Re: [PATCH v2 11/16] KVM: x86/pmu: Emulate the GLOBAL_STATUS_SET and GLOBAL_INUSE MSRs

[Chen, Zide]

On 11/2/2026 4:25 PM, Jim Mattson wrote:
> On Mon, Nov 2, 2026 at 2:13 PM Chen, Zide <zide.chen@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>
>> On 11/2/2026 3:36 PM, Yosry Ahmed wrote:
>>>>>>> 1. GLOBAL_STATUS_TRACE_TOPAPMI_BIT can leak from the host into the
>>>>>>> guest. If a host PT PMI arrives while the guest context is loaded, bit
>>>>>>> 55 will be set for the guest, and the guest won't be able to clear it if
>>>>>>> OVF_CTRL is intercepted (it will #GP as it is reserved for the guest).
>>>>>>> Similarly, the value can't be restored through KVM_SET_MSRS.
>>>>>> I think mediated vPMU assumes that no host PMIs can be generated while
>>>>>> guest PMU state is loaded.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If PT state can leak into the guest via bit 55, similar leakage can also
>>>>>> occur for other status bits, e.g. when the guest exposes fewer
>>>>>> general-purpose or fixed counters than the host.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The scenario where both host and guest can be active simultaneously is
>>>>>> handled by the perfmon_mask case, where intel_mediated_pmu_{load,put}()
>>>>>> filter guest-owned status bits.
>>>>> Looking at the code:
>>>>>
>>>>> kvm_mediated_pmu_load() -> perf_load_guest_context() ->
>>>>> perf_ctx_disable() will iterate PMUs with for_each_epc() and disable
>>>>> them, which skips PMUs without PERF_PMU_CAP_MEDIATED_VPMU.
>>>>>
>>>>> Same for kvm_mediated_pmu_load() -> perf_load_guest_context()
>>>>> ->ctx_sched_out(), it also uses for_each_epc() to iterate PMUs and
>>>>> schedule them out.
>>>>>
>>>>> pt_init() does not set PERF_PMU_CAP_MEDIATED_VPMU on pt_pmu.pmu.capabilities
>>>>>
>>>>> Please correct me if I am wrong.
>>>> My apologies, this bug is indeed real because pt_pmu lacks the
>>>> PERF_PMU_CAP_MEDIATED_VPMU capability.
>>>>
>>>> Adding this capability to pt_pmu seems intuitive, but unlike
>>>>
>>>>                        the core PMU (which merely toggles enable bits),
>>>> Intel PT is an AUX-based PMU. Stopping and restarting it on every VM
>>>> transition is heavier, and I'm not sure whether it could introduce a
>>>> noticeable performance penalty.
>>>>
>>>> However, whether the solution is adding PERF_PMU_CAP_MEDIATED_VPMU or
>>>> some other mechanism to enforce mutual exclusion between pt_pmu and
>>>> mediated vPMU, we can address that in a separate patch.
>>>>
>>>> To immediately protect guest state and live migration in this series,
>>>> I'm thinking of adding the following defensive filter in
>>>> intel_mediated_pmu_put():
>>>>
>>>> + /*
>>>> +  * Scrub bits that are not virtualized for the guest to prevent
>>>> +  * possible host state from leaking into guest state and breaking
>>>> +  * live migration.
>>>> +  */
>>>> +  pmu->global_status &= ~pmu->global_status_rsvd;
>>> This doesn't prevent the leakage, it just clears it on the guest->host
>>> switch. So it helps live migration but I am not sure if it's better or
>>> worse if the guest sees the bit unexpectedly appear AND then
>>> unexpectedly disappear.
>> Right, as long as the GLOBAL_STATUS is passthru, the leak can't be
>> prevented.
>>> We can clear it when the MSR is read by userspace, which should fix
>>> live migration, but the guest will still see the bit, and it will
>>> still disappear unexpectedly but only during live migration.
>>>
>>> The guest still won't be able to clear it when OVF_CTRL is intercepted.
>> GLOBAL_STATUS and OVF_CTRL share the same interception policy. If they
>> are passed through, the guest can see the bit and clear it; if both are
>> intercepted, then bit 55 can't leak to the guest.
>>
>> It's not perfect, but at least the guest won't observe bit 55 and then
>> get an unexpected #GP when attempting to clear it.
> I'm not sure what imperfect solution you are referring to, but Yosry's
> proposal that the bit gets cleared on a guest->host switch is a
> non-starter. MSR bits must not vanish unpredictably.

Agree, then maybe Yosry's suggestion is what we can do for now: filter
out unsupported bits when the MSR is read by userspace.

diff --git a/arch/x86/kvm/pmu.c b/arch/x86/kvm/pmu.c
index 38c7a4fa1007..3849b3f5234a 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kvm/pmu.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kvm/pmu.c
@@ -862,6 +862,8 @@ int kvm_pmu_get_msr(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, struct
msr_data *msr_info)
        switch (msr) {
        case MSR_CORE_PERF_GLOBAL_STATUS:
        case MSR_AMD64_PERF_CNTR_GLOBAL_STATUS:
+               if (msr_info->host_initiated)
+                       pmu->global_status &= ~pmu->global_status_rsvd;

The underlying issue still requires proper mutual exclusion between
Intel PT and mediated vPMU, which I think can be addressed separately.