The following commit has been merged into the x86/cpu branch of tip:

Commit-ID:     b36d1f53d90c869d5f02fe0d8603f825013e746e
Gitweb:        https://git.kernel.org/tip/b36d1f53d90c869d5f02fe0d8603f825013e746e
Author:        Sohil Mehta <sohil.mehta@intel.com>
AuthorDate:    Mon, 09 Mar 2026 11:10:28 -07:00
Committer:     Dave Hansen <dave.hansen@linux.intel.com>
CommitterDate: Thu, 19 Mar 2026 15:11:13 -07:00

x86/vsyscall: Disable LASS if vsyscall mode is set to EMULATE

The EMULATE mode of vsyscall maps the vsyscall page with a high kernel
address directly into user address space. Reading the vsyscall page in
EMULATE mode would cause LASS to trigger a #GP.

Fixing the LASS violation in EMULATE mode would require complex
instruction decoding because the resulting #GP does include the
necessary error information, and the vsyscall address is not
readily available in the RIP.

The EMULATE mode has been deprecated since 2022 and can only be enabled
using the command line parameter vsyscall=emulate. See commit
bf00745e7791 ("x86/vsyscall: Remove CONFIG_LEGACY_VSYSCALL_EMULATE") for
details. At this point, no one is expected to be using this insecure
mode. The rare usages that need it obviously do not care about security.

Disable LASS when EMULATE mode is requested to avoid breaking legacy
user software. Also, update the vsyscall documentation to reflect this.
LASS will only be supported if vsyscall mode is set to XONLY (default)
or NONE.

Signed-off-by: Sohil Mehta <sohil.mehta@intel.com>
Signed-off-by: Dave Hansen <dave.hansen@linux.intel.com>
Reviewed-by: Rick Edgecombe <rick.p.edgecombe@intel.com>
Reviewed-by: Dave Hansen <dave.hansen@linux.intel.com>
Reviewed-by: H. Peter Anvin (Intel) <hpa@zytor.com>
Tested-by: Maciej Wieczor-Retman <maciej.wieczor-retman@intel.com>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260309181029.398498-5-sohil.mehta@intel.com
---
 Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt | 4 +++-
 arch/x86/entry/vsyscall/vsyscall_64.c           | 5 +++++
 2 files changed, 8 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt
index cb850e5..64df2c5 100644
--- a/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/kernel-parameters.txt
@@ -8376,7 +8376,9 @@ Kernel parameters
 
 			emulate     Vsyscalls turn into traps and are emulated
 			            reasonably safely.  The vsyscall page is
-				    readable.
+				    readable.  This disables the Linear
+				    Address Space Separation (LASS) security
+				    feature and makes the system less secure.
 
 			xonly       [default] Vsyscalls turn into traps and are
 			            emulated reasonably safely.  The vsyscall
diff --git a/arch/x86/entry/vsyscall/vsyscall_64.c b/arch/x86/entry/vsyscall/vsyscall_64.c
index e740f3b..ea36de9 100644
--- a/arch/x86/entry/vsyscall/vsyscall_64.c
+++ b/arch/x86/entry/vsyscall/vsyscall_64.c
@@ -62,6 +62,11 @@ static int __init vsyscall_setup(char *str)
 		else
 			return -EINVAL;
 
+		if (cpu_feature_enabled(X86_FEATURE_LASS) && vsyscall_mode == EMULATE) {
+			setup_clear_cpu_cap(X86_FEATURE_LASS);
+			pr_warn_once("x86/cpu: Disabling LASS due to vsyscall=emulate\n");
+		}
+
 		return 0;
 	}