1 The Definitive KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) API Documentation
2 ===================================================================
7 The kvm API is a set of ioctls that are issued to control various aspects
8 of a virtual machine. The ioctls belong to three classes:
10 - System ioctls: These query and set global attributes which affect the
11 whole kvm subsystem. In addition a system ioctl is used to create
14 - VM ioctls: These query and set attributes that affect an entire virtual
15 machine, for example memory layout. In addition a VM ioctl is used to
16 create virtual cpus (vcpus) and devices.
18 VM ioctls must be issued from the same process (address space) that was
19 used to create the VM.
21 - vcpu ioctls: These query and set attributes that control the operation
22 of a single virtual cpu.
24 vcpu ioctls should be issued from the same thread that was used to create
25 the vcpu, except for asynchronous vcpu ioctl that are marked as such in
26 the documentation. Otherwise, the first ioctl after switching threads
27 could see a performance impact.
29 - device ioctls: These query and set attributes that control the operation
32 device ioctls must be issued from the same process (address space) that
33 was used to create the VM.
38 The kvm API is centered around file descriptors. An initial
39 open("/dev/kvm") obtains a handle to the kvm subsystem; this handle
40 can be used to issue system ioctls. A KVM_CREATE_VM ioctl on this
41 handle will create a VM file descriptor which can be used to issue VM
42 ioctls. A KVM_CREATE_VCPU or KVM_CREATE_DEVICE ioctl on a VM fd will
43 create a virtual cpu or device and return a file descriptor pointing to
44 the new resource. Finally, ioctls on a vcpu or device fd can be used
45 to control the vcpu or device. For vcpus, this includes the important
46 task of actually running guest code.
48 In general file descriptors can be migrated among processes by means
49 of fork() and the SCM_RIGHTS facility of unix domain socket. These
50 kinds of tricks are explicitly not supported by kvm. While they will
51 not cause harm to the host, their actual behavior is not guaranteed by
52 the API. See "General description" for details on the ioctl usage
53 model that is supported by KVM.
55 It is important to note that althought VM ioctls may only be issued from
56 the process that created the VM, a VM's lifecycle is associated with its
57 file descriptor, not its creator (process). In other words, the VM and
58 its resources, *including the associated address space*, are not freed
59 until the last reference to the VM's file descriptor has been released.
60 For example, if fork() is issued after ioctl(KVM_CREATE_VM), the VM will
61 not be freed until both the parent (original) process and its child have
62 put their references to the VM's file descriptor.
64 Because a VM's resources are not freed until the last reference to its
65 file descriptor is released, creating additional references to a VM via
66 via fork(), dup(), etc... without careful consideration is strongly
67 discouraged and may have unwanted side effects, e.g. memory allocated
68 by and on behalf of the VM's process may not be freed/unaccounted when
75 As of Linux 2.6.22, the KVM ABI has been stabilized: no backward
76 incompatible change are allowed. However, there is an extension
77 facility that allows backward-compatible extensions to the API to be
80 The extension mechanism is not based on the Linux version number.
81 Instead, kvm defines extension identifiers and a facility to query
82 whether a particular extension identifier is available. If it is, a
83 set of ioctls is available for application use.
89 This section describes ioctls that can be used to control kvm guests.
90 For each ioctl, the following information is provided along with a
93 Capability: which KVM extension provides this ioctl. Can be 'basic',
94 which means that is will be provided by any kernel that supports
95 API version 12 (see section 4.1), a KVM_CAP_xyz constant, which
96 means availability needs to be checked with KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION
97 (see section 4.4), or 'none' which means that while not all kernels
98 support this ioctl, there's no capability bit to check its
99 availability: for kernels that don't support the ioctl,
100 the ioctl returns -ENOTTY.
102 Architectures: which instruction set architectures provide this ioctl.
103 x86 includes both i386 and x86_64.
105 Type: system, vm, or vcpu.
107 Parameters: what parameters are accepted by the ioctl.
109 Returns: the return value. General error numbers (EBADF, ENOMEM, EINVAL)
110 are not detailed, but errors with specific meanings are.
