[PATCH 00/24] arm64: Decouple MTE code from KASAN support
From: Pierre-Clément Tosi
Date: Sat Nov 07 2026 - 12:43:57 EST
MTE is a hardware feature, KASAN is software infrastructure.
The direction of the dependency should be clear: KASAN uses MTE.
However, the code does not reflect this split: many mte_*() functions
are actually only intended for HW_TAGS such that there is no way to make
use of in-kernel MTE functionality without enabling KASAN. Furthermore,
there is a lot of unnecessary indirection in those functions, causing
duplication, code that is harder to follow than it should be, and making
it easier for subtle inconsistencies to hide.
Instead, this series aims to untangle the two into a set of reusable,
arch-level MTE functions and a thin wrapper around them that KASAN
needs. For non-KASAN MTE-related code, instead of attempting to reuse
KASAN functions, break out individual MTE primitives into KASAN-agnostic
functions and use them where needed by aligning in style with how other
features are supported e.g. during kernel entry/exit.
The result of this rework made some bugs and inefficiencies obvious so
I ordered the patches into 3 sets: first, bug fixes, then, functional
improvements, and finally the refactor. Specifically:
- patch 1 fixes a bug in the support for userspace MTE, with a kselftest
reproducer in patch 2
- patch 3 fixes an unsound inline asm statement
- patches 4-7 address inefficiencies in PSTATE.TCO-guarded sections, TCO
lazy clearing, and harden TTBR1 address categorization
- patches 9-12 rework MTE-specific code in arch-agnostic KASAN, with an
arch-level early refactor in patch 8 to keep those minimal
- patches 13-23 then proceed with the methodical untangling of MTE
from KASAN, leaving only a thin KASAN_HW_TAGS wrapper in <asm/kasan.h>
- patch 24 introduces a hidden Kconfig flag ARM64_MTE_KERNEL, to better
document in the code when logic is required for EL1 MTE, as opposed to
KASAN
This was tested on v7.4-rc1 and applies cleanly to arm64 for-next/core
at commit f46be4da2cbb ("selftests/arm64: GCS must not leak on a failed
clone3").
The following checkpatch.pl errors are consciously ignored:
- "WARNING: ... does MAINTAINERS need updating?" on patch 2 for the
new kselftest but selftests/arm64/ is already properly maintained
- "WARNING: Macros with flow control statements should be avoided" on
patch 5 but the new __raw_{get,put}_mem_tco() macros are intentionally
consistent in style with the pre-existing __raw_{get,put}_mem()
while the other warnings/error are false-positives I fix in [1] and [2].
[1]: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20261107-checkpatch-asm-complex_macro-v1-1-9a7b3c69fc28@xxxxxxxxxx
[2]: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20261107-checkpatch-file_path_changes-v1-1-8b11814560d8@xxxxxxxxxx
---
Pierre-Clément Tosi (24):
arm64: Fix lazy TCO clear when enabling user MTE
kselftest/arm64: Test lazy PSTATE.TCO handling
arm64: Fix volatility of IRG inline assembly
arm64: Skip TCO on privileged uaccess without kMTE
arm64: Check MTE once per fault-handling section
arm64: Harden is_ttbr1_addr() on tagged addresses
arm64: Skip redundant TCO clear post-kernel entry
arm64: Introduce mte_get_reset_tfsr() helpers
kasan: rework hw_{force=>flush}_async_tag_fault()
kasan: rework hw_{get=>set}_random_tag()
kasan: provide empty stub for kasan_report_async()
kasan: drop mte-kasan.h from arch-agnostic header
arm64: Introduce set_pstate_tco() helper macro
arm64: Add mte_{enter,exit}_*_{kernel,user}_mode()
arm64: Refactor and remove mte_disable_tco_entry()
arm64: Refactor KERNEL_GCR_EL1 out of <sysreg.h>
arm64: Introduce MTE & KASAN tag handling helpers
arm64: Inline and remove mte_check_tfsr_*()
arm64: Rework static branches for kernel MTE
arm64: Move MTE insn wrappers to <asm/mte-def.h>
arm64: Introduce mte_tag[_and_zero]_range()
arm64: Consolidate MTE-based KASAN in mte-kasan.h
arm64: Fold <asm/mte-kasan.h> into <asm/kasan.h>
arm64: Introduce CONFIG_ARM64_MTE_KERNEL
MAINTAINERS | 2 +-
arch/arm64/Kconfig | 8 +
arch/arm64/include/asm/kasan.h | 103 +++++++-
arch/arm64/include/asm/memory.h | 14 --
arch/arm64/include/asm/mte-def.h | 65 +++++
arch/arm64/include/asm/mte-kasan.h | 266 ---------------------
arch/arm64/include/asm/mte.h | 189 ++++++++++-----
arch/arm64/include/asm/processor.h | 6 +-
arch/arm64/include/asm/sysreg.h | 17 +-
arch/arm64/include/asm/uaccess.h | 106 +++++---
arch/arm64/include/asm/word-at-a-time.h | 22 +-
arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c | 58 ++++-
arch/arm64/kernel/entry.S | 3 +-
arch/arm64/kernel/mte.c | 72 +++---
arch/arm64/lib/strlen.S | 4 +-
arch/arm64/mm/copypage.c | 1 +
arch/arm64/mm/fault.c | 2 +-
include/linux/kasan.h | 8 +-
mm/kasan/hw_tags.c | 3 +-
mm/kasan/kasan.h | 14 +-
tools/testing/selftests/arm64/mte/.gitignore | 1 +
tools/testing/selftests/arm64/mte/check_lazy_tco.c | 152 ++++++++++++
22 files changed, 649 insertions(+), 467 deletions(-)
---
base-commit: 6628e7d4c6b25c8d18f1345e3a20d21829aae7e4
change-id: 20261107-mte-kasan-split-3632e818f997
Best regards,
--
Pierre-Clément Tosi <ptosi@xxxxxxxxxx>