3 will update the PTE atomically, it
can only know it raced with another core at the point of the cmpxchg
failing, unlike the SW implementation which locks the PTE first.
And as we must issue CMOs to the new mapped page before the update,
that means with BBML3 racing cores will issue redundant CMOs, to
improve this:
- We only use BBML3 if the old PTE was live
- To reduce the window of the race an early check is added before
the CMO to exit early, but that does not eliminate the race.
Testing
=======
This was tested:
- C1-Pro cores, unfortunately the version I have does not run
upstream, I backported the patches to Android kernel (6.18).
- mainline(7.2-rc3) kernel on a Qualcomm X1 with a hacked cpufeature
as it does not support BBM, I did not see conflict aborts or TLB
corruption.
I tested with VHE and protected (hvhe) modes, running VMs
(and protected), and running some selftests, that might exercise and
stress this path tools/testing/selftests/kvm:
- demand_paging_test
- memslot_perf_test
- memslot_modification_stress_test
- dirty_log_test
Future work
===========
Some other changes that would be useful for the SMMUv3:
- Eagerly install table on block split, we can now replace a block
with a fully populated table atomically when we unmap a partial
part of the block.
There is more to support page table sharing (such as dealing with
TLB invalidation, coherency…), I submitted a talk to LPC to discuss
this further.
[1] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-arm-kernel/20260715053408.1950475-1-linu.cherian@arm.com/
[2] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-iommu/20260715115906.2664882-1-smostafa@google.com/
Mostafa Saleh (2):
KVM: arm64: Add stage2_clean_old_pte()
KVM: arm64: Support BBM level 3
arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/pgtable.c | 118 ++++++++++++++++++++++++-----------
1 file changed, 82 insertions(+), 36 deletions(-)
--
2.55.0.229.g6434b31f56-goog
^ permalink raw reply [flat|nested] 3+ messages in thread
* [RFC PATCH 1/2] KVM: arm64: Add stage2_clean_old_pte()
2026-07-17 13:08 [RFC PATCH 0/2] KVM: arm64: Support BBM level 3 Mostafa Saleh
@ 2026-07-17 13:08 ` Mostafa Saleh
2026-07-17 13:09 ` [RFC PATCH 2/2] KVM: arm64: Support BBM level 3 Mostafa Saleh
1 sibling, 0 replies; 3+ messages in thread
From: Mostafa Saleh @ 2026-07-17 13:08 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: linux-kernel, kvmarm, linux-arm-kernel
Cc: maz, oupton, seiden, joey.gouly, suzuki.poulose, yuzenghui,
catalin.marinas, will, vdonnefort, tabba, Mostafa Saleh
At the moment, the pgtable code rely on BBM in SW which looks like:
Break: stage2_try_break_pte()
1) Break PTE and lock it
2) TLBI
3) Put the ref on the old PTE
Make: stage2_make_pte()
1) Get a ref on the new PTE
2) Install the live PTE
With BBML3, the sequence will look as
1) Get ref on the new PTE
2) Install new PTE
3) TLBI
4) Put the ref on the old PTE
Which requires moving step #2 #3 from the break function to the make
function, although it is possible to do that for SW BBM also, that
means the stage2_try_break_pte() did not fully break the PTE as it
is referenced in TLBs, although that works it seems fragile.
Instead, move this logic to a new function stage2_clean_old_pte()
that can be called from BBML3.
Signed-off-by: Mostafa Saleh <smostafa@google.com>
---
arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/pgtable.c | 67 ++++++++++++++++++++----------------
1 file changed, 37 insertions(+), 30 deletions(-)
diff --git a/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/pgtable.c b/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/pgtable.c
index 91a7dfad6686..127b7f9541b1 100644
--- a/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/pgtable.c
+++ b/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/pgtable.c
@@ -810,39 +810,10 @@ static bool stage2_try_set_pte(const struct kvm_pgtable_visit_ctx *ctx, kvm_pte_
return cmpxchg(ctx->ptep, ctx->old, new) == ctx->old;
}
-/**
- * stage2_try_break_pte() - Invalidates a pte according to the
- * 'break-before-make' requirements of the
- * architecture.
- *
- * @ctx: context of the visited pte.
- * @mmu: stage-2 mmu
- *
- * Returns: true if the pte was successfully broken.
- *
- * If the removed pte was valid, performs the necessary serialization and TLB
- * invalidation for the old value. For counted ptes, drops the reference count
- * on the containing table page.
