[PATCH v9 9/9] gpu: nova-core: use the Generic Bootloader to boot FWSEC on Turing

From: Alexandre Courbot

Date: Thu Feb 12 2026 - 03:33:51 EST


From: Timur Tabi <ttabi@xxxxxxxxxx>

On Turing and GA100, a new firmware image called the Generic Bootloader
(gen_bootloader) must be used to load FWSEC into Falcon memory. The
driver loads the generic bootloader into Falcon IMEM, passes a
descriptor that points to FWSEC using DMEM, and then boots the generic
bootloader. The bootloader will then load FWSEC into IMEM and boot it.

Signed-off-by: Timur Tabi <ttabi@xxxxxxxxxx>
Co-developed-by: Alexandre Courbot <acourbot@xxxxxxxxxx>
Signed-off-by: Alexandre Courbot <acourbot@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
drivers/gpu/nova-core/firmware/fwsec.rs | 6 +
drivers/gpu/nova-core/firmware/fwsec/bootloader.rs | 276 +++++++++++++++++++++
drivers/gpu/nova-core/gsp/boot.rs | 15 +-
3 files changed, 294 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/drivers/gpu/nova-core/firmware/fwsec.rs b/drivers/gpu/nova-core/firmware/fwsec.rs
index ebea7fed43ba..f4159d7a9d0e 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/nova-core/firmware/fwsec.rs
+++ b/drivers/gpu/nova-core/firmware/fwsec.rs
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
//! - The command to be run, as this firmware can perform several tasks ;
//! - The ucode signature, so the GSP falcon can run FWSEC in HS mode.

+pub(crate) mod bootloader;
+
use core::{
marker::PhantomData,
ops::Deref, //
@@ -408,6 +410,10 @@ pub(crate) fn new(
}