113 4.1 KVM_GET_API_VERSION
119 Returns: the constant KVM_API_VERSION (=12)
121 This identifies the API version as the stable kvm API. It is not
122 expected that this number will change. However, Linux 2.6.20 and
123 2.6.21 report earlier versions; these are not documented and not
124 supported. Applications should refuse to run if KVM_GET_API_VERSION
125 returns a value other than 12. If this check passes, all ioctls
126 described as 'basic' will be available.
134 Parameters: machine type identifier (KVM_VM_*)
135 Returns: a VM fd that can be used to control the new virtual machine.
137 The new VM has no virtual cpus and no memory.
138 You probably want to use 0 as machine type.
140 In order to create user controlled virtual machines on S390, check
141 KVM_CAP_S390_UCONTROL and use the flag KVM_VM_S390_UCONTROL as
142 privileged user (CAP_SYS_ADMIN).
144 To use hardware assisted virtualization on MIPS (VZ ASE) rather than
145 the default trap & emulate implementation (which changes the virtual
146 memory layout to fit in user mode), check KVM_CAP_MIPS_VZ and use the
150 On arm64, the physical address size for a VM (IPA Size limit) is limited
151 to 40bits by default. The limit can be configured if the host supports the
152 extension KVM_CAP_ARM_VM_IPA_SIZE. When supported, use
153 KVM_VM_TYPE_ARM_IPA_SIZE(IPA_Bits) to set the size in the machine type
154 identifier, where IPA_Bits is the maximum width of any physical
155 address used by the VM. The IPA_Bits is encoded in bits[7-0] of the
156 machine type identifier.
158 e.g, to configure a guest to use 48bit physical address size :
160 vm_fd = ioctl(dev_fd, KVM_CREATE_VM, KVM_VM_TYPE_ARM_IPA_SIZE(48));
162 The requested size (IPA_Bits) must be :
163 0 - Implies default size, 40bits (for backward compatibility)
167 N - Implies N bits, where N is a positive integer such that,
168 32 <= N <= Host_IPA_Limit
170 Host_IPA_Limit is the maximum possible value for IPA_Bits on the host and
171 is dependent on the CPU capability and the kernel configuration. The limit can
172 be retrieved using KVM_CAP_ARM_VM_IPA_SIZE of the KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION
175 Please note that configuring the IPA size does not affect the capability
176 exposed by the guest CPUs in ID_AA64MMFR0_EL1[PARange]. It only affects
177 size of the address translated by the stage2 level (guest physical to
178 host physical address translations).
181 4.3 KVM_GET_MSR_INDEX_LIST, KVM_GET_MSR_FEATURE_INDEX_LIST
183 Capability: basic, KVM_CAP_GET_MSR_FEATURES for KVM_GET_MSR_FEATURE_INDEX_LIST
186 Parameters: struct kvm_msr_list (in/out)
187 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
189 EFAULT: the msr index list cannot be read from or written to
190 E2BIG: the msr index list is to be to fit in the array specified by
193 struct kvm_msr_list {
194 __u32 nmsrs; /* number of msrs in entries */
198 The user fills in the size of the indices array in nmsrs, and in return
199 kvm adjusts nmsrs to reflect the actual number of msrs and fills in the
200 indices array with their numbers.
202 KVM_GET_MSR_INDEX_LIST returns the guest msrs that are supported. The list
203 varies by kvm version and host processor, but does not change otherwise.
205 Note: if kvm indicates supports MCE (KVM_CAP_MCE), then the MCE bank MSRs are
206 not returned in the MSR list, as different vcpus can have a different number
207 of banks, as set via the KVM_X86_SETUP_MCE ioctl.
209 KVM_GET_MSR_FEATURE_INDEX_LIST returns the list of MSRs that can be passed
210 to the KVM_GET_MSRS system ioctl. This lets userspace probe host capabilities
211 and processor features that are exposed via MSRs (e.g., VMX capabilities).
