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Sohil Mehta 0021e71cfb x86/efi: Disable LASS while executing runtime services
Ideally, EFI runtime services should switch to kernel virtual addresses
after SetVirtualAddressMap(). However, firmware implementations are
known to be buggy in this regard and continue to access physical
addresses. The kernel maintains a 1:1 mapping of all runtime services
code and data regions to avoid breaking such firmware.

LASS enforcement relies on bit 63 of the virtual address, which would
block such accesses to the lower half. Unfortunately, not doing anything
could lead to #GP faults when users update to a kernel with LASS
enabled.

One option is to use a STAC/CLAC pair to temporarily disable LASS data
enforcement. However, there is no guarantee that the stray accesses
would only touch data and not perform instruction fetches. Also, relying
on the AC bit would depend on the runtime calls preserving RFLAGS, which
is highly unlikely in practice.

Instead, use the big hammer and switch off the entire LASS mechanism
temporarily by clearing CR4.LASS. Runtime services are called in the
context of efi_mm, which has explicitly unmapped any memory EFI isn't
allowed to touch (including userspace). So, do this right after
switching to efi_mm to avoid any security impact.

Some runtime services can be invoked during boot when LASS isn't active.
Use a global variable (similar to efi_mm) to save and restore the
correct CR4.LASS state. The runtime calls are serialized with the
efi_runtime_lock, so no concurrency issues are expected.

Signed-off-by: Sohil Mehta <sohil.mehta@intel.com>
Signed-off-by: Dave Hansen <dave.hansen@linux.intel.com>
Tested-by: Tony Luck <tony.luck@intel.com>
Tested-by: Maciej Wieczor-Retman <maciej.wieczor-retman@intel.com>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260120234730.2215498-3-sohil.mehta@intel.com
History 2026-03-03 09:49:45 -08:00
arch
block Convert remaining multi-line kmalloc_obj/flex GFP_KERNEL uses 2026-02-22 08:26:33 -08:00
certs Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
crypto x509: select CONFIG_CRYPTO_LIB_SHA256 2026-02-22 12:09:23 -08:00
Documentation Arm: 2026-03-01 15:34:47 -08:00
drivers Arm: 2026-03-01 15:34:47 -08:00
fs Miscellaneous fixes: 2026-03-01 11:09:24 -08:00
include Arm: 2026-03-01 15:34:47 -08:00
init init/Kconfig: Adjust fixed clang version for __builtin_counted_by_ref 2026-02-23 14:35:16 -08:00
io_uring io_uring-7.0-20260227 2026-02-27 10:39:11 -08:00
ipc Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
kernel Improve the inlining of jiffies_to_msecs() and jiffies_to_usecs(), 2026-03-01 12:15:58 -08:00
lib A single fix for debugobjects. 2026-03-01 13:32:32 -08:00
LICENSES LICENSES: Add modern form of the LGPL-2.1 tags to the usage guide section 2025-10-22 07:58:19 +02:00
mm slab fixes for 7.0-rc1 2026-02-27 09:54:02 -08:00
net Including fixes from IPsec, Bluetooth and netfilter 2026-02-26 08:00:13 -08:00
rust rust: io: macro_export io_define_read!() and io_define_write!() 2026-02-23 00:54:02 +01:00
samples USB / Thunderbolt changes for 7.0-rc1 2026-02-17 09:36:43 -08:00
scripts Convert 'alloc_obj' family to use the new default GFP_KERNEL argument 2026-02-21 17:09:51 -08:00
security Convert remaining multi-line kmalloc_obj/flex GFP_KERNEL uses 2026-02-22 08:26:33 -08:00
sound ASoC: SDCA: Fix comments for sdca_irq_request() 2026-02-26 17:57:37 +01:00
tools bpf-fixes 2026-02-28 19:54:28 -08:00
usr kbuild: uapi: drop dependency on CC_CAN_LINK 2026-01-16 15:02:11 -07:00
virt KVM: always define KVM_CAP_SYNC_MMU 2026-02-28 15:31:35 +01:00
.clang-format Devicetree updates for v7.0: 2026-02-11 18:27:08 -08:00
.clippy.toml rust: clean Rust 1.88.0's warning about clippy::disallowed_macros configuration 2025-05-07 00:11:47 +02:00
.cocciconfig scripts: add Linux .cocciconfig for coccinelle 2016-07-22 12:13:39 +02:00
.editorconfig editorconfig: add rst extension 2026-01-26 19:07:09 -08:00
.get_maintainer.ignore MAINTAINERS: remove Alyssa Rosenzweig 2025-09-18 21:17:31 +02:00
.gitattributes .gitattributes: set diff driver for Rust source code files 2023-05-31 17:48:25 +02:00
.gitignore rust: kbuild: add proc macro library support 2025-11-24 17:15:36 +01:00
.mailmap 12 hotfixes. 7 are cc:stable. 8 are for MM. 2026-02-26 15:27:41 -08:00
.pylintrc docs: Move the python libraries to tools/lib/python 2025-11-18 09:22:40 -07:00
.rustfmt.toml rust: add .rustfmt.toml 2022-09-28 09:02:20 +02:00
COPYING COPYING: state that all contributions really are covered by this file 2020-02-10 13:32:20 -08:00
CREDITS CREDITS: Add -next to Stephen Rothwell's entry 2026-02-22 12:11:33 -08:00
Kbuild sched: Make migrate_{en,dis}able() inline 2025-09-25 09:57:16 +02:00
Kconfig io_uring: Rename KConfig to Kconfig 2025-02-19 14:53:27 -07:00
MAINTAINERS SCSI fixes on 20260228 2026-03-01 09:59:29 -08:00
Makefile Linux 7.0-rc2 2026-03-01 15:39:31 -08:00
README docs: add AI Coding Assistants documentation 2026-01-06 14:55:06 -07:00

Linux kernel
============

The Linux kernel is the core of any Linux operating system. It manages hardware,
system resources, and provides the fundamental services for all other software.

