From: Tarun Sahu <tarunsahu@google.com>
To: ackerleytng@google.com, fuad.tabba@linux.dev,
Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>,
seanjc@google.com, dmatlack@google.com,
Shuah Khan <skhan@linuxfoundation.org>,
Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>,
david@redhat.com, Tarun Sahu <tarunsahu@google.com>,
Pasha Tatashin <pasha.tatashin@soleen.com>,
Pratyush Yadav <pratyush@kernel.org>,
sagis@google.com, Paolo Bonzini <pbonzini@redhat.com>,
Mike Rapoport <rppt@kernel.org>,
Alexander Graf <graf@amazon.com>
Cc: linux-kselftest@vger.kernel.org, andre.przywara@arm.com,
michael.roth@amd.com, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org,
linux-mm@kvack.org, will@kernel.org, vannapurve@google.com,
maz@kernel.org, fvdl@google.com, kvm@vger.kernel.org,
oliver.upton@linux.dev, kvmarm@lists.linux.dev,
alexandru.elisei@arm.com, skhawaja@google.com,
aneesh.kumar@kernel.org, linux-doc@vger.kernel.org,
David Hildenbrand <david@kernel.org>,
yan.y.zhao@intel.com, kexec@lists.infradead.org,
suzuki.poulose@arm.com
Subject: [PATCH v4 04/11] KVM: Track weak reference to vm_file in struct kvm
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:11:31 +0000 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260728121138.1103610-5-tarunsahu@google.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <20260728121138.1103610-1-tarunsahu@google.com>
- Add a weak reference 'vm_file' in struct kvm under
CONFIG_LIVEUPDATE_GUEST_MEMFD to enable reverse file resolution
without circular lifetime dependencies.
Signed-off-by: Tarun Sahu <tarunsahu@google.com>
---
include/linux/kvm_host.h | 12 ++++++++++++
virt/kvm/kvm_main.c | 26 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2 files changed, 38 insertions(+)
diff --git a/include/linux/kvm_host.h b/include/linux/kvm_host.h
index d9908c19e42f..8da9589425ee 100644
--- a/include/linux/kvm_host.h
+++ b/include/linux/kvm_host.h
@@ -874,6 +874,18 @@ struct kvm {
#ifdef CONFIG_KVM_GENERIC_MEMORY_ATTRIBUTES
/* Protected by slots_lock (for writes) and RCU (for reads) */
struct xarray mem_attr_array;
+#endif
+#ifdef CONFIG_LIVEUPDATE_GUEST_MEMFD
+ /*
+ * Weak reference to the VFS file backing this KVM instance. Stored
+ * without incrementing the file refcount to prevent a circular lifetime
+ * dependency (since file->private_data already pins this struct kvm).
+ * Used exclusively to resolve the file pointer back from struct kvm.
+ *
+ * Written/cleared via rcu_assign_pointer() and read locklessly under
+ * RCU (e.g. via get_file_active() to prevent ABA races).
+ */
+ struct file __rcu *vm_file;
#endif
char stats_id[KVM_STATS_NAME_SIZE];
};
diff --git a/virt/kvm/kvm_main.c b/virt/kvm/kvm_main.c
index 701d4596a91c..14c32541ae34 100644
--- a/virt/kvm/kvm_main.c
+++ b/virt/kvm/kvm_main.c
@@ -1346,6 +1346,19 @@ static int kvm_vm_release(struct inode *inode, struct file *filp)
{
struct kvm *kvm = filp->private_data;
+#ifdef CONFIG_LIVEUPDATE_GUEST_MEMFD
+ /*
+ * Clear the weak reference of the vm file.
+ * In case vm file is closed by userspace, but kvm still has
+ * other users like vCPUs, clearing this pointer ensures
+ * that we don't have a dangling pointer to a closed file.
+ *
+ * Cleared via rcu_assign_pointer() to ensure proper memory visibility
+ * for concurrent lockless readers under RCU.
+ */
+ rcu_assign_pointer(kvm->vm_file, NULL);
+#endif
+
kvm_irqfd_release(kvm);
kvm_put_kvm(kvm);
@@ -5488,6 +5501,19 @@ struct file *kvm_create_vm_file(unsigned long type, const char *fdname)
return file;
}
+#ifdef CONFIG_LIVEUPDATE_GUEST_MEMFD
+ /*
+ * Weak reference to the file (without get_file()) to prevent a circular
+ * dependency. Safe because the file's release path clears this pointer
+ * and drops its reference to the VM.
+ *
+ * Written via rcu_assign_pointer() because the pointer can be read
+ * locklessly under RCU (e.g., in kvm_gmem_luo_preserve() via
+ * get_file_active() to prevent lockless ABA races).
+ */
+ rcu_assign_pointer(kvm->vm_file, file);
+#endif
+
/*
* Don't call kvm_put_kvm anymore at this point; file->f_op is
* already set, with ->release() being kvm_vm_release(). In error
--
2.55.0.229.g6434b31f56-goog
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-07-28 12:11 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 12+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-07-28 12:11 [PATCH v4 00/11] liveupdate: kvm: Guest_memfd preservation Tarun Sahu
2026-07-28 12:11 ` [PATCH v4 01/11] liveupdate: Add LIVEUPDATE_GUEST_MEMFD config option Tarun Sahu
2026-07-28 12:11 ` [PATCH v4 02/11] KVM: Introduce kvm_create_vm_file() helper Tarun Sahu
2026-07-28 12:11 ` [PATCH v4 03/11] KVM: Export kvm_uevent_notify_vm_create() Tarun Sahu
2026-07-28 12:11 ` Tarun Sahu [this message]
2026-07-28 12:11 ` [PATCH v4 05/11] KVM: LUO: Support VM preservation across live updates Tarun Sahu
2026-07-28 12:11 ` [PATCH v4 06/11] KVM: guest_memfd: Move internal definitions to internal header Tarun Sahu
2026-07-28 12:11 ` [PATCH v4 07/11] KVM: guest_memfd: Add support for freezing mappings Tarun Sahu
2026-07-28 12:11 ` [PATCH v4 08/11] KVM: guest_memfd: Add support for preservation via LUO Tarun Sahu
2026-07-28 12:11 ` [PATCH v4 09/11] docs: liveupdate: Add documentation for VM and guest_memfd preservation Tarun Sahu
2026-07-28 12:11 ` [PATCH v4 10/11] KVM: selftests: Split ____vm_create() and add vm_create_from_fd() Tarun Sahu
2026-07-28 12:11 ` [PATCH v4 11/11] KVM: selftests: Add guest_memfd_preservation_test Tarun Sahu
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