212 This list also varies by kvm version and host processor, but does not change
216 4.4 KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION
218 Capability: basic, KVM_CAP_CHECK_EXTENSION_VM for vm ioctl
220 Type: system ioctl, vm ioctl
221 Parameters: extension identifier (KVM_CAP_*)
222 Returns: 0 if unsupported; 1 (or some other positive integer) if supported
224 The API allows the application to query about extensions to the core
225 kvm API. Userspace passes an extension identifier (an integer) and
226 receives an integer that describes the extension availability.
227 Generally 0 means no and 1 means yes, but some extensions may report
228 additional information in the integer return value.
230 Based on their initialization different VMs may have different capabilities.
231 It is thus encouraged to use the vm ioctl to query for capabilities (available
232 with KVM_CAP_CHECK_EXTENSION_VM on the vm fd)
234 4.5 KVM_GET_VCPU_MMAP_SIZE
240 Returns: size of vcpu mmap area, in bytes
242 The KVM_RUN ioctl (cf.) communicates with userspace via a shared
243 memory region. This ioctl returns the size of that region. See the
244 KVM_RUN documentation for details.
247 4.6 KVM_SET_MEMORY_REGION
252 Parameters: struct kvm_memory_region (in)
253 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
255 This ioctl is obsolete and has been removed.
263 Parameters: vcpu id (apic id on x86)
264 Returns: vcpu fd on success, -1 on error
266 This API adds a vcpu to a virtual machine. No more than max_vcpus may be added.
267 The vcpu id is an integer in the range [0, max_vcpu_id).
269 The recommended max_vcpus value can be retrieved using the KVM_CAP_NR_VCPUS of
270 the KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION ioctl() at run-time.
271 The maximum possible value for max_vcpus can be retrieved using the
272 KVM_CAP_MAX_VCPUS of the KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION ioctl() at run-time.
274 If the KVM_CAP_NR_VCPUS does not exist, you should assume that max_vcpus is 4
276 If the KVM_CAP_MAX_VCPUS does not exist, you should assume that max_vcpus is
277 same as the value returned from KVM_CAP_NR_VCPUS.
279 The maximum possible value for max_vcpu_id can be retrieved using the
280 KVM_CAP_MAX_VCPU_ID of the KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION ioctl() at run-time.
282 If the KVM_CAP_MAX_VCPU_ID does not exist, you should assume that max_vcpu_id
283 is the same as the value returned from KVM_CAP_MAX_VCPUS.
285 On powerpc using book3s_hv mode, the vcpus are mapped onto virtual
286 threads in one or more virtual CPU cores. (This is because the
287 hardware requires all the hardware threads in a CPU core to be in the
288 same partition.) The KVM_CAP_PPC_SMT capability indicates the number
289 of vcpus per virtual core (vcore). The vcore id is obtained by
290 dividing the vcpu id by the number of vcpus per vcore. The vcpus in a
291 given vcore will always be in the same physical core as each other
292 (though that might be a different physical core from time to time).
293 Userspace can control the threading (SMT) mode of the guest by its
294 allocation of vcpu ids. For example, if userspace wants
295 single-threaded guest vcpus, it should make all vcpu ids be a multiple
296 of the number of vcpus per vcore.
298 For virtual cpus that have been created with S390 user controlled virtual
299 machines, the resulting vcpu fd can be memory mapped at page offset
300 KVM_S390_SIE_PAGE_OFFSET in order to obtain a memory map of the virtual
301 cpu's hardware control block.
304 4.8 KVM_GET_DIRTY_LOG (vm ioctl)
309 Parameters: struct kvm_dirty_log (in/out)
310 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
312 /* for KVM_GET_DIRTY_LOG */
313 struct kvm_dirty_log {
317 void __user *dirty_bitmap; /* one bit per page */
322 Given a memory slot, return a bitmap containing any pages dirtied
323 since the last call to this ioctl. Bit 0 is the first page in the
324 memory slot. Ensure the entire structure is cleared to avoid padding
327 If KVM_CAP_MULTI_ADDRESS_SPACE is available, bits 16-31 specifies
328 the address space for which you want to return the dirty bitmap.
329 They must be less than the value that KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION returns for
330 the KVM_CAP_MULTI_ADDRESS_SPACE capability.
