[PATCH v2 2/2] x86/fred: Fix early boot failures on SEV-ES/SNP guests
From: Nikunj A Dadhania
Date: Thu Feb 26 2026 - 04:34:10 EST
FRED-enabled SEV-ES and SNP guests fail to boot due to the following issues
in the early boot sequence:
* FRED does not have a #VC exception handler in the dispatch logic
* Early FRED #VC exceptions attempt to use uninitialized per-CPU GHCBs
instead of boot_ghcb
Add X86_TRAP_VC case to fred_hwexc() with a new exc_vmm_communication()
function that provides the unified entry point FRED requires, dispatching
to existing user/kernel handlers based on privilege level. The function is
already declared via DECLARE_IDTENTRY_VC().
Fix early GHCB access by falling back to boot_ghcb in
__sev_{get,put}_ghcb() when per-CPU GHCBs are not yet initialized.
Fixes: 14619d912b65 ("x86/fred: FRED entry/exit and dispatch code")
Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx # 6.9+
Signed-off-by: Nikunj A Dadhania <nikunj@xxxxxxx>
---
arch/x86/coco/sev/noinstr.c | 6 ++++++
arch/x86/entry/entry_fred.c | 14 ++++++++++++++
2 files changed, 20 insertions(+)
diff --git a/arch/x86/coco/sev/noinstr.c b/arch/x86/coco/sev/noinstr.c
index 9d94aca4a698..5afd663a1c21 100644
--- a/arch/x86/coco/sev/noinstr.c
+++ b/arch/x86/coco/sev/noinstr.c
@@ -121,6 +121,9 @@ noinstr struct ghcb *__sev_get_ghcb(struct ghcb_state *state)
WARN_ON(!irqs_disabled());
+ if (!sev_cfg.ghcbs_initialized)
+ return boot_ghcb;
+
data = this_cpu_read(runtime_data);
ghcb = &data->ghcb_page;
@@ -164,6 +167,9 @@ noinstr void __sev_put_ghcb(struct ghcb_state *state)
WARN_ON(!irqs_disabled());
+ if (!sev_cfg.ghcbs_initialized)
+ return;
+
data = this_cpu_read(runtime_data);
ghcb = &data->ghcb_page;
diff --git a/arch/x86/entry/entry_fred.c b/arch/x86/entry/entry_fred.c
index 88c757ac8ccd..fbe2d10dd737 100644
--- a/arch/x86/entry/entry_fred.c
+++ b/arch/x86/entry/entry_fred.c
@@ -177,6 +177,16 @@ static noinstr void fred_extint(struct pt_regs *regs)
}
}
+#ifdef CONFIG_AMD_MEM_ENCRYPT
+noinstr void exc_vmm_communication(struct pt_regs *regs, unsigned long error_code)
+{
+ if (user_mode(regs))
+ return user_exc_vmm_communication(regs, error_code);
+ else
+ return kernel_exc_vmm_communication(regs, error_code);
+}
+#endif
+
static noinstr void fred_hwexc(struct pt_regs *regs, unsigned long error_code)
{
/* Optimize for #PF. That's the only exception which matters performance wise */
@@ -207,6 +217,10 @@ static noinstr void fred_hwexc(struct pt_regs *regs, unsigned long error_code)
#ifdef CONFIG_X86_CET
case X86_TRAP_CP: return exc_control_protection(regs, error_code);
#endif
+#ifdef CONFIG_AMD_MEM_ENCRYPT
+ case X86_TRAP_VC: return exc_vmm_communication(regs, error_code);
+#endif
+
default: return fred_bad_type(regs, error_code);
}
--
2.48.1