Re: [PATCH v10 01/12] x86/bhi: x86/vmscape: Move LFENCE out of clear_bhb_loop()

Pawan Gupta
2026-04-14T18:05:33Z

On Tue, Apr 14, 2026 at 12:05:28AM -0700, Pawan Gupta wrote:
> Currently, the BHB clearing sequence is followed by an LFENCE to prevent
> transient execution of subsequent indirect branches prematurely. However,
> the LFENCE barrier could be unnecessary in certain cases. For example, when
> the kernel is using the BHI_DIS_S mitigation, and BHB clearing is only
> needed for userspace. In such cases, the LFENCE is redundant because ring
> transitions would provide the necessary serialization.
>
> Below is a quick recap of BHI mitigation options:
>
> On Alder Lake and newer
>
> BHI_DIS_S: Hardware control to mitigate BHI in ring0. This has low
> performance overhead.
>
> Long loop: Alternatively, a longer version of the BHB clearing sequence
> can be used to mitigate BHI. It can also be used to mitigate the BHI
> variant of VMSCAPE. This is not yet implemented in Linux.
>
> On older CPUs
>
> Short loop: Clears BHB at kernel entry and VMexit. The "Long loop" is
> effective on older CPUs as well, but should be avoided because of
> unnecessary overhead.
>
> On Alder Lake and newer CPUs, eIBRS isolates the indirect targets between
> guest and host. But when affected by the BHI variant of VMSCAPE, a guest's
> branch history may still influence indirect branches in userspace. This
> also means the big hammer IBPB could be replaced with a cheaper option that
> clears the BHB at exit-to-userspace after a VMexit.
>
> In preparation for adding the support for the BHB sequence (without LFENCE)
> on newer CPUs, move the LFENCE to the caller side after clear_bhb_loop() is
> executed. Allow callers to decide whether they need the LFENCE or not. This
> adds a few extra bytes to the call sites, but it obviates the need for
> multiple variants of clear_bhb_loop().
>
> Suggested-by: Dave Hansen <dave.hansen@linux.intel.com>
> Tested-by: Jon Kohler <jon@nutanix.com>
> Reviewed-by: Nikolay Borisov <nik.borisov@suse.com>
> Signed-off-by: Pawan Gupta <pawan.kumar.gupta@linux.intel.com>
> ---

Sorry this is missing Boris's Ack, I will fix.

> Acked-by: Borislav Petkov (AMD) <bp@alien8.de>