332 The bits in the dirty bitmap are cleared before the ioctl returns, unless
333 KVM_CAP_MANUAL_DIRTY_LOG_PROTECT2 is enabled. For more information,
334 see the description of the capability.
336 4.9 KVM_SET_MEMORY_ALIAS
341 Parameters: struct kvm_memory_alias (in)
342 Returns: 0 (success), -1 (error)
344 This ioctl is obsolete and has been removed.
353 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
355 EINTR: an unmasked signal is pending
357 This ioctl is used to run a guest virtual cpu. While there are no
358 explicit parameters, there is an implicit parameter block that can be
359 obtained by mmap()ing the vcpu fd at offset 0, with the size given by
360 KVM_GET_VCPU_MMAP_SIZE. The parameter block is formatted as a 'struct
361 kvm_run' (see below).
367 Architectures: all except ARM, arm64
369 Parameters: struct kvm_regs (out)
370 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
372 Reads the general purpose registers from the vcpu.
376 /* out (KVM_GET_REGS) / in (KVM_SET_REGS) */
377 __u64 rax, rbx, rcx, rdx;
378 __u64 rsi, rdi, rsp, rbp;
379 __u64 r8, r9, r10, r11;
380 __u64 r12, r13, r14, r15;
386 /* out (KVM_GET_REGS) / in (KVM_SET_REGS) */
397 Architectures: all except ARM, arm64
399 Parameters: struct kvm_regs (in)
400 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
402 Writes the general purpose registers into the vcpu.
404 See KVM_GET_REGS for the data structure.
410 Architectures: x86, ppc
412 Parameters: struct kvm_sregs (out)
413 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
415 Reads special registers from the vcpu.
419 struct kvm_segment cs, ds, es, fs, gs, ss;
420 struct kvm_segment tr, ldt;
421 struct kvm_dtable gdt, idt;
422 __u64 cr0, cr2, cr3, cr4, cr8;
425 __u64 interrupt_bitmap[(KVM_NR_INTERRUPTS + 63) / 64];
428 /* ppc -- see arch/powerpc/include/uapi/asm/kvm.h */
430 interrupt_bitmap is a bitmap of pending external interrupts. At most
431 one bit may be set. This interrupt has been acknowledged by the APIC
432 but not yet injected into the cpu core.
438 Architectures: x86, ppc
440 Parameters: struct kvm_sregs (in)
441 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
443 Writes special registers into the vcpu. See KVM_GET_SREGS for the
452 Parameters: struct kvm_translation (in/out)
453 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
455 Translates a virtual address according to the vcpu's current address
458 struct kvm_translation {
460 __u64 linear_address;
463 __u64 physical_address;
474 Architectures: x86, ppc, mips
476 Parameters: struct kvm_interrupt (in)
477 Returns: 0 on success, negative on failure.
479 Queues a hardware interrupt vector to be injected.
481 /* for KVM_INTERRUPT */
482 struct kvm_interrupt {
489 Returns: 0 on success,
490 -EEXIST if an interrupt is already enqueued
491 -EINVAL the the irq number is invalid
492 -ENXIO if the PIC is in the kernel
493 -EFAULT if the pointer is invalid
495 Note 'irq' is an interrupt vector, not an interrupt pin or line. This
496 ioctl is useful if the in-kernel PIC is not used.
500 Queues an external interrupt to be injected. This ioctl is overleaded
501 with 3 different irq values:
505 This injects an edge type external interrupt into the guest once it's ready
506 to receive interrupts. When injected, the interrupt is done.
508 b) KVM_INTERRUPT_UNSET
510 This unsets any pending interrupt.
512 Only available with KVM_CAP_PPC_UNSET_IRQ.
514 c) KVM_INTERRUPT_SET_LEVEL
516 This injects a level type external interrupt into the guest context. The
517 interrupt stays pending until a specific ioctl with KVM_INTERRUPT_UNSET
520 Only available with KVM_CAP_PPC_IRQ_LEVEL.
522 Note that any value for 'irq' other than the ones stated above is invalid
523 and incurs unexpected behavior.
