Re: [PATCH] arm64: Revamp HCR_EL2.E2H RES1 detection

[Marc Zyngier <maz@kernel.org>]

On Thu, 09 Oct 2025 22:30:34 +0100,
Oliver Upton <oliver.upton@linux.dev> wrote:
> 
> Hey,
> 
> On Thu, Oct 09, 2025 at 01:12:39PM +0100, Marc Zyngier wrote:
> > We currently have two ways to identify CPUs that only implement FEAT_VHE
> > and not FEAT_E2H0:
> > 
> > - either they advertise it via ID_AA64MMFR4_EL1.E2H0,
> > - or the HCR_EL2.E2H bit is RAO/WI
> > 
> > However, there is a third category of "cpus" that fall between these
> > two cases: on CPUs that do not implement FEAT_FGT, it is IMPDEF whether
> > an access to ID_AA64MMFR4_EL1 can trap to EL2 when the register value
> > is zero.
> > 
> > A consequence of this is that on systems such as Neoverse V2, a NV
> > guest cannot reliably detect that it is in a VHE-only configuration
> > (E2H is writable, and ID_AA64MMFR0_EL1 is 0), despite the hypervisor's
> > best effort to repaint the id register.
> > 
> > Replace the RAO/WI test by a sequence that makes use of the VHE
> > register remnapping between EL1 and EL2 to detect this situation,
> > and work out whether we get the VHE behaviour even after having
> > set HCR_EL2.E2H to 0.
> > 
> > This solves the NV problem, and provides a more reliable acid test
> > for CPUs that do not completely follow the letter of the architecture
> > while providing a RES1 behaviour for HCR_EL2.E2H.
> > 
> > Suggested-by: Marc Rutland <mark.rutland@arm.com>
> 		^~~~
> 
> Thank you *Mark* for the suggestion here, neat trick :)

Too many Mar[ck]s. I'm struggling! ;-)

> I'd be in favor of this patch being sent to stable, happy to handle the
> backports if you don't have the time for it. VMs mysteriously dying
> isn't a very good experience on NV and I'd like to not scare folks away.

I think Mark (yes, him!) had a plan to backport some of the !FEAT_E2H0
patches back to earlier kernels. I'll let him comment on that.

> Reviewed-by: Oliver Upton <oliver.upton@linux.dev>

Thanks!

	M.

-- 
Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.