Re: [RFC PATCH v2 6/6] KVM: SVM: Add CET features to supported_xss

[Sean Christopherson]

On Mon, Jun 26, 2023, Tom Lendacky wrote:
> On 6/26/23 11:28, Sean Christopherson wrote:
> > On Mon, Jun 26, 2023, Tom Lendacky wrote:
> > > On 6/23/23 17:18, Sean Christopherson wrote:
> > > > On Fri, Jun 09, 2023, Rick P Edgecombe wrote:
> > > > > Also, since the host might have CR4.CET set for its own reasons, if the host
> > > > > handled an exit with the the guests MSR_IA32_S_CET set it could suddenly be
> > > > > subjected to CET enforcement that it doesn't expect. Waiting to restore it
> > > > > until returning to the guest is too late.
> > > > > 
> > > > > At least that's the reasoning on the VMX side as I understand it
> > > > 
> > > > The APM doesn't come right out and say it, but I assume/hope that S_CET is saved
> > > > on VMRUN and loaded on #VMEXIT, i.e. is the same as VMX for all intents and
> > > > purposes.
> > > > 
> > > > The host save state definitely has a field for S_CET, and VMRUN documents that the
> > > > guest values are loaded, I just can't find anything in the APM that explicitly states
> > > > how host S_CET and friends are handled.  E.g. in theory, they could have been
> > > > shoved into VMSAVE+VMLOAD, though I very much doubt that's the case.
> > > 
> > > Yes, the host value is saved/restored on VMRUN/#VMEXIT. Anything that is in
> > > the VMCB Save Area (the non-SEV-ES save area) is fully virtualized (unless
> > > noted otherwise) and doesn't require special processing to save/restore the
> > > host values.
> > 
> > Would it makes sense to add a column in "Table B-2. VMCB Layout, State Save Area"
> > to specify whether a field is handled by VMRUN+#VMEXIT vs. VMLOAD+VMSAVE?  I can't
> > find anywhere in the APM where it explicitly states that VMRUN+#VMEXIT context
> > switches everything in the Save Area except the fields listed in "15.5.2 VMSAVE
> > and VMLOAD Instructions".
> > 
> > "15.5 VMRUN Instruction" kinda sorta covers that behavior, but the information is
> > either incomplete or stale, e.g. for host state it says "at least the following"
> > 
> >    Saving Host State. To ensure that the host can resume operation after #VMEXIT,
> >    VMRUN saves at least the following host state information:
> > 
> > but for guest state it says "the following"
> > 
> >    Loading Guest State. After saving host state, VMRUN loads the following guest
> >    state from the VMCB:
> > 
> > and then both provide incomplete lists of state.  A pedantic reading of the guest
> > case suggests that there's a large pile of state that *isn't* loaded, and the host
> > case isn't all that helpful because it's way too handwavy.
> 
> I'll communicate this feedback to the folks that update the APM volumes and
> see what can be done.

Thanks, much appreciated!