[PATCH] KVM: x86: Initialize the PIO bounce buffer on PIT control-port reads
From: Pablo Azuaje
Date: Sun Oct 18 2026 - 07:52:57 EST
pit_ioport_read() bails out for reads of the control word register
(port 0x43) without writing to the PIO bounce buffer. The read is
nevertheless reported as successful, so the guest receives whatever the
buffer happens to hold -- typically its own bytes from a previous OUT
or IN on the same port -- as the readback value.
Real hardware returns undefined data for reads of the control word
register, so keep KVM's behavior well-defined and predictable: zero the
bounce buffer before returning. The read is still reported as
successful, and returning the guest's own prior IO bytes as a
pseudo-readback is observable state with no architectural meaning;
zeroing is the least-surprise choice. This is also hardening rather
than a security fix: the leaked bytes belong to the guest itself, never
to the host.
Fixes: ee73f656a604 ("KVM: PIT: control word is write-only")
Signed-off-by: Pablo Azuaje <pablo45154@xxxxxxxxx>
---
arch/x86/kvm/i8254.c | 10 +++++++++-
1 file changed, 9 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
diff --git a/arch/x86/kvm/i8254.c b/arch/x86/kvm/i8254.c
index 1982b0077ddd..a4c23962f161 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kvm/i8254.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kvm/i8254.c
@@ -522,8 +522,16 @@ static int pit_ioport_read(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu,
return -EOPNOTSUPP;
addr &= KVM_PIT_CHANNEL_MASK;
- if (addr == 3)
+ if (addr == 3) {
+ /*
+ * The control word register is write-only. Zero the PIO
+ * bounce buffer instead of leaving it untouched, which
+ * would feed the guest whatever it last wrote (via OUT or a
+ * previous IN) as the readback value.
+ */
+ memset(data, 0, len);
return 0;
+ }
s = &pit_state->channels[addr];
--
2.53.0