/// Loads the FWSEC firmware into `falcon` and execute it.
+ ///
+ /// This must only be called on chipsets that do not need the FWSEC bootloader (i.e., where
+ /// [`Chipset::needs_fwsec_bootloader()`](crate::gpu::Chipset::needs_fwsec_bootloader) returns
+ /// `false`). On chipsets that do, use [`bootloader::FwsecFirmwareWithBl`] instead.
pub(crate) fn run(
&self,
dev: &Device<device::Bound>,
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/nova-core/firmware/fwsec/bootloader.rs b/drivers/gpu/nova-core/firmware/fwsec/bootloader.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..1cfe72e27479
--- /dev/null
+++ b/drivers/gpu/nova-core/firmware/fwsec/bootloader.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,276 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+//! Bootloader support for the FWSEC firmware.
+//!
+//! On Turing, the FWSEC firmware is not loaded directly, but is instead loaded through a small
+//! bootloader program that performs the required DMA operations. This bootloader itself needs to
+//! be loaded using PIO.
+
+use kernel::{
+ alloc::KVec,
+ device::{
+ self,
+ Device, //
+ },
+ prelude::*,
+ sizes,
+ transmute::{
+ AsBytes,
+ FromBytes, //
+ },
+};
+
+use crate::{
+ driver::Bar0,
+ falcon::{
+ gsp::Gsp,
+ Falcon,
+ FalconBromParams,
+ FalconDmaLoadable,
+ FalconEngine,
+ FalconFbifMemType,
+ FalconFbifTarget,
+ FalconFirmware,
+ FalconPioDmemLoadTarget,
+ FalconPioImemLoadTarget,
+ FalconPioLoadable, //
+ },
+ firmware::{
+ fwsec::FwsecFirmware,
+ request_firmware,
+ BinHdr,
+ FIRMWARE_VERSION, //
+ },
+ gpu::Chipset,
+ num::{
+ self,
+ FromSafeCast, //
+ },
+ regs,
+};
+
+/// Descriptor used by RM to figure out the requirements of the boot loader.
+#[repr(C)]
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub(crate) struct BootloaderDesc {
+ /// Starting tag of bootloader.
+ pub(crate) start_tag: u32,
+ /// DMEM offset where [`BootloaderDmemDescV2`] is to be loaded.
+ pub(crate) dmem_load_off: u32,
+ /// Offset of code section in the image.
+ pub(crate) code_off: u32,
+ /// Size of code section in the image.
+ pub(crate) code_size: u32,
+ /// Offset of data section in the image.
+ pub(crate) data_off: u32,
+ /// Size of data section in the image.
+ pub(crate) data_size: u32,
+}
+// SAFETY: any byte sequence is valid for this struct.
+unsafe impl FromBytes for BootloaderDesc {}
+
+/// Structure used by the boot-loader to load the rest of the code.
+///
+/// This has to be filled by the GPU driver and copied into DMEM at offset
+/// [`BootloaderDesc.dmem_load_off`].
+#[repr(C, packed)]
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub(crate) struct BootloaderDmemDescV2 {
+ /// Reserved, should always be first element.
+ pub(crate) reserved: [u32; 4],
+ /// 16B signature for secure code, 0s if no secure code.
+ pub(crate) signature: [u32; 4],
+ /// DMA context used by the bootloader while loading code/data.
+ pub(crate) ctx_dma: u32,
+ /// 256B-aligned physical FB address where code is located.
+ pub(crate) code_dma_base: u64,
+ /// Offset from `code_dma_base` where the non-secure code is located (must be multiple of 256).
+ pub(crate) non_sec_code_off: u32,
+ /// Size of the non-secure code part.
+ pub(crate) non_sec_code_size: u32,
+ /// Offset from `code_dma_base` where the secure code is located (must be multiple of 256).
+ pub(crate) sec_code_off: u32,
+ /// Size of the secure code part.
+ pub(crate) sec_code_size: u32,
+ /// Code entry point invoked by the bootloader after code is loaded.
+ pub(crate) code_entry_point: u32,
+ /// 256B-aligned physical FB address where data is located.
+ pub(crate) data_dma_base: u64,
+ /// Size of data block (should be multiple of 256B).
+ pub(crate) data_size: u32,
+ /// Arguments to be passed to the target firmware being loaded.
+ pub(crate) argc: u32,
+ /// Number of arguments to be passed to the target firmware being loaded.
+ pub(crate) argv: u32,
+}
+// SAFETY: This struct doesn't contain uninitialized bytes and doesn't have interior mutability.
+unsafe impl AsBytes for BootloaderDmemDescV2 {}
+
+/// Wrapper for [`FwsecFirmware`] that includes the bootloader performing the actual load
+/// operation.
+pub(crate) struct FwsecFirmwareWithBl {
+ /// Firmware that the bootloader will load.
+ firmware: FwsecFirmware,
+ /// Descriptor to be loaded into DMEM for the bootloader to read.
+ dmem_desc: BootloaderDmemDescV2,
+ /// Code of the bootloader to be loaded into non-secure IMEM.
+ ucode: KVec<u8>,
+ /// Range-validated start offset of the firmware code in IMEM.
+ imem_dst_start: u16,
+ /// Range-validated `desc.start_tag`.
+ start_tag: u16,
+}
+
+impl FwsecFirmwareWithBl {
+ /// Loads the bootloader firmware for `dev` and `chipset`, and wrap `firmware` so it can be
+ /// loaded using it.
+ pub(crate) fn new(
+ firmware: FwsecFirmware,
+ dev: &Device<device::Bound>,
+ chipset: Chipset,
+ ) -> Result<Self> {
+ let fw = request_firmware(dev, chipset, "gen_bootloader", FIRMWARE_VERSION)?;
+ let hdr = fw
+ .data()
+ .get(0..size_of::<BinHdr>())
+ .and_then(BinHdr::from_bytes_copy)
+ .ok_or(EINVAL)?;
+
+ let desc = {
+ let desc_offset = usize::from_safe_cast(hdr.header_offset);
+
+ fw.data()
+ .get(desc_offset..)
+ .and_then(BootloaderDesc::from_bytes_copy_prefix)
+ .ok_or(EINVAL)?
+ .0
+ };
+
+ let ucode = {
+ let ucode_start = usize::from_safe_cast(hdr.data_offset);
+ let code_size = usize::from_safe_cast(desc.code_size);
+
+ let mut ucode = KVec::new();
+ ucode.extend_from_slice(
+ fw.data()
+ .get(ucode_start..ucode_start + code_size)
+ .ok_or(EINVAL)?,
+ GFP_KERNEL,
+ )?;
+
+ ucode
+ };
+
+ let dmem_desc = {
+ let imem_sec = FalconDmaLoadable::imem_sec_load_params(&firmware);
+ let imem_ns = FalconDmaLoadable::imem_ns_load_params(&firmware).ok_or(EINVAL)?;
+ let dmem = FalconDmaLoadable::dmem_load_params(&firmware);
+
+ BootloaderDmemDescV2 {
+ reserved: [0; 4],
+ signature: [0; 4],
+ ctx_dma: 4, // FALCON_DMAIDX_PHYS_SYS_NCOH
+ code_dma_base: firmware.dma_handle(),
+ non_sec_code_off: imem_ns.dst_start,
+ non_sec_code_size: imem_ns.len,
+ sec_code_off: imem_sec.dst_start,
+ sec_code_size: imem_sec.len,
+ code_entry_point: 0,
+ data_dma_base: firmware.dma_handle() + u64::from(dmem.src_start),
+ data_size: dmem.len,
+ argc: 0,
+ argv: 0,
+ }
+ };
+
+ // The bootloader's code must be loaded in the area right below the first 64K of IMEM.
+ const BOOTLOADER_LOAD_CEILING: u32 = num::usize_into_u32::<{ sizes::SZ_64K }>();
+ let imem_dst_start = BOOTLOADER_LOAD_CEILING
+ .checked_sub(desc.code_size)
+ .ok_or(EOVERFLOW)?;
+
+ Ok(Self {
+ firmware,
+ dmem_desc,
+ ucode,
+ imem_dst_start: u16::try_from(imem_dst_start)?,
+ start_tag: u16::try_from(desc.start_tag)?,
+ })
+ }
+
+ /// Loads the bootloader into `falcon` and execute it.
+ ///
+ /// The bootloader will load the FWSEC firmware and then execute it. This function returns
+ /// after FWSEC has reached completion.
+ pub(crate) fn run(
+ &self,
+ dev: &Device<device::Bound>,
+ falcon: &Falcon<Gsp>,
+ bar: &Bar0,
+ ) -> Result<()> {
+ // Reset falcon, load the firmware, and run it.
+ falcon
+ .reset(bar)
+ .inspect_err(|e| dev_err!(dev, "Failed to reset GSP falcon: {:?}\n", e))?;
+ falcon
+ .pio_load(bar, self)
+ .inspect_err(|e| dev_err!(dev, "Failed to load FWSEC firmware: {:?}\n", e))?;
+
+ // Configure DMA index for the bootloader to fetch the FWSEC firmware from system memory.
+ regs::NV_PFALCON_FBIF_TRANSCFG::update(
+ bar,
+ &Gsp::ID,
+ usize::from_safe_cast(self.dmem_desc.ctx_dma),
+ |v| {
+ v.set_target(FalconFbifTarget::CoherentSysmem)
+ .set_mem_type(FalconFbifMemType::Physical)
+ },
+ );
+
+ let (mbox0, _) = falcon
+ .boot(bar, Some(0), None)
+ .inspect_err(|e| dev_err!(dev, "Failed to boot FWSEC firmware: {:?}\n", e))?;
+ if mbox0 != 0 {
+ dev_err!(dev, "FWSEC firmware returned error {}\n", mbox0);
+ Err(EIO)
+ } else {
+ Ok(())
+ }
+ }
+}
+
+impl FalconFirmware for FwsecFirmwareWithBl {
+ type Target = Gsp;
+
+ fn brom_params(&self) -> FalconBromParams {
+ self.firmware.brom_params()
+ }
+
+ fn boot_addr(&self) -> u32 {
+ // On V2 platforms, the boot address is extracted from the generic bootloader, because the
+ // gbl is what actually copies FWSEC into memory, so that is what needs to be booted.
+ u32::from(self.start_tag) << 8
+ }
+}
+
+impl FalconPioLoadable for FwsecFirmwareWithBl {
+ fn imem_sec_load_params(&self) -> Option<FalconPioImemLoadTarget<'_>> {
+ None
+ }
+
+ fn imem_ns_load_params(&self) -> Option<FalconPioImemLoadTarget<'_>> {
+ Some(FalconPioImemLoadTarget {
+ data: self.ucode.as_ref(),
+ dst_start: self.imem_dst_start,
+ secure: false,
+ start_tag: self.start_tag,
+ })
+ }
+
+ fn dmem_load_params(&self) -> FalconPioDmemLoadTarget<'_> {
+ FalconPioDmemLoadTarget {
+ data: self.dmem_desc.as_bytes(),
+ dst_start: 0,
+ }
+ }
+}
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/nova-core/gsp/boot.rs b/drivers/gpu/nova-core/gsp/boot.rs
index be427fe26a58..b7dbd57dd882 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/nova-core/gsp/boot.rs
+++ b/drivers/gpu/nova-core/gsp/boot.rs
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
BooterKind, //
},
fwsec::{
+ bootloader::FwsecFirmwareWithBl,
FwsecCommand,
FwsecFirmware, //
},
@@ -48,6 +49,7 @@ impl super::Gsp {
/// created the WPR2 region.
fn run_fwsec_frts(
dev: &device::Device<device::Bound>,
+ chipset: Chipset,
falcon: &Falcon<Gsp>,
bar: &Bar0,
bios: &Vbios,
@@ -63,6 +65,7 @@ fn run_fwsec_frts(
return Err(EBUSY);
}

