KVM: MMU: drop read-only large sptes when creating lower level sptes

KVM: MMU: drop read-only large sptes when creating lower level sptes

[Marcelo Tosatti]

Read-only large sptes can be created due to read-only faults as
follows:

- QEMU pagetable entry that maps guest memory is read-only 
due to COW.
- Guest read faults such memory, COW is not broken, because
it is a read-only fault.
- Enable dirty logging, large spte not nuked because it is read-only.
- Write-fault on such memory causes guest to loop endlessly
(which must go down to level 1 because dirty logging is enabled).

Fix by dropping large spte when necessary.

Signed-off-by: Marcelo Tosatti <mtosatti@redhat.com>

diff --git a/arch/x86/kvm/mmu.c b/arch/x86/kvm/mmu.c
index e50425d..9b53135 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kvm/mmu.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kvm/mmu.c
@@ -2672,6 +2672,7 @@ static int __direct_map(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, gpa_t v, int write,
 			break;
 		}
 
+		drop_large_spte(vcpu, iterator.sptep);
 		if (!is_shadow_present_pte(*iterator.sptep)) {
 			u64 base_addr = iterator.addr;
 

Re: KVM: MMU: drop read-only large sptes when creating lower level sptes

[Xiao Guangrong]

On 02/25/2014 12:59 AM, Marcelo Tosatti wrote:
> 
> Read-only large sptes can be created due to read-only faults as
> follows:
> 
> - QEMU pagetable entry that maps guest memory is read-only 
> due to COW.
> - Guest read faults such memory, COW is not broken, because
> it is a read-only fault.
> - Enable dirty logging, large spte not nuked because it is read-only.
> - Write-fault on such memory causes guest to loop endlessly
> (which must go down to level 1 because dirty logging is enabled).

Hi Marcelo,

It surprised me that the large-readonly mapping was not dropped
by mmu-notifer as this is write fault on readonly mapping in Qemu.
Hmm... i missed something?

Re: KVM: MMU: drop read-only large sptes when creating lower level sptes

[Paolo Bonzini]

Il 24/02/2014 17:59, Marcelo Tosatti ha scritto:
>
> Read-only large sptes can be created due to read-only faults as
> follows:
>
> - QEMU pagetable entry that maps guest memory is read-only
> due to COW.
> - Guest read faults such memory, COW is not broken, because
> it is a read-only fault.
> - Enable dirty logging, large spte not nuked because it is read-only.
> - Write-fault on such memory causes guest to loop endlessly
> (which must go down to level 1 because dirty logging is enabled).
>
> Fix by dropping large spte when necessary.
>
> Signed-off-by: Marcelo Tosatti <mtosatti@redhat.com>
>
> diff --git a/arch/x86/kvm/mmu.c b/arch/x86/kvm/mmu.c
> index e50425d..9b53135 100644
> --- a/arch/x86/kvm/mmu.c
> +++ b/arch/x86/kvm/mmu.c
> @@ -2672,6 +2672,7 @@ static int __direct_map(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, gpa_t v, int write,
>  			break;
>  		}
>
> +		drop_large_spte(vcpu, iterator.sptep);
>  		if (!is_shadow_present_pte(*iterator.sptep)) {
>  			u64 base_addr = iterator.addr;
>
>
>

Queued for kvm/master, will push as soon as I test it.

Thanks,

Paolo

Re: KVM: MMU: drop read-only large sptes when creating lower level sptes

[Marcelo Tosatti]

On Tue, Feb 25, 2014 at 11:30:37AM +0800, Xiao Guangrong wrote:
> On 02/25/2014 12:59 AM, Marcelo Tosatti wrote:
> > 
> > Read-only large sptes can be created due to read-only faults as
> > follows:
> > 
> > - QEMU pagetable entry that maps guest memory is read-only 
> > due to COW.
> > - Guest read faults such memory, COW is not broken, because
> > it is a read-only fault.
> > - Enable dirty logging, large spte not nuked because it is read-only.
> > - Write-fault on such memory causes guest to loop endlessly
> > (which must go down to level 1 because dirty logging is enabled).
> 
> Hi Marcelo,
> 
> It surprised me that the large-readonly mapping was not dropped
> by mmu-notifer as this is write fault on readonly mapping in Qemu.
> Hmm... i missed something?