525 This is an asynchronous vcpu ioctl and can be invoked from any thread.
529 Queues an external interrupt to be injected into the virtual CPU. A negative
530 interrupt number dequeues the interrupt.
532 This is an asynchronous vcpu ioctl and can be invoked from any thread.
543 Support for this has been removed. Use KVM_SET_GUEST_DEBUG instead.
548 Capability: basic (vcpu), KVM_CAP_GET_MSR_FEATURES (system)
550 Type: system ioctl, vcpu ioctl
551 Parameters: struct kvm_msrs (in/out)
552 Returns: number of msrs successfully returned;
555 When used as a system ioctl:
556 Reads the values of MSR-based features that are available for the VM. This
557 is similar to KVM_GET_SUPPORTED_CPUID, but it returns MSR indices and values.
558 The list of msr-based features can be obtained using KVM_GET_MSR_FEATURE_INDEX_LIST
561 When used as a vcpu ioctl:
562 Reads model-specific registers from the vcpu. Supported msr indices can
563 be obtained using KVM_GET_MSR_INDEX_LIST in a system ioctl.
566 __u32 nmsrs; /* number of msrs in entries */
569 struct kvm_msr_entry entries[0];
572 struct kvm_msr_entry {
578 Application code should set the 'nmsrs' member (which indicates the
579 size of the entries array) and the 'index' member of each array entry.
580 kvm will fill in the 'data' member.
588 Parameters: struct kvm_msrs (in)
589 Returns: number of msrs successfully set (see below), -1 on error
591 Writes model-specific registers to the vcpu. See KVM_GET_MSRS for the
594 Application code should set the 'nmsrs' member (which indicates the
595 size of the entries array), and the 'index' and 'data' members of each
598 It tries to set the MSRs in array entries[] one by one. If setting an MSR
599 fails, e.g., due to setting reserved bits, the MSR isn't supported/emulated
600 by KVM, etc..., it stops processing the MSR list and returns the number of
601 MSRs that have been set successfully.
609 Parameters: struct kvm_cpuid (in)
610 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
612 Defines the vcpu responses to the cpuid instruction. Applications
613 should use the KVM_SET_CPUID2 ioctl if available.
616 struct kvm_cpuid_entry {
625 /* for KVM_SET_CPUID */
629 struct kvm_cpuid_entry entries[0];
633 4.21 KVM_SET_SIGNAL_MASK
638 Parameters: struct kvm_signal_mask (in)
639 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
641 Defines which signals are blocked during execution of KVM_RUN. This
642 signal mask temporarily overrides the threads signal mask. Any
643 unblocked signal received (except SIGKILL and SIGSTOP, which retain
644 their traditional behaviour) will cause KVM_RUN to return with -EINTR.
646 Note the signal will only be delivered if not blocked by the original
649 /* for KVM_SET_SIGNAL_MASK */
650 struct kvm_signal_mask {
661 Parameters: struct kvm_fpu (out)
662 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
664 Reads the floating point state from the vcpu.
666 /* for KVM_GET_FPU and KVM_SET_FPU */
671 __u8 ftwx; /* in fxsave format */
687 Parameters: struct kvm_fpu (in)
688 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
690 Writes the floating point state to the vcpu.
692 /* for KVM_GET_FPU and KVM_SET_FPU */
697 __u8 ftwx; /* in fxsave format */
708 4.24 KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP
710 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQCHIP, KVM_CAP_S390_IRQCHIP (s390)
711 Architectures: x86, ARM, arm64, s390
714 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
716 Creates an interrupt controller model in the kernel.
717 On x86, creates a virtual ioapic, a virtual PIC (two PICs, nested), and sets up
718 future vcpus to have a local APIC. IRQ routing for GSIs 0-15 is set to both
719 PIC and IOAPIC; GSI 16-23 only go to the IOAPIC.
720 On ARM/arm64, a GICv2 is created. Any other GIC versions require the usage of
721 KVM_CREATE_DEVICE, which also supports creating a GICv2. Using
722 KVM_CREATE_DEVICE is preferred over KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP for GICv2.
723 On s390, a dummy irq routing table is created.
725 Note that on s390 the KVM_CAP_S390_IRQCHIP vm capability needs to be enabled
726 before KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP can be used.
