[PATCH v19 05/20] KVM: arm64: Track the type of VM in kvm_arch

Gavin Shan gshan at redhat.com
Tue Sep 22 23:05:38 PDT 2026


Hi Suzuki,

On 9/21/26 7:28 AM, Suzuki K Poulose wrote:
> KVM arm64 has different types of VMs with all the different modes in which
> the hypervisor code can be run. e.g., VHE, nVHE, pKVM etc. Then there is
> protected VM and normal VMs with pKVM. We might soon add other types,
> e.g., Arm CCA Realm. So in an effort to make the handling of these
> different types of VMs a bit more friendly to the eyes, add a VM flavor to
> the kvm_arch and we could then add handlers for different operations based
> on the VM type.
> 
> Keep the flavor initialisation at the beginning to allow for the detection
> early enough and fail out on any unsupported requests.
> 
> With that, add wrappers for checking the "type" of a VM and replace the
> existing users with the new wrappers.
> 
> Given we already have the construct of "kvm_vm_is_protected" in the core
> KVM code, use that for all confidential compute guests including Realms
> that we are about to add.
> 
> Adds __VM_PROTECTED marker vm flavor to generalize kvm_vm_is_protected()
> to predicate all confidential guests running on KVM. In later patches, we
> would add Realm VMs, which would also be classified as protected.
> 
> Add explicit helper to detect if a given VM is a "protected" VM under pKVM.
> Change the existing users that precisely want to check the VM type. These
> include :
>    - kvm_arch_prepare_memory_region - For preventing memslot changes after
>      pVM creation.
> 
> All the others are retained as a wider check for confidential guest VMs.
> These are:
>   - kvm_vm_ioctl_set_counter_offset - For disallowing timer offset
>     configuration
>   - io_mem_abort for dabt handling without valid syndrome information
> 
> Both of which are true for Realms too.
> 
> Realms support is restricted to VHE host and thus "kvm_vm_is_protected()"
> checks in the pkvm hyp specific code doesn't need to change, as the only
> protected guests it deals with is "protected pKVM" guests. To tighten this
> init_pkvm_hyp_vm() restricts the hyp copy of the vm_flavor to the ones it
> supports.
> 
> Suggested-by: Marc Zyngier <maz at kernel.org>
> Signed-off-by: Suzuki K Poulose <suzuki.poulose at arm.com>
> ---
> Changes since v18:
>   - Merge the __VM_PROTECTED marker and the widening of kvm_vm_is_protected()
>     to this patch.
>   - Merge the use of kvm_vm_is_unprotected_pkvm() for !kvm_vm_is_protected()
>     given the scope changes here.
>   - Drop Fuad's review tag, as this patch has multiple merges
>   - Restrict the VM flavors to the supported types in init_pkvm_hyp_vm().
>   - Drop kvm_vm_hyp_is_pkvm() and revert to is_protected_kvm_enabled()
>   - Use is_protected_kvm_enabled() to make the pKVM guest flavor checks.
>   - s/PKVM/pKVM for commit descriptions too
> 
> Changes since v17:
>   * s/PKVM/pKVM for the comments
>   * Drop type argument for pkvm_init_host_vm and also drop protected variable.
>   * Add helpers for checking if the VM is running on pKVM (kvm_vm_hyp_is_pkvm())
>   * Use kvm_vm_hyp_is_pkvm() to replace is_protected_kvm_enabled() with valid
>     kvm instance
> ---
>   arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_host.h | 22 +++++++++++++++++++---
>   arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_pkvm.h |  4 ++--
>   arch/arm64/kvm/arm.c              | 31 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++-----
>   arch/arm64/kvm/handle_exit.c      |  2 +-
>   arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/nvhe/pkvm.c    |  6 +++++-
>   arch/arm64/kvm/mmu.c              |  2 +-
>   arch/arm64/kvm/pkvm.c             |  6 ++----
>   7 files changed, 56 insertions(+), 17 deletions(-)
> 

This causes broken nVHE mode. I applied PATCH[01-05] to v7.3.rc4 whose head commit
is f0100363d8c3, and kselftests/kvm/guest_print causes host crash (as below). I don't
see the crash if only PATCH[01-04] are applied.

