Re: [PATCH 4/4] KVM: nVMX: initialize more non-shadowed fields in prepare_vmcs02_full

From: Wanpeng Li
Date: Wed Dec 27 2017 - 21:07:17 EST


2017-12-27 17:54 GMT+08:00 Paolo Bonzini <pbonzini@xxxxxxxxxx>:
> On 25/12/2017 04:09, Wanpeng Li wrote:
>> 2017-12-21 20:43 GMT+08:00 Paolo Bonzini <pbonzini@xxxxxxxxxx>:
>>> These fields are also simple copies of the data in the vmcs12 struct.
>>> For some of them, prepare_vmcs02 was skipping the copy when the field
>>> was unused. In prepare_vmcs02_full, we copy them always as long as the
>>> field exists on the host, because the corresponding execution control
>>> might be one of the shadowed fields.
>>
>> Why we don't need to copy them always before the patchset?
>
> Before these patches, we only copy them if the corresponding processor
> control is enabled. For example, we only copy the EOI exit bitmap if
> APICv is enabled by L1. Here we could have
>
> write to EOI exit bitmap
> vmlaunch (calls prepare_vmcs02_full)
> enable APICv (but EOI exit bitmap fields are clean)
> vmresume (doesn't call prepare_vmcs02_full)
>
> The vmresume doesn't call prepare_vmcs02_full, so the EOI exit bitmap
> must be copied every time prepare_vmcs02_full runs.

I see, what about my question to patch 2/4? Writing to vmcs fields
always causes vmexit if enable_shadow_vmcs == false and
vmx->nested.dirty_vmcs12 is false for "shadow vmcs fields", this can
result in prepare_vmcs02_full() is not called even if some processor
controls are modified.

Regards,
Wanpeng Li