731 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQCHIP
732 Architectures: x86, arm, arm64
734 Parameters: struct kvm_irq_level
735 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
737 Sets the level of a GSI input to the interrupt controller model in the kernel.
738 On some architectures it is required that an interrupt controller model has
739 been previously created with KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP. Note that edge-triggered
740 interrupts require the level to be set to 1 and then back to 0.
742 On real hardware, interrupt pins can be active-low or active-high. This
743 does not matter for the level field of struct kvm_irq_level: 1 always
744 means active (asserted), 0 means inactive (deasserted).
746 x86 allows the operating system to program the interrupt polarity
747 (active-low/active-high) for level-triggered interrupts, and KVM used
748 to consider the polarity. However, due to bitrot in the handling of
749 active-low interrupts, the above convention is now valid on x86 too.
750 This is signaled by KVM_CAP_X86_IOAPIC_POLARITY_IGNORED. Userspace
751 should not present interrupts to the guest as active-low unless this
752 capability is present (or unless it is not using the in-kernel irqchip,
756 ARM/arm64 can signal an interrupt either at the CPU level, or at the
757 in-kernel irqchip (GIC), and for in-kernel irqchip can tell the GIC to
758 use PPIs designated for specific cpus. The irq field is interpreted
761 Â bits: | 31 ... 28 | 27 ... 24 | 23 ... 16 | 15 ... 0 |
762 field: | vcpu2_index | irq_type | vcpu_index | irq_id |
764 The irq_type field has the following values:
765 - irq_type[0]: out-of-kernel GIC: irq_id 0 is IRQ, irq_id 1 is FIQ
766 - irq_type[1]: in-kernel GIC: SPI, irq_id between 32 and 1019 (incl.)
767 (the vcpu_index field is ignored)
768 - irq_type[2]: in-kernel GIC: PPI, irq_id between 16 and 31 (incl.)
770 (The irq_id field thus corresponds nicely to the IRQ ID in the ARM GIC specs)
772 In both cases, level is used to assert/deassert the line.
774 When KVM_CAP_ARM_IRQ_LINE_LAYOUT_2 is supported, the target vcpu is
775 identified as (256 * vcpu2_index + vcpu_index). Otherwise, vcpu2_index
778 Note that on arm/arm64, the KVM_CAP_IRQCHIP capability only conditions
779 injection of interrupts for the in-kernel irqchip. KVM_IRQ_LINE can always
780 be used for a userspace interrupt controller.
782 struct kvm_irq_level {
785 __s32 status; /* not used for KVM_IRQ_LEVEL */
787 __u32 level; /* 0 or 1 */
793 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQCHIP
796 Parameters: struct kvm_irqchip (in/out)
797 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
799 Reads the state of a kernel interrupt controller created with
800 KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP into a buffer provided by the caller.
803 __u32 chip_id; /* 0 = PIC1, 1 = PIC2, 2 = IOAPIC */
806 char dummy[512]; /* reserving space */
807 struct kvm_pic_state pic;
808 struct kvm_ioapic_state ioapic;
815 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQCHIP
818 Parameters: struct kvm_irqchip (in)
819 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
821 Sets the state of a kernel interrupt controller created with
822 KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP from a buffer provided by the caller.
825 __u32 chip_id; /* 0 = PIC1, 1 = PIC2, 2 = IOAPIC */
828 char dummy[512]; /* reserving space */
829 struct kvm_pic_state pic;
830 struct kvm_ioapic_state ioapic;
835 4.28 KVM_XEN_HVM_CONFIG
837 Capability: KVM_CAP_XEN_HVM
840 Parameters: struct kvm_xen_hvm_config (in)
841 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
843 Sets the MSR that the Xen HVM guest uses to initialize its hypercall
844 page, and provides the starting address and size of the hypercall
845 blobs in userspace. When the guest writes the MSR, kvm copies one
846 page of a blob (32- or 64-bit, depending on the vcpu mode) to guest
849 struct kvm_xen_hvm_config {
862 Capability: KVM_CAP_ADJUST_CLOCK
865 Parameters: struct kvm_clock_data (out)
866 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
868 Gets the current timestamp of kvmclock as seen by the current guest. In
869 conjunction with KVM_SET_CLOCK, it is used to ensure monotonicity on scenarios
872 When KVM_CAP_ADJUST_CLOCK is passed to KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION, it returns the
873 set of bits that KVM can return in struct kvm_clock_data's flag member.
