[PATCH] x86/mm: Define the zapped-entry checks only with CONFIG_DEBUG_VM
From: Kiryl Shutsemau (Meta)
Date: Mon Nov 02 2026 - 10:25:54 EST
Zapping a range calls arch_check_zapped_pte() for every batch of PTEs,
which is every page for small folios, and arch_check_zapped_pmd() or
arch_check_zapped_pud() for every huge leaf. On x86 these are out-of-line
functions whose only content is a VM_WARN_ON_ONCE(), so without
CONFIG_DEBUG_VM they are empty, but the call remains. With the SRSO "Safe
RET" mitigation the return of every such call mispredicts.
Declare and define the checks only with CONFIG_DEBUG_VM. Otherwise the
empty inlines from <linux/pgtable.h> apply, as on every other
architecture. They cannot be inlines in <asm/pgtable.h>: VM_SHADOW_STACK
is defined in <linux/mm.h> after it includes <linux/pgtable.h>.
In a KVM guest on Zen 4 with Safe RET, zapping 4K pages takes one branch
miss per page fewer. MADV_DONTNEED of 1 GiB gets 6% faster on anonymous
memory and 8% on shmem, munmap() 5%. THP is unchanged.
Fixes: e5136e876581 ("mm: Warn on shadow stack memory in wrong vma")
Signed-off-by: Kiryl Shutsemau (Meta) <kas@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
arch/x86/include/asm/pgtable.h | 2 ++
arch/x86/mm/pgtable.c | 2 ++
2 files changed, 4 insertions(+)
diff --git a/arch/x86/include/asm/pgtable.h b/arch/x86/include/asm/pgtable.h
index 000fc6c1ca37..9b03a316fb75 100644
--- a/arch/x86/include/asm/pgtable.h
+++ b/arch/x86/include/asm/pgtable.h
@@ -1666,6 +1666,7 @@ static inline bool arch_has_pfn_modify_check(void)
return boot_cpu_has_bug(X86_BUG_L1TF);
}
+#ifdef CONFIG_DEBUG_VM
#define arch_check_zapped_pte arch_check_zapped_pte
void arch_check_zapped_pte(struct vm_area_struct *vma, pte_t pte);
@@ -1674,6 +1675,7 @@ void arch_check_zapped_pmd(struct vm_area_struct *vma, pmd_t pmd);
#define arch_check_zapped_pud arch_check_zapped_pud
void arch_check_zapped_pud(struct vm_area_struct *vma, pud_t pud);
+#endif
#ifdef CONFIG_XEN_PV
#define arch_has_hw_nonleaf_pmd_young arch_has_hw_nonleaf_pmd_young
diff --git a/arch/x86/mm/pgtable.c b/arch/x86/mm/pgtable.c
index 4a105f283cfb..3352bc6904f3 100644
--- a/arch/x86/mm/pgtable.c
+++ b/arch/x86/mm/pgtable.c
@@ -798,6 +798,7 @@ pmd_t pmd_mkwrite(pmd_t pmd, struct vm_area_struct *vma)
return pmd_clear_saveddirty(pmd);
}
+#ifdef CONFIG_DEBUG_VM
void arch_check_zapped_pte(struct vm_area_struct *vma, pte_t pte)
{
/*
@@ -823,3 +824,4 @@ void arch_check_zapped_pud(struct vm_area_struct *vma, pud_t pud)
/* See note in arch_check_zapped_pte() */
VM_WARN_ON_ONCE(!(vma->vm_flags & VM_SHADOW_STACK) && pud_shstk(pud));
}
+#endif
--
2.54.0