host$ cat /proc/cmdline | grep kvm-arm\.mode
BOOT_IMAGE=(hd0,gpt2)/vmlinuz-7.3.0-rc4-gavin+ root=/dev/mapper/rhel_nvidia--grace--hopper--01-root ro crashkernel=2G-4G:406M,4G-64G:470M,64G-:726M rd.lvm.lv=rhel_nvidia-grace-hopper-01/root rd.lvm.lv=rhel_nvidia-grace-hopper-01/swap video=simplefb:off kvm-arm.mode=nvhe

host$ cd linux/tools/testing/selftests/kvm
host$ ./guest_print_test
Random seed: 0x193a0ed3
[  192.754328] kvm [6674]: nVHE hyp panic at: [<ffff8000811da044>] __kvm_nvhe___timer_enable_traps+0x4/0x160!
[  192.754338] kvm [6674]: nVHE call trace:
[  192.754339] kvm [6674]:  [<ffff8000811dcf34>] __kvm_nvhe_hyp_panic+0xb4/0xe0
[  192.754342] kvm [6674]:  [<ffff8000811dcba4>] __kvm_nvhe___kvm_vcpu_run+0x164/0x440
[  192.754344] kvm [6674]:  [<ffff8000811dfe90>] __kvm_nvhe_handle___kvm_vcpu_run+0x40/0x1f0
[  192.754346] kvm [6674]:  [<ffff8000811e0238>] __kvm_nvhe_handle_trap+0x158/0x280
[  192.754347] kvm [6674]:  [<ffff8000811dd8fc>] __kvm_nvhe___skip_pauth_save+0x4/0x4
[  192.754348] kvm [6674]: ---[ end nVHE call trace ]---
[  192.754350] Code: d2818002 17fffff7 d503201f f9400001 (b94a6821)
[  192.754350] kvm [6674]: Hyp Offset: 0xfffeb0d7fe2e0000
[  192.754351] Kernel panic - not syncing: HYP panic:
[  192.754351] PS:834003c9 PC:0000cf2882efa044 ESR:0000000096000004
[  192.754351] FAR:ffff00009b286a68 HPFAR:8000000000000000 PAR:1d00ec7edbadc8de
[  192.754351] VCPU:0000cf011848a350
[  192.845154] CPU: 12 UID: 0 PID: 6674 Comm: guest_print_tes Kdump: loaded Not tainted 7.3.0-rc4-gavin+ #7 PREEMPT(full)
[  192.856182] Hardware name:  GH200 P5042, BIOS 02.04.01 20250422
[  192.862231] Call trace:
[  192.864725]  show_stack+0x20/0x38 (C)
[  192.868471]  dump_stack_lvl+0x88/0xb8
[  192.872215]  dump_stack+0x18/0x30
[  192.875598]  vpanic+0x280/0x498
[  192.878806]  panic+0x68/0x70
[  192.881745]  nvhe_hyp_panic_handler+0x184/0x190
[  192.886372]  kvm_arm_vcpu_enter_exit+0x24/0x100
[  192.891003]  kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run+0x254/0x7c0
[  192.895726]  kvm_vcpu_ioctl+0x174/0xb40
[  192.899645]  __arm64_sys_ioctl+0xb0/0x120
[  192.903745]  invoke_syscall.constprop.0+0xa8/0x100
[  192.908639]  do_el0_svc+0xb8/0xe0
[  192.912022]  el0_svc+0x48/0x1f8
[  192.915228]  el0t_64_sync_handler+0xa0/0xe8
[  192.919500]  el0t_64_sync+0x1ac/0x1b0
[  192.923243] SMP: stopping secondary CPUs
[  192.927653] Starting crashdump kernel...
[  192.931658] Bye!