+ // FWSEC-FRTS will create the WPR2 region.
let fwsec_frts = FwsecFirmware::new(
dev,
falcon,
@@ -74,8 +77,14 @@ fn run_fwsec_frts(
},
)?;

- // Run FWSEC-FRTS to create the WPR2 region.
- fwsec_frts.run(dev, falcon, bar)?;
+ if chipset.needs_fwsec_bootloader() {
+ let fwsec_frts_bl = FwsecFirmwareWithBl::new(fwsec_frts, dev, chipset)?;
+ // Load and run the bootloader, which will load FWSEC-FRTS and run it.
+ fwsec_frts_bl.run(dev, falcon, bar)?;
+ } else {
+ // Load and run FWSEC-FRTS directly.
+ fwsec_frts.run(dev, falcon, bar)?;
+ }

// SCRATCH_E contains the error code for FWSEC-FRTS.
let frts_status = regs::NV_PBUS_SW_SCRATCH_0E_FRTS_ERR::read(bar).frts_err_code();
@@ -144,7 +153,7 @@ pub(crate) fn boot(
let fb_layout = FbLayout::new(chipset, bar, &gsp_fw)?;
dev_dbg!(dev, "{:#x?}\n", fb_layout);

- Self::run_fwsec_frts(dev, gsp_falcon, bar, &bios, &fb_layout)?;
+ Self::run_fwsec_frts(dev, chipset, gsp_falcon, bar, &bios, &fb_layout)?;

let booter_loader = BooterFirmware::new(
dev,

--
2.53.0