Re: [PATCH v2] x86/kexec: Disable KCOV instrumentation after load_segments()

[Borislav Petkov]

On Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 11:03:19PM +0100, Aleksandr Nogikh wrote:
> The load_segments() function changes segment registers, invalidating
> GS base (which KCOV relies on for per-cpu data). When CONFIG_KCOV is
> enabled, any subsequent instrumented C code call (e.g.
> native_gdt_invalidate()) begins crashing the kernel in an endless
> loop.
> 
> To reproduce the problem, it's sufficient to do kexec on a
> KCOV-instrumented kernel:
> $ kexec -l /boot/otherKernel
> $ kexec -e
> 
> The real-world context for this problem is enabling crash dump
> collection in syzkaller. For this, the tool loads a panic kernel
> before fuzzing and then calls makedumpfile after the panic. This
> workflow requires both CONFIG_KEXEC and CONFIG_KCOV to be enabled
> simultaneously.
> 
> Adding safeguards directly to the KCOV fast-path
> (__sanitizer_cov_trace_pc()) is also undesirable as it would
> introduce an extra performance overhead.
> 
> Disabling instrumentation for the individual functions would be too
> fragile, so let's fix the bug by disabling KCOV instrumentation for
> the entire machine_kexec_64.c and physaddr.c. If coverage-guided
> fuzzing ever needs these components in the future, we should consider
						     ^^

Please use passive voice in your commit message: no "we" or "I", etc,
and describe your changes in imperative mood.

Also in the comments below.

> other approaches.
> 
> The problem is not relevant for 32 bit kernels as CONFIG_KCOV is not
> supported there.
> 
> Reviewed-by: Dmitry Vyukov <dvyukov@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Signed-off-by: Aleksandr Nogikh <nogikh@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> ---
> v2:
> Updated the comments to explain the underlying context.
> 
> v1:
> https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260216173716.2279847-1-nogikh@xxxxxxxxxx/
> ---
>  arch/x86/kernel/Makefile | 10 ++++++++++
>  arch/x86/mm/Makefile     | 10 ++++++++++
>  2 files changed, 20 insertions(+)


./scripts/checkpatch.pl /tmp/current.patch 

...
 
WARNING: The commit message has 'stable@', perhaps it also needs a 'Fixes:' tag?

> 
> diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/Makefile b/arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
> index e9aeeeafad173..41b1333907ded 100644
> --- a/arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
> +++ b/arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
> @@ -43,6 +43,16 @@ KCOV_INSTRUMENT_dumpstack_$(BITS).o			:= n
>  KCOV_INSTRUMENT_unwind_orc.o				:= n
>  KCOV_INSTRUMENT_unwind_frame.o				:= n
>  KCOV_INSTRUMENT_unwind_guess.o				:= n
> +# Disable KCOV to prevent crashes during kexec: load_segments() invalidates
> +# the GS base, which KCOV relies on for per-CPU data.
> +# As KCOV && KEXEC compatibility should be preserved (e.g. syzkaller is
> +# using it to collect crash dumps during kernel fuzzing), we could either
> +# selectively disable KCOV instrumentation, which can be fragile, or add
> +# more checks to KCOV, which would slow it down.
> +# As a compromise solution, let's disable KCOV instrumentation for the
> +# whole file. If its coverage is ever needed, we should consider other
> +# approaches.
> +KCOV_INSTRUMENT_machine_kexec_64.o			:= n
>  
>  CFLAGS_head32.o := -fno-stack-protector
>  CFLAGS_head64.o := -fno-stack-protector
> diff --git a/arch/x86/mm/Makefile b/arch/x86/mm/Makefile
> index 5b9908f13dcfd..ea3a31b54e49e 100644
> --- a/arch/x86/mm/Makefile
> +++ b/arch/x86/mm/Makefile
> @@ -4,6 +4,16 @@ KCOV_INSTRUMENT_tlb.o			:= n
>  KCOV_INSTRUMENT_mem_encrypt.o		:= n
>  KCOV_INSTRUMENT_mem_encrypt_amd.o	:= n
>  KCOV_INSTRUMENT_pgprot.o		:= n
> +# Disable KCOV to prevent crashes during kexec: load_segments() invalidates
> +# the GS base, which KCOV relies on for per-CPU data.
> +# As KCOV && KEXEC compatibility should be preserved (e.g. syzkaller is
> +# using it to collect crash dumps during kernel fuzzing), we could either
> +# selectively disable KCOV instrumentation, which can be fragile, or add
> +# more checks to KCOV, which would slow it down.
> +# As a compromise solution, let's disable KCOV instrumentation for the
> +# whole file. If its coverage is ever needed, we should consider other
> +# approaches.

Instead of repeating this big comment block, just say something along the
lines of:

# See "Disable KCOV" comment in arch/x86/kernel/Makefile

> +KCOV_INSTRUMENT_physaddr.o		:= n
>  
>  KASAN_SANITIZE_mem_encrypt.o		:= n
>  KASAN_SANITIZE_mem_encrypt_amd.o	:= n
> 
> base-commit: f338e77383789c0cae23ca3d48adcc5e9e137e3c
> -- 

Thx.

-- 
Regards/Gruss,
    Boris.

https://people.kernel.org/tglx/notes-about-netiquette