Thanks,
Gavin

> diff --git a/arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_host.h b/arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_host.h
> index 286489a69dff5..9b1cf9c59e81f 100644
> --- a/arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_host.h
> +++ b/arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_host.h
> @@ -257,7 +257,6 @@ struct kvm_protected_vm {
>   	pkvm_handle_t handle;
>   	struct kvm_hyp_memcache teardown_mc;
>   	struct kvm_hyp_memcache stage2_teardown_mc;
> -	bool is_protected;
>   	bool is_created;
>   
>   	/*
> @@ -306,9 +305,19 @@ enum fgt_group_id {
>   	__NR_FGT_GROUP_IDS__
>   };
>   
> +enum kvm_arm_vm_flavor {
> +	VM_NVHE,
> +	VM_VHE,
> +	VM_PKVM,		/* Normal guests on pKVM */
> +	MARKER(__VM_PROTECTED),
> +	VM_PROTECTED_PKVM,	/* Protected VM */
> +	VM_FLAVOR_MAX,
> +};
> +
>   struct kvm_arch {
>   	struct kvm_s2_mmu mmu;
>   
> +	enum kvm_arm_vm_flavor vm_flavor;
>   	/*
>   	 * Fine-Grained UNDEF, mimicking the FGT layout defined by the
>   	 * architecture. We track them globally, as we present the
> @@ -1504,10 +1513,17 @@ struct kvm *kvm_arch_alloc_vm(void);
>   
>   #define __KVM_HAVE_ARCH_FLUSH_REMOTE_TLBS_RANGE
>   
> -#define kvm_vm_is_protected(kvm)	(is_protected_kvm_enabled() && (kvm)->arch.pkvm.is_protected)
> -
> +#define kvm_vm_is_protected(kvm)	((kvm)->arch.vm_flavor >= __VM_PROTECTED)
>   #define vcpu_is_protected(vcpu)		kvm_vm_is_protected((vcpu)->kvm)
>   
> +#define kvm_vm_is_protected_pkvm(kvm)		\
> +	(is_protected_kvm_enabled() && ((kvm)->arch.vm_flavor == VM_PROTECTED_PKVM))
> +#define vcpu_is_protected_pkvm(vcpu)	kvm_vm_is_protected_pkvm(vcpu->kvm)
> +
> +#define kvm_vm_is_unprotected_pkvm(kvm)		\
> +	(is_protected_kvm_enabled() && ((kvm)->arch.vm_flavor == VM_PKVM))
> +
> +
>   int kvm_arm_vcpu_finalize(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, int feature);
>   bool kvm_arm_vcpu_is_finalized(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu);
>   
> diff --git a/arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_pkvm.h b/arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_pkvm.h
> index 54a618d887fa4..e4ea80711bec6 100644
> --- a/arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_pkvm.h
> +++ b/arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_pkvm.h
> @@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
>   
>   #define HYP_MEMBLOCK_REGIONS 128
>   
> -int pkvm_init_host_vm(struct kvm *kvm, unsigned long type);
> +int pkvm_init_host_vm(struct kvm *kvm);
>   int pkvm_create_hyp_vm(struct kvm *kvm);
>   bool pkvm_hyp_vm_is_created(struct kvm *kvm);
>   void pkvm_destroy_hyp_vm(struct kvm *kvm);
> @@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ static inline bool kvm_pkvm_ext_allowed(struct kvm *kvm, long ext)
>   	case KVM_CAP_ARM_SUPPORTED_BLOCK_SIZES:
>   		return false;
>   	default:
> -		return !kvm || !kvm_vm_is_protected(kvm);
> +		return !kvm || kvm_vm_is_unprotected_pkvm(kvm);
>   	}
>   }
>   
> diff --git a/arch/arm64/kvm/arm.c b/arch/arm64/kvm/arm.c
> index db36815630790..8c784b266a8e8 100644
> --- a/arch/arm64/kvm/arm.c
> +++ b/arch/arm64/kvm/arm.c
> @@ -214,6 +214,26 @@ static int kvm_arm_default_max_vcpus(void)
>   	return vgic_present ? kvm_vgic_get_max_vcpus() : KVM_MAX_VCPUS;
>   }
>   
> +static int kvm_init_vm_flavor(struct kvm *kvm, unsigned long type)
> +{
> +	bool protected = type & KVM_VM_TYPE_ARM_PROTECTED;
> +
> +	if (is_protected_kvm_enabled()) {
> +		if (protected)
> +			kvm->arch.vm_flavor = VM_PROTECTED_PKVM;
> +		else
> +			kvm->arch.vm_flavor = VM_PKVM;
> +	} else if (protected) {
> +		return -EINVAL;
> +	} else if (has_vhe()) {
> +		kvm->arch.vm_flavor = VM_VHE;
> +	} else {
> +		kvm->arch.vm_flavor = VM_NVHE;
> +	}
> +
> +	return 0;
> +}
> +
>   /**
>    * kvm_arch_init_vm - initializes a VM data structure
>    * @kvm:	pointer to the KVM struct
> @@ -236,6 +256,10 @@ int kvm_arch_init_vm(struct kvm *kvm, unsigned long type)
>   	mutex_unlock(&kvm->lock);
>   #endif