You mean COW was not broken by gup? (that is the problem, so a
read-only large spte is created).

Don't see why mmu-notifier should invalidate the spte?

Re: KVM: MMU: drop read-only large sptes when creating lower level sptes

[Xiao Guangrong]

On Feb 25, 2014, at 9:13 PM, Marcelo Tosatti <mtosatti@redhat.com> wrote:

> On Tue, Feb 25, 2014 at 11:30:37AM +0800, Xiao Guangrong wrote:
>> On 02/25/2014 12:59 AM, Marcelo Tosatti wrote:
>>> 
>>> Read-only large sptes can be created due to read-only faults as
>>> follows:
>>> 
>>> - QEMU pagetable entry that maps guest memory is read-only 
>>> due to COW.
>>> - Guest read faults such memory, COW is not broken, because
>>> it is a read-only fault.
>>> - Enable dirty logging, large spte not nuked because it is read-only.
>>> - Write-fault on such memory causes guest to loop endlessly
>>> (which must go down to level 1 because dirty logging is enabled).
>> 
>> Hi Marcelo,
>> 
>> It surprised me that the large-readonly mapping was not dropped
>> by mmu-notifer as this is write fault on readonly mapping in Qemu.
>> Hmm... i missed something?
> 
> You mean COW was not broken by gup? (that is the problem, so a
> read-only large spte is created).
> 

I mean the final step that “Write-fault on such memory causes guest” should
break the readonly QEMU pagetable entry and change it to writable, at that
time, mmu-notifier should be called since the page’s permission has been
changed.

After read the code more carefully, i figure the reason out that mmu-notifier
is not called when the page can be reused. I am thinking whether it is
reasonable:
- anyway, the permission bits on the pre are changed, why not call
 mmu-notifier->change_pte()?
- kvm and other users of mum-notifier need to check the permission
 changing very carefully, that is really subtle, like the case fixed here.
- if we do proper prefetch when it happen, the addition page-fault can
 be avoided, that is good for the performance.

Re: KVM: MMU: drop read-only large sptes when creating lower level sptes

[Marcelo Tosatti]

On Tue, Feb 25, 2014 at 11:11:19PM +0800, Xiao Guangrong wrote:
> 
> On Feb 25, 2014, at 9:13 PM, Marcelo Tosatti <mtosatti@redhat.com> wrote:
> 
> > On Tue, Feb 25, 2014 at 11:30:37AM +0800, Xiao Guangrong wrote:
> >> On 02/25/2014 12:59 AM, Marcelo Tosatti wrote:
> >>> 
> >>> Read-only large sptes can be created due to read-only faults as
> >>> follows:
> >>> 
> >>> - QEMU pagetable entry that maps guest memory is read-only 
> >>> due to COW.
> >>> - Guest read faults such memory, COW is not broken, because
> >>> it is a read-only fault.
> >>> - Enable dirty logging, large spte not nuked because it is read-only.
> >>> - Write-fault on such memory causes guest to loop endlessly
> >>> (which must go down to level 1 because dirty logging is enabled).
> >> 
> >> Hi Marcelo,
> >> 
> >> It surprised me that the large-readonly mapping was not dropped
> >> by mmu-notifer as this is write fault on readonly mapping in Qemu.
> >> Hmm... i missed something?
> > 
> > You mean COW was not broken by gup? (that is the problem, so a
> > read-only large spte is created).
> > 
> 
> I mean the final step that “Write-fault on such memory causes guest” should
> break the readonly QEMU pagetable entry and change it to writable, at that
> time, mmu-notifier should be called since the page’s permission has been
> changed.
> 
> After read the code more carefully, i figure the reason out that mmu-notifier
> is not called when the page can be reused. 

Well a transition from read-only host-pte to read-write host-pte does
not require the read-only spte to be upgraded immediatelly, right?
Permission is upgraded lazily.

> I am thinking whether it is
> reasonable:
> - anyway, the permission bits on the pre are changed, why not call
>  mmu-notifier->change_pte()?

It could, but lazy updates are better i suppose.

> - kvm and other users of mum-notifier need to check the permission
>  changing very carefully, that is really subtle, like the case fixed here.

Yes.

> - if we do proper prefetch when it happen, the addition page-fault can
>  be avoided, that is good for the performance.

Agree.