Quick Start
-----------

* Report a bug: See Documentation/admin-guide/reporting-issues.rst
* Get the latest kernel: https://kernel.org
* Build the kernel: See Documentation/admin-guide/quickly-build-trimmed-linux.rst
* Join the community: https://lore.kernel.org/

Essential Documentation
-----------------------

All users should be familiar with:

* Building requirements: Documentation/process/changes.rst
* Code of Conduct: Documentation/process/code-of-conduct.rst
* License: See COPYING

Documentation can be built with make htmldocs or viewed online at:
https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/


Who Are You?
============

Find your role below:

* New Kernel Developer - Getting started with kernel development
* Academic Researcher - Studying kernel internals and architecture
* Security Expert - Hardening and vulnerability analysis
* Backport/Maintenance Engineer - Maintaining stable kernels
* System Administrator - Configuring and troubleshooting
* Maintainer - Leading subsystems and reviewing patches
* Hardware Vendor - Writing drivers for new hardware
* Distribution Maintainer - Packaging kernels for distros
* AI Coding Assistant - LLMs and AI-powered development tools


For Specific Users
==================

New Kernel Developer
--------------------

Welcome! Start your kernel development journey here:

* Getting Started: Documentation/process/development-process.rst
* Your First Patch: Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
* Coding Style: Documentation/process/coding-style.rst
* Build System: Documentation/kbuild/index.rst
* Development Tools: Documentation/dev-tools/index.rst
* Kernel Hacking Guide: Documentation/kernel-hacking/hacking.rst
* Core APIs: Documentation/core-api/index.rst

Academic Researcher
-------------------

Explore the kernel's architecture and internals:

* Researcher Guidelines: Documentation/process/researcher-guidelines.rst
* Memory Management: Documentation/mm/index.rst
* Scheduler: Documentation/scheduler/index.rst
* Networking Stack: Documentation/networking/index.rst
* Filesystems: Documentation/filesystems/index.rst
* RCU (Read-Copy Update): Documentation/RCU/index.rst
* Locking Primitives: Documentation/locking/index.rst
* Power Management: Documentation/power/index.rst

Security Expert
---------------

Security documentation and hardening guides:

* Security Documentation: Documentation/security/index.rst
* LSM Development: Documentation/security/lsm-development.rst
* Self Protection: Documentation/security/self-protection.rst
* Reporting Vulnerabilities: Documentation/process/security-bugs.rst
* CVE Procedures: Documentation/process/cve.rst
* Embargoed Hardware Issues: Documentation/process/embargoed-hardware-issues.rst
* Security Features: Documentation/userspace-api/seccomp_filter.rst

Backport/Maintenance Engineer
-----------------------------

Maintain and stabilize kernel versions:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* Backporting Guide: Documentation/process/backporting.rst
* Applying Patches: Documentation/process/applying-patches.rst
* Subsystem Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git for Maintainers: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

System Administrator
--------------------

Configure, tune, and troubleshoot Linux systems:

* Admin Guide: Documentation/admin-guide/index.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Sysctl Tuning: Documentation/admin-guide/sysctl/index.rst
* Tracing/Debugging: Documentation/trace/index.rst
* Performance Security: Documentation/admin-guide/perf-security.rst
* Hardware Monitoring: Documentation/hwmon/index.rst

Maintainer
----------

Lead kernel subsystems and manage contributions:

* Maintainer Handbook: Documentation/maintainer/index.rst
* Pull Requests: Documentation/maintainer/pull-requests.rst
* Managing Patches: Documentation/maintainer/modifying-patches.rst
* Rebasing and Merging: Documentation/maintainer/rebasing-and-merging.rst
* Development Process: Documentation/process/maintainer-handbooks.rst
* Maintainer Entry Profile: Documentation/maintainer/maintainer-entry-profile.rst
* Git Configuration: Documentation/maintainer/configure-git.rst

Hardware Vendor
---------------

Write drivers and support new hardware:

* Driver API Guide: Documentation/driver-api/index.rst
* Driver Model: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/driver.rst
* Device Drivers: Documentation/driver-api/infrastructure.rst
* Bus Types: Documentation/driver-api/driver-model/bus.rst
* Device Tree Bindings: Documentation/devicetree/bindings/
* Power Management: Documentation/driver-api/pm/index.rst
* DMA API: Documentation/core-api/dma-api.rst

Distribution Maintainer
-----------------------

Package and distribute the kernel:

* Stable Kernel Rules: Documentation/process/stable-kernel-rules.rst
* ABI Documentation: Documentation/ABI/README
* Kernel Configuration: Documentation/kbuild/kconfig.rst
* Module Signing: Documentation/admin-guide/module-signing.rst
* Kernel Parameters: Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.rst
* Tainted Kernels: Documentation/admin-guide/tainted-kernels.rst

AI Coding Assistant
-------------------

CRITICAL: If you are an LLM or AI-powered coding assistant, you MUST read and
follow the AI coding assistants documentation before contributing to the Linux
kernel:

* Documentation/process/coding-assistants.rst

This documentation contains essential requirements about licensing, attribution,
and the Developer Certificate of Origin that all AI tools must comply with.


Communication and Support
=========================

* Mailing Lists: https://lore.kernel.org/
* IRC: #kernelnewbies on irc.oftc.net
* Bugzilla: https://bugzilla.kernel.org/
* MAINTAINERS file: Lists subsystem maintainers and mailing lists
* Email Clients: Documentation/process/email-clients.rst