>   
> +	ret = kvm_init_vm_flavor(kvm, type);
> +	if (ret)
> +		return ret;
> +
>   	kvm_init_nested(kvm);
>   
>   	ret = kvm_share_hyp(kvm, kvm + 1);
> @@ -257,12 +281,9 @@ int kvm_arch_init_vm(struct kvm *kvm, unsigned long type)
>   		 * If any failures occur after this is successful, make sure to
>   		 * call __pkvm_unreserve_vm to unreserve the VM in hyp.
>   		 */
> -		ret = pkvm_init_host_vm(kvm, type);
> +		ret = pkvm_init_host_vm(kvm);
>   		if (ret)
>   			goto err_uninit_mmu;
> -	} else if (type & KVM_VM_TYPE_ARM_PROTECTED) {
> -		ret = -EINVAL;
> -		goto err_uninit_mmu;
>   	}
>   
>   	kvm_vgic_early_init(kvm);
> @@ -985,7 +1006,7 @@ int kvm_arch_vcpu_run_pid_change(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu)
>   
>   	if (is_protected_kvm_enabled()) {
>   		/* Start with the vcpu in a dirty state */
> -		if (!kvm_vm_is_protected(vcpu->kvm))
> +		if (kvm_vm_is_unprotected_pkvm(vcpu->kvm))
>   			vcpu_set_flag(vcpu, PKVM_HOST_STATE_DIRTY);
>   		ret = pkvm_create_hyp_vm(kvm);
>   		if (ret)
> diff --git a/arch/arm64/kvm/handle_exit.c b/arch/arm64/kvm/handle_exit.c
> index db37678dcb05c..384c5d258c7f8 100644
> --- a/arch/arm64/kvm/handle_exit.c
> +++ b/arch/arm64/kvm/handle_exit.c
> @@ -490,7 +490,7 @@ static void handle_exit_pkvm_state(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, int exception_index)
>   {
>   	int exception_code = ARM_EXCEPTION_CODE(exception_index);
>   
> -	if (!is_protected_kvm_enabled() || kvm_vm_is_protected(vcpu->kvm))
> +	if (!kvm_vm_is_unprotected_pkvm(vcpu->kvm))
>   		return;
>   
>   	/*
> diff --git a/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/nvhe/pkvm.c b/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/nvhe/pkvm.c
> index 459bd9eb7e4bc..57e2eef6d7426 100644
> --- a/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/nvhe/pkvm.c
> +++ b/arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/nvhe/pkvm.c
> @@ -432,7 +432,11 @@ static void init_pkvm_hyp_vm(struct kvm *host_kvm, struct pkvm_hyp_vm *hyp_vm,
>   
>   	hyp_vm->host_kvm = host_kvm;
>   	hyp_vm->kvm.created_vcpus = nr_vcpus;
> -	hyp_vm->kvm.arch.pkvm.is_protected = READ_ONCE(host_kvm->arch.pkvm.is_protected);
> +	if (kvm_vm_is_protected(host_kvm))
> +		hyp_vm->kvm.arch.vm_flavor = VM_PROTECTED_PKVM;
> +	else
> +		hyp_vm->kvm.arch.vm_flavor = VM_PKVM;
> +
>   	hyp_vm->kvm.arch.flags = 0;
>   	pkvm_init_features_from_host(hyp_vm, host_kvm);
>   
> diff --git a/arch/arm64/kvm/mmu.c b/arch/arm64/kvm/mmu.c
> index 9ba86450fe4af..0f4e8b71fa85d 100644
> --- a/arch/arm64/kvm/mmu.c
> +++ b/arch/arm64/kvm/mmu.c
> @@ -2624,7 +2624,7 @@ int kvm_arch_prepare_memory_region(struct kvm *kvm,
>   	hva_t hva, reg_end;
>   	int ret = 0;
>   
> -	if (kvm_vm_is_protected(kvm)) {
> +	if (kvm_vm_is_protected_pkvm(kvm)) {
>   		/* Cannot modify memslots once a pVM has run. */
>   		if (pkvm_hyp_vm_is_created(kvm) &&
>   		    (change == KVM_MR_DELETE || change == KVM_MR_MOVE)) {
> diff --git a/arch/arm64/kvm/pkvm.c b/arch/arm64/kvm/pkvm.c
> index 8e4c6e4bec123..8e9176a700926 100644
> --- a/arch/arm64/kvm/pkvm.c
> +++ b/arch/arm64/kvm/pkvm.c
> @@ -229,10 +229,9 @@ void pkvm_destroy_hyp_vm(struct kvm *kvm)
>   	mutex_unlock(&kvm->arch.config_lock);
>   }
>   
> -int pkvm_init_host_vm(struct kvm *kvm, unsigned long type)
> +int pkvm_init_host_vm(struct kvm *kvm)
>   {
>   	int ret;
> -	bool protected = type & KVM_VM_TYPE_ARM_PROTECTED;
>   
>   	/* Reserve the VM in hyp and obtain a hyp handle for the VM. */
>   	ret = kvm_call_hyp_nvhe(__pkvm_reserve_vm);
> @@ -240,8 +239,7 @@ int pkvm_init_host_vm(struct kvm *kvm, unsigned long type)
>   		return ret;
>   
>   	kvm->arch.pkvm.handle = ret;
> -	kvm->arch.pkvm.is_protected = protected;
> -	if (protected) {
> +	if (kvm_vm_is_protected(kvm)) {
>   		pr_warn_once("kvm: protected VMs are experimental and for development only, tainting kernel\n");
>   		add_taint(TAINT_USER, LOCKDEP_STILL_OK);
>   	}




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