Re: [PATCH v11 9/9] x86/cpu: Enable LASS by default during CPU initialization

Andy Lutomirski
2025-10-30T15:45:59Z

On Thu, Oct 30, 2025, at 1:40 AM, H. Peter Anvin wrote:
> On October 29, 2025 2:03:10 PM PDT, Sohil Mehta <sohil.mehta@intel.com> wrote:
>>Linear Address Space Separation (LASS) mitigates a class of side-channel
>>attacks that rely on speculative access across the user/kernel boundary.
>>
>>Enable LASS by default if the platform supports it. While at it, remove
>>the comment above the SMAP/SMEP/UMIP/LASS setup instead of updating it,
>>as the whole sequence is quite self-explanatory.
>>
>>The legacy vsyscall page is mapped at 0xffffffffff60?000. Prior to LASS,
>>vsyscall page accesses would always generate a #PF. The kernel emulates
>>the accesses in the #PF handler and returns the appropriate values to
>>userspace.
>>
>>With LASS, these accesses are intercepted before the paging structures
>>are traversed triggering a #GP instead of a #PF. To avoid breaking user
>>applications, equivalent emulation support is required in the #GP
>>handler. However, the #GP provides limited error information compared to
>>the #PF, making the emulation more complex.
>>
>>For now, keep it simple and disable LASS if vsyscall emulation is
>>compiled in. This restricts LASS usability to newer environments where
>>legacy vsyscalls are absolutely not needed. In future, LASS support can
>>be expanded by enhancing the #GP handler.
>>
>>Signed-off-by: Sohil Mehta <sohil.mehta@intel.com>
>>---
>>v11:
>> - Disable LASS if vsyscall emulation support is compiled in.
>> - Drop Rick's review tag because of the new changes.
>>
>>v10
>> - No change.
>>---
>> arch/x86/kernel/cpu/common.c | 21 ++++++++++++++++++++-
>> 1 file changed, 20 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
>>
>>diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/common.c b/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/common.c
>>index c7d3512914ca..71e89859dfb4 100644
>>--- a/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/common.c
>>+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/common.c
>>@@ -401,6 +401,25 @@ static __always_inline void setup_umip(struct cpuinfo_x86 *c)
>> cr4_clear_bits(X86_CR4_UMIP);
>> }
>>
>>+static __always_inline void setup_lass(struct cpuinfo_x86 *c)
>>+{
>>+ if (cpu_feature_enabled(X86_FEATURE_LASS)) {
>>+ /*
>>+ * Legacy vsyscall page access causes a #GP when LASS is
>>+ * active. However, vsyscall emulation isn't supported
>>+ * with #GP. To avoid breaking userspace, disable LASS
>>+ * if the emulation code is compiled in.
>>+ */
>>+ if (IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_X86_VSYSCALL_EMULATION)) {
>>+ pr_info_once("x86/cpu: Disabling LASS due to CONFIG_X86_VSYSCALL_EMULATION=y\n");
>>+ setup_clear_cpu_cap(X86_FEATURE_LASS);
>>+ return;
>>+ }
>>+
>>+ cr4_set_bits(X86_CR4_LASS);
>>+ }
>>+}
>>+
>> /* These bits should not change their value after CPU init is finished. */
>> static const unsigned long cr4_pinned_mask = X86_CR4_SMEP | X86_CR4_SMAP | X86_CR4_UMIP |
>> X86_CR4_FSGSBASE | X86_CR4_CET | X86_CR4_FRED;
>>@@ -2011,10 +2030,10 @@ static void identify_cpu(struct cpuinfo_x86 *c)
>> /* Disable the PN if appropriate */
>> squash_the_stupid_serial_number(c);
>>
>>- /* Set up SMEP/SMAP/UMIP */
>> setup_smep(c);
>> setup_smap(c);
>> setup_umip(c);
>>+ setup_lass(c);
>>
>> /* Enable FSGSBASE instructions if available. */
>> if (cpu_has(c, X86_FEATURE_FSGSBASE)) {
>
> Legacy vsyscalls have been obsolete for how long now?

A looooong time.

I would suggest defaulting LASS to on and *maybe* decoding just enough to log, once per boot, that a legacy vsyscall may have been attempted. It’s too bad that #GP doesn’t report the faulting address.

—Andy