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On IBM POWER systems, newer processor generations can operate in compatibility modes corresponding to earlier generations. This becomes relevant for nested virtualization, where nested KVM guests may need to run with a specific processor compatibility level. Currently, when running a nested KVM guest (L2) inside a Power11 pSeries logical partition (L1) booted in Power10 compatibility mode, the guest fails to boot while setting 'arch_compat'. This happens because the CPU class is derived from the hardware PVR (via mfspr()), which reflects the physical processor generation (Power11), rather than the effective compatibility mode (Power10). As a result, userspace may request a Power11 arch_compat for the L2 guest. However, the L1 partition, running in Power10 compatibility, has only negotiated support up to Power10 with the Power Hypervisor (L0). When H_GUEST_SET_STATE is invoked with a Power11 Logical PVR, the hypervisor rejects the request, leading to a late guest boot failure: KVM-NESTEDv2: couldn't set guest wide elements [..KVM reg dump..] This situation should be detected earlier and rejected by KVM. Without proper validation, if userspace ignores the error, the guest may continue to boot in Power11 raw mode on a Power10 compatibility host, which should not be allowed. Introduce a validation mechanism that detects unsupported arch_compat values early in the guest initialization path. When an unsupported arch_compat is requested (e.g., Power11 on a Power10 compatibility mode host), kvmppc_set_arch_compat() uses cpu_has_feature(CPU_FTR_P11_PVR) to detect the mismatch and sets arch_compat to PVR_ARCH_INVALID (0xffffffff). This sentinel value is architecturally safe: PAPR specifies that valid logical PVR values must have 0x0f as the first byte, ensuring 0xffffffff lies permanently outside the specification-defined range. Setting this value triggers kvmppc_sanity_check() to mark the vCPU as invalid by setting vcpu->arch.sane to false. On the next vCPU run, kvmppc_vcpu_run_hv() checks this flag and returns -EINVAL, preventing the guest from running with an invalid processor compatibility configuration. With this, when a Power11 arch_compat is requested on a Power10 compatibility mode host, the guest fails early during boot with: error: kvm run failed Invalid argument This provides a much clearer failure mode compared to the previous behavior where the guest could boot in Power11 raw mode (if userspace ignored the error) or fail late during H_GUEST_SET_STATE. Suggested-by: Vaibhav Jain <vaibhav@linux.ibm.com> Reviewed-by: Vaibhav Jain <vaibhav@linux.ibm.com> Tested-by: Anushree Mathur <anushree.mathur@linux.ibm.com> Acked-by: Gautam Menghani <gautam@linux.ibm.com> Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org # v6.13+ Reviewed-by: Ritesh Harjani (IBM) <ritesh.list@gmail.com> Reviewed-by: Mukesh Kumar Chaurasiya (IBM) <mkchauras@gmail.com> Signed-off-by: Amit Machhiwal <amachhiw@linux.ibm.com> Signed-off-by: Madhavan Srinivasan <maddy@linux.ibm.com> Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260714175432.86388-1-amachhiw@linux.ibm.com
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