- */
-static bool stage2_try_break_pte(const struct kvm_pgtable_visit_ctx *ctx,
+static void stage2_clean_old_pte(const struct kvm_pgtable_visit_ctx *ctx,
struct kvm_s2_mmu *mmu)
{
struct kvm_pgtable_mm_ops *mm_ops = ctx->mm_ops;
- kvm_pte_t locked_pte;
-
- if (stage2_pte_is_locked(ctx->old)) {
- /*
- * Should never occur if this walker has exclusive access to the
- * page tables.
- */
- WARN_ON(!kvm_pgtable_walk_shared(ctx));
- return false;
- }
-
- locked_pte = FIELD_PREP(KVM_INVALID_PTE_TYPE_MASK,
- KVM_INVALID_PTE_TYPE_LOCKED);
- if (!stage2_try_set_pte(ctx, locked_pte))
- return false;
if (!kvm_pgtable_walk_skip_bbm_tlbi(ctx)) {
/*
@@ -862,6 +833,42 @@ static bool stage2_try_break_pte(const struct kvm_pgtable_visit_ctx *ctx,
if (stage2_pte_is_counted(ctx->old))
mm_ops->put_page(ctx->ptep);
+}
+
+/**
+ * stage2_try_break_pte() - Invalidates a pte according to the
+ * 'break-before-make' requirements of the
+ * architecture.
+ *
+ * @ctx: context of the visited pte.
+ * @mmu: stage-2 mmu
+ *
+ * Returns: true if the pte was successfully broken.
+ *
+ * If the removed pte was valid, performs the necessary serialization and TLB
+ * invalidation for the old value. For counted ptes, drops the reference count
+ * on the containing table page.
+ */
+static bool stage2_try_break_pte(const struct kvm_pgtable_visit_ctx *ctx,
+ struct kvm_s2_mmu *mmu)
+{
+ kvm_pte_t locked_pte;
+
+ if (stage2_pte_is_locked(ctx->old)) {
+ /*
+ * Should never occur if this walker has exclusive access to the
+ * page tables.
+ */
+ WARN_ON(!kvm_pgtable_walk_shared(ctx));
+ return false;
+ }
+
+ locked_pte = FIELD_PREP(KVM_INVALID_PTE_TYPE_MASK,
+ KVM_INVALID_PTE_TYPE_LOCKED);
+ if (!stage2_try_set_pte(ctx, locked_pte))
+ return false;
+
+ stage2_clean_old_pte(ctx, mmu);
return true;
}
--
2.55.0.229.g6434b31f56-goog
^ permalink raw reply related [flat|nested] 3+ messages in thread
* [RFC PATCH 2/2] KVM: arm64: Support BBM level 3
2026-07-17 13:08 [RFC PATCH 0/2] KVM: arm64: Support BBM level 3 Mostafa Saleh
2026-07-17 13:08 ` [RFC PATCH 1/2] KVM: arm64: Add stage2_clean_old_pte() Mostafa Saleh
@ 2026-07-17 13:09 ` Mostafa Saleh
1 sibling, 0 replies; 3+ messages in thread
From: Mostafa Saleh @ 2026-07-17 13:09 UTC (permalink / raw)
To: linux-kernel, kvmarm, linux-arm-kernel
Cc: maz, oupton, seiden, joey.gouly, suzuki.poulose, yuzenghui,
catalin.marinas, will, vdonnefort, tabba, Mostafa Saleh
If the system supports hardware Break-Before-Make (BBM) level 3, use it
to replace stage-2 PTEs directly instead of falling back to the software
break-before-make sequence.
1) Get a reference count on the containing table for the new PTE.
2) Atomically update the PTE with the new valid descriptor.
3) Invalidate the TLB for the old PTE.
4) Drop the reference count holding the old PTE.
One interesting case, as BBML3 will update the PTE atomically, it
can only know it raced with another core at the point of the cmpxchg
failing, unlike the SW implementation which locks the PTE first.
And as we must issue CMOs to the new mapped page before the update,
that means with BBML3 racing cores will issue redundant CMOs,
to improve this:
- We only use BBML3 if the old PTE was live.
- To reduce the window of the race, an early check is added before
the CMO to exit early, but that does not eliminate the race.
