[PATCH 00/17] KVM: arm64: Confine protected VM vCPU state to EL2
From: Fuad Tabba
Date: Mon Aug 31 2026 - 17:51:07 EST
Hi folks,
Following the vCPU state-sync series [1], this series completes the
job for protected VMs: a protected guest's register state stays at
EL2, and the host sees only what handling each exit needs.
EL2 marshals a protected vCPU's state per exception class instead of
copying the whole context both ways. It owns the vCPU's trap
configuration, system register reset and HVC handling, and implements
PSCI itself: AFFINITY_INFO never reaches the host, and CPU_ON and
CPU_OFF are decided at EL2 with the host only scheduling or parking
the target. Host ioctls that would reach the state EL2 owns fail with
a clean errno, so a protected VM's state is not save/restorable. All
of this is scoped to KVM_VM_TYPE_ARM_PROTECTED, and pkvm.rst describes
the resulting API.
The kvmtool changes that go with this will be posted separately, and I
will reply here with a link.
Patch 1 is the HCR_EL2.VSE fix posted separately [2]. It is not part
of this series; it is carried so the series applies as is and Sashiko
can run on it.
The KVM_ARM_PREFERRED_TARGET documentation fix [3] went out just ahead
of this series. Nothing here needs it to apply, but patch 17 documents
vCPU feature availability as something the capabilities report, while
api.rst 4.83 still points userspace at a bitmap that has always been
empty.
The series is structured as follows:
01: The HCR_EL2.VSE fix, posted separately.
02-03: Capability allowlist and the PVTIME rejection.
04-05: Per-exception-class entry handlers; EL2 owns a protected
vCPU's trap configuration.
06-08: Timer state, system register reset and HVC handling at EL2.
09-10: PSCI at EL2, and the KVM_ARM_VCPU_INIT and PSCI version
restrictions.
11-14: Host PC adjustments blocked; an UNDEF at EL2 for exit
classes the host does not emulate; per-class state
marshalling; a protected guest's SError pended with
HCR_EL2.VSE.
15-16: Host access to private state, and host power-on of a vCPU
EL2 holds powered off, rejected.
17: Documentation.
Still to come: selftests, self-hosted debug, SVE for protected guests,
and much more, as separate series.
Based on v7.3-rc1 (cee9395acd804).
Cheers,
/fuad
P.S. Sashiko, bring it on!
[1] https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260729131823.2021516-1-fuad.tabba@xxxxxxxxx/
[2] https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260829071120.2522788-1-fuad.tabba@xxxxxxxxx/
[3] https://lore.kernel.org/all/20260831162815.269851-1-fuad.tabba@xxxxxxxxx/
Fuad Tabba (15):
KVM: arm64: Sync HCR_EL2.VSE back to the host vCPU under pKVM
KVM: arm64: Advertise the capabilities that protected VMs support
KVM: arm64: Reject the PVTIME vCPU attribute for protected VMs
KVM: arm64: Skip fixed-feature state flush for protected vCPUs
KVM: arm64: Add system register reset framework for protected VMs
KVM: arm64: Implement HVC handling for protected guests at EL2
KVM: arm64: Handle PSCI calls for protected VMs at EL2
KVM: arm64: Restrict KVM_ARM_VCPU_INIT and PSCI version for protected
VMs
KVM: arm64: Prevent host PC adjustments for protected vCPUs
KVM: arm64: Inject an UNDEF at EL2 for unhandled protected guest exits
KVM: arm64: Add per-EC entry/exit state marshalling for protected
guests
KVM: arm64: Pend a protected guest's SError with HCR_EL2.VSE only
KVM: arm64: Reject host access to protected VM private state
KVM: arm64: Reject host power-on of a vCPU that EL2 holds powered off
KVM: arm64: Document the protected VM userspace API
Marc Zyngier (2):
KVM: arm64: Introduce per-EC entry handlers for pKVM
KVM: arm64: Add {flush,sync}_hyp_timer_state() primitives
Documentation/virt/kvm/api.rst | 22 +-
.../virt/kvm/arm/fw-pseudo-registers.rst | 2 +
Documentation/virt/kvm/arm/pkvm.rst | 141 ++++-
Documentation/virt/kvm/devices/vcpu.rst | 4 +-
arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_asm.h | 1 +
arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_host.h | 21 +
arch/arm64/include/asm/kvm_pkvm.h | 34 +-
arch/arm64/kvm/arm.c | 40 ++
arch/arm64/kvm/guest.c | 29 +
arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/exception.c | 27 +-
arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/include/nvhe/pkvm.h | 18 +
arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/nvhe/hyp-main.c | 564 +++++++++++++++++-
arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/nvhe/pkvm.c | 401 ++++++++++++-
arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/nvhe/switch.c | 29 +-
arch/arm64/kvm/hyp/nvhe/sys_regs.c | 91 ++-
arch/arm64/kvm/hypercalls.c | 7 +
arch/arm64/kvm/inject_fault.c | 5 +-
arch/arm64/kvm/pkvm.c | 21 +-
arch/arm64/kvm/psci.c | 3 +
19 files changed, 1378 insertions(+), 82 deletions(-)
base-commit: cee9395acd8043be0644b25c34bfa86623f2b935
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2.39.5