[RFC PATCH v2 03/13] x86/hw_breakpoint: Add arch_reinstall_hw_breakpoint

From: Jinchao Wang

Date: Fri Jul 17 2026 - 09:03:51 EST


The new arch_reinstall_hw_breakpoint() function can be used in an
atomic context, unlike the more expensive free and re-allocation path.
This allows callers to efficiently re-establish an existing breakpoint,
and x86 advertises the capability via HAVE_REINSTALL_HW_BREAKPOINT.

Since a REINSTALL may change bp_len, setup_hwbp() must clear the
slot's stale len/type and enable bits in DR7 before re-encoding:
OR-merging the new encoding over the old one would keep the CPU
watching with the stale width (verified in QEMU by reading DR7 after
re-arming watch_len=1 over a len8 breakpoint: 0x999906aa merged
without the clearing, 0x199906aa with it).

Signed-off-by: Jinchao Wang <wangjinchao600@xxxxxxxxx>
---
arch/x86/Kconfig | 1 +
arch/x86/include/asm/hw_breakpoint.h | 2 ++
arch/x86/kernel/hw_breakpoint.c | 16 ++++++++++++++--
3 files changed, 17 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/arch/x86/Kconfig b/arch/x86/Kconfig
index bdad90f210e4..5be698db0241 100644
--- a/arch/x86/Kconfig
+++ b/arch/x86/Kconfig
@@ -246,6 +246,7 @@ config X86
select HAVE_FUNCTION_TRACER
select HAVE_GCC_PLUGINS
select HAVE_HW_BREAKPOINT
+ select HAVE_REINSTALL_HW_BREAKPOINT
select HAVE_IOREMAP_PROT
select HAVE_IRQ_EXIT_ON_IRQ_STACK if X86_64
select HAVE_IRQ_TIME_ACCOUNTING
diff --git a/arch/x86/include/asm/hw_breakpoint.h b/arch/x86/include/asm/hw_breakpoint.h
index aa6adac6c3a2..c22cc4e87fc5 100644
--- a/arch/x86/include/asm/hw_breakpoint.h
+++ b/arch/x86/include/asm/hw_breakpoint.h
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ struct arch_hw_breakpoint {

enum bp_slot_action {
BP_SLOT_ACTION_INSTALL,
+ BP_SLOT_ACTION_REINSTALL,
BP_SLOT_ACTION_UNINSTALL,
};

@@ -65,6 +66,7 @@ extern int hw_breakpoint_exceptions_notify(struct notifier_block *unused,


int arch_install_hw_breakpoint(struct perf_event *bp);
+int arch_reinstall_hw_breakpoint(struct perf_event *bp);
void arch_uninstall_hw_breakpoint(struct perf_event *bp);
void hw_breakpoint_pmu_read(struct perf_event *bp);
void hw_breakpoint_pmu_unthrottle(struct perf_event *bp);
diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/hw_breakpoint.c b/arch/x86/kernel/hw_breakpoint.c
index 76886467708b..e2dbd43d8e39 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kernel/hw_breakpoint.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/hw_breakpoint.c
@@ -100,6 +100,10 @@ static int manage_bp_slot(struct perf_event *bp, enum bp_slot_action action)
old_bp = NULL;
new_bp = bp;
break;
+ case BP_SLOT_ACTION_REINSTALL:
+ old_bp = bp;
+ new_bp = bp;
+ break;
case BP_SLOT_ACTION_UNINSTALL:
old_bp = bp;
new_bp = NULL;
@@ -134,10 +138,13 @@ static void setup_hwbp(struct arch_hw_breakpoint *info, int slot, bool enable)
__this_cpu_write(cpu_debugreg[slot], info->address);

dr7 = this_cpu_read(cpu_dr7);
+ /*
+ * Clear the slot's stale len/type and enable bits first: a REINSTALL
+ * with a different bp_len would otherwise OR-merge both encodings.
+ */
+ dr7 &= ~__encode_dr7(slot, 0xf, 0);
if (enable)
dr7 |= encode_dr7(slot, info->len, info->type);
- else
- dr7 &= ~__encode_dr7(slot, info->len, info->type);

/*
* Enabling:
@@ -198,6 +205,11 @@ int arch_install_hw_breakpoint(struct perf_event *bp)
return arch_manage_bp(bp, BP_SLOT_ACTION_INSTALL);
}

+int arch_reinstall_hw_breakpoint(struct perf_event *bp)
+{
+ return arch_manage_bp(bp, BP_SLOT_ACTION_REINSTALL);
+}
+
void arch_uninstall_hw_breakpoint(struct perf_event *bp)
{
arch_manage_bp(bp, BP_SLOT_ACTION_UNINSTALL);
--
2.53.0