Signed-off-by: Mostafa Saleh <smostafa@google.com>
---
arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/pgtable.c | 53 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----
1 file changed, 46 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)
diff --git a/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/pgtable.c b/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/pgtable.c
index 127b7f9541b1..69d52308236f 100644
--- a/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/pgtable.c
+++ b/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/pgtable.c
@@ -838,7 +838,8 @@ static void stage2_clean_old_pte(const struct kvm_pgtable_visit_ctx *ctx,
/**
* stage2_try_break_pte() - Invalidates a pte according to the
* 'break-before-make' requirements of the
- * architecture.
+ * architecture, if BMML3 is supported it
+ * will be used, otherwise fallback to SW.
*
* @ctx: context of the visited pte.
* @mmu: stage-2 mmu
@@ -854,6 +855,18 @@ static bool stage2_try_break_pte(const struct kvm_pgtable_visit_ctx *ctx,
{
kvm_pte_t locked_pte;
+ if (system_supports_bbml3() && kvm_pte_valid(ctx->old)) {
+ kvm_pte_t curr_pte = READ_ONCE(*ctx->ptep);
+
+ /*
+ * All handled in stage2_make_pte(). However exit early if we already
+ * lost the race to avoid extra CMOs.
+ */
+ if (curr_pte != ctx->old)
+ return false;
+ return true;
+ }
+
if (stage2_pte_is_locked(ctx->old)) {
/*
* Should never occur if this walker has exclusive access to the
@@ -873,16 +886,35 @@ static bool stage2_try_break_pte(const struct kvm_pgtable_visit_ctx *ctx,
return true;
}
-static void stage2_make_pte(const struct kvm_pgtable_visit_ctx *ctx, kvm_pte_t new)
+/* Must be paired with stage2_try_break_pte() */
+static bool stage2_make_pte(const struct kvm_pgtable_visit_ctx *ctx, struct kvm_s2_mmu *mmu,
+ kvm_pte_t new)
{
struct kvm_pgtable_mm_ops *mm_ops = ctx->mm_ops;
- WARN_ON(!stage2_pte_is_locked(*ctx->ptep));
-
if (stage2_pte_is_counted(new))
mm_ops->get_page(ctx->ptep);
+ if (system_supports_bbml3() && kvm_pte_valid(ctx->old)) {
+ /*
+ * Barrier is required because stage2_try_set_pte() uses
+ * WRITE_ONCE for non-shared walks, lacking release semantics
+ * used in the software BBM case.
+ */
+ smp_wmb();
+ if (!stage2_try_set_pte(ctx, new)) {
+ if (stage2_pte_is_counted(new))
+ mm_ops->put_page(ctx->ptep);
+ return false;
+ }
+
+ stage2_clean_old_pte(ctx, mmu);
+ return true;
+ }
+
+ WARN_ON(!stage2_pte_is_locked(*ctx->ptep));
smp_store_release(ctx->ptep, new);
+ return true;
}
static bool stage2_unmap_defer_tlb_flush(struct kvm_pgtable *pgt)
@@ -1014,7 +1046,8 @@ static int stage2_map_walker_try_leaf(const struct kvm_pgtable_visit_ctx *ctx,
stage2_pte_executable(new))
mm_ops->icache_inval_pou(kvm_pte_follow(new, mm_ops), granule);
- stage2_make_pte(ctx, new);
+ if (!stage2_make_pte(ctx, data->mmu, new))
+ return -EAGAIN;
return 0;
}
@@ -1069,7 +1102,10 @@ static int stage2_map_walk_leaf(const struct kvm_pgtable_visit_ctx *ctx,
* will be mapped lazily.
*/
new = kvm_init_table_pte(childp, mm_ops);
- stage2_make_pte(ctx, new);
+ if (!stage2_make_pte(ctx, data->mmu, new)) {
+ mm_ops->put_page(childp);
+ return -EAGAIN;
+ }
return 0;
}
@@ -1557,7 +1593,10 @@ static int stage2_split_walker(const struct kvm_pgtable_visit_ctx *ctx,
* writes the PTE using smp_store_release().
*/
new = kvm_init_table_pte(childp, mm_ops);
- stage2_make_pte(ctx, new);
+ if (!stage2_make_pte(ctx, mmu, new)) {
+ kvm_pgtable_stage2_free_unlinked(mm_ops, childp, level);
+ return -EAGAIN;
+ }
return 0;
}
--
2.55.0.229.g6434b31f56-goog
^ permalink raw reply related [flat|nested] 3+ messages in thread
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