There are two workflow paths that access the same address simultaneously, creating a potential data race in kvm_vcpu_on_spin. This occurs when one workflow reads kvm->last_boosted_vcpu while another parallel path writes to it. KCSAN produces the following output when enabled. BUG: KCSAN: data-race in kvm_vcpu_on_spin [kvm] / kvm_vcpu_on_spin [kvm] write to 0xffffc90025a92344 of 4 bytes by task 4340 on cpu 16: kvm_vcpu_on_spin (arch/x86/kvm/../../../virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:4112) kvm handle_pause (arch/x86/kvm/vmx/vmx.c:5929) kvm_intel vmx_handle_exit (arch/x86/kvm/vmx/vmx.c:? arch/x86/kvm/vmx/vmx.c:6606) kvm_intel vcpu_run (arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:11107 arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:11211) kvm kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run (arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:?) kvm kvm_vcpu_ioctl (arch/x86/kvm/../../../virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:?) kvm __se_sys_ioctl (fs/ioctl.c:52 fs/ioctl.c:904 fs/ioctl.c:890) __x64_sys_ioctl (fs/ioctl.c:890) x64_sys_call (arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:33) do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/common.c:?) entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:130) read to 0xffffc90025a92344 of 4 bytes by task 4342 on cpu 4: kvm_vcpu_on_spin (arch/x86/kvm/../../../virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:4069) kvm handle_pause (arch/x86/kvm/vmx/vmx.c:5929) kvm_intel vmx_handle_exit (arch/x86/kvm/vmx/vmx.c:? arch/x86/kvm/vmx/vmx.c:6606) kvm_intel vcpu_run (arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:11107 arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:11211) kvm kvm_arch_vcpu_ioctl_run (arch/x86/kvm/x86.c:?) kvm kvm_vcpu_ioctl (arch/x86/kvm/../../../virt/kvm/kvm_main.c:?) kvm __se_sys_ioctl (fs/ioctl.c:52 fs/ioctl.c:904 fs/ioctl.c:890) __x64_sys_ioctl (fs/ioctl.c:890) x64_sys_call (arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:33) do_syscall_64 (arch/x86/entry/common.c:?) entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe (arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:130) value changed: 0x00000012 -> 0x00000000 Given that both operations occur simultaneously without any locking mechanisms in place, let's ensure atomicity to prevent possible data corruption. We'll achieve this by employing READ_ONCE() for the reading operation and WRITE_ONCE() for the writing operation. Signed-off-by: Breno Leitao <leitao@xxxxxxxxxx> --- virt/kvm/kvm_main.c | 5 +++-- 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/virt/kvm/kvm_main.c b/virt/kvm/kvm_main.c index ff0a20565f90..9768307d5e6c 100644 --- a/virt/kvm/kvm_main.c +++ b/virt/kvm/kvm_main.c @@ -4066,12 +4066,13 @@ void kvm_vcpu_on_spin(struct kvm_vcpu *me, bool yield_to_kernel_mode) { struct kvm *kvm = me->kvm; struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu; - int last_boosted_vcpu = me->kvm->last_boosted_vcpu; + int last_boosted_vcpu; unsigned long i; int yielded = 0; int try = 3; int pass; + last_boosted_vcpu = READ_ONCE(me->kvm->last_boosted_vcpu); kvm_vcpu_set_in_spin_loop(me, true); /* * We boost the priority of a VCPU that is runnable but not @@ -4109,7 +4110,7 @@ void kvm_vcpu_on_spin(struct kvm_vcpu *me, bool yield_to_kernel_mode) yielded = kvm_vcpu_yield_to(vcpu); if (yielded > 0) { - kvm->last_boosted_vcpu = i; + WRITE_ONCE(kvm->last_boosted_vcpu, i); break; } else if (yielded < 0) { try--; -- 2.43.0