Re: Re: [PATCH] KVM: x86: Check irqchip mode before create PIT

From: moehanabi
Date: Wed Jan 24 2024 - 12:03:18 EST


> On Thu, Jan 25, 2024, Brilliant Hanabi wrote:
> > As the kvm api(https://docs.kernel.org/virt/kvm/api.html) reads,
> > KVM_CREATE_PIT2 call is only valid after enabling in-kernel irqchip
> > support via KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP.
> >
> > Without this check, I can create PIT first and enable irqchip-split
> > then, which may cause the PIT invalid because of lacking of in-kernel
> > PIC to inject the interrupt.
>
> Does this cause actual problems beyond the PIT not working for the guest? E.g.
> does it put the host kernel at risk? If the only problem is that the PIT doesn't
> work as expected, I'm tempted to tweak the docs to say that KVM's PIT emulation
> won't work without an in-kernel I/O APIC. Rejecting the ioctl could theoertically
> break misconfigured setups that happen to work, e.g. because the guest never uses
> the PIT.

I don't think it will put the host kernel at risk. But that's exactly what
kvmtool does: it creates in-kernel PIT first and set KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP then.
I found this problem because I was working on implementing a userspace PIC
and PIT in kvmtool. As I planned, I'm going to commit a related patch to
kvmtool if this patch will be applied.

> > Signed-off-by: Brilliant Hanabi <moehanabichan@xxxxxxxxx>
> > ---
> > arch/x86/kvm/x86.c | 2 ++
> > 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)
> >
> > diff --git a/arch/x86/kvm/x86.c b/arch/x86/kvm/x86.c
> > index 27e23714e960..3edc8478310f 100644
> > --- a/arch/x86/kvm/x86.c
> > +++ b/arch/x86/kvm/x86.c
> > @@ -7016,6 +7016,8 @@ int kvm_arch_vm_ioctl(struct file *filp, unsigned int ioctl, unsigned long arg)
> > r = -EEXIST;
> > if (kvm->arch.vpit)
> > goto create_pit_unlock;
> > + if (!pic_in_kernel(kvm))
> > + goto create_pit_unlock;
>
> -EEXIST is not an appropriate errno.

Which errno do you think is better?

> > r = -ENOMEM;
> > kvm->arch.vpit = kvm_create_pit(kvm, u.pit_config.flags);
> > if (kvm->arch.vpit)
> > --
> > 2.39.3
> >