875 The only flag defined now is KVM_CLOCK_TSC_STABLE. If set, the returned
876 value is the exact kvmclock value seen by all VCPUs at the instant
877 when KVM_GET_CLOCK was called. If clear, the returned value is simply
878 CLOCK_MONOTONIC plus a constant offset; the offset can be modified
879 with KVM_SET_CLOCK. KVM will try to make all VCPUs follow this clock,
880 but the exact value read by each VCPU could differ, because the host
883 struct kvm_clock_data {
884 __u64 clock; /* kvmclock current value */
892 Capability: KVM_CAP_ADJUST_CLOCK
895 Parameters: struct kvm_clock_data (in)
896 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
898 Sets the current timestamp of kvmclock to the value specified in its parameter.
899 In conjunction with KVM_GET_CLOCK, it is used to ensure monotonicity on scenarios
902 struct kvm_clock_data {
903 __u64 clock; /* kvmclock current value */
909 4.31 KVM_GET_VCPU_EVENTS
911 Capability: KVM_CAP_VCPU_EVENTS
912 Extended by: KVM_CAP_INTR_SHADOW
913 Architectures: x86, arm, arm64
915 Parameters: struct kvm_vcpu_event (out)
916 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
920 Gets currently pending exceptions, interrupts, and NMIs as well as related
923 struct kvm_vcpu_events {
952 __u8 exception_has_payload;
953 __u64 exception_payload;
956 The following bits are defined in the flags field:
958 - KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_SHADOW may be set to signal that
959 interrupt.shadow contains a valid state.
961 - KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_SMM may be set to signal that smi contains a
964 - KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_PAYLOAD may be set to signal that the
965 exception_has_payload, exception_payload, and exception.pending
966 fields contain a valid state. This bit will be set whenever
967 KVM_CAP_EXCEPTION_PAYLOAD is enabled.
971 If the guest accesses a device that is being emulated by the host kernel in
972 such a way that a real device would generate a physical SError, KVM may make
973 a virtual SError pending for that VCPU. This system error interrupt remains
974 pending until the guest takes the exception by unmasking PSTATE.A.
976 Running the VCPU may cause it to take a pending SError, or make an access that
977 causes an SError to become pending. The event's description is only valid while
978 the VPCU is not running.
980 This API provides a way to read and write the pending 'event' state that is not
981 visible to the guest. To save, restore or migrate a VCPU the struct representing
982 the state can be read then written using this GET/SET API, along with the other
983 guest-visible registers. It is not possible to 'cancel' an SError that has been
986 A device being emulated in user-space may also wish to generate an SError. To do
987 this the events structure can be populated by user-space. The current state
988 should be read first, to ensure no existing SError is pending. If an existing
989 SError is pending, the architecture's 'Multiple SError interrupts' rules should
990 be followed. (2.5.3 of DDI0587.a "ARM Reliability, Availability, and
991 Serviceability (RAS) Specification").
993 SError exceptions always have an ESR value. Some CPUs have the ability to
994 specify what the virtual SError's ESR value should be. These systems will
995 advertise KVM_CAP_ARM_INJECT_SERROR_ESR. In this case exception.has_esr will
996 always have a non-zero value when read, and the agent making an SError pending
997 should specify the ISS field in the lower 24 bits of exception.serror_esr. If
998 the system supports KVM_CAP_ARM_INJECT_SERROR_ESR, but user-space sets the events
999 with exception.has_esr as zero, KVM will choose an ESR.
1001 Specifying exception.has_esr on a system that does not support it will return
1002 -EINVAL. Setting anything other than the lower 24bits of exception.serror_esr
1003 will return -EINVAL.
1005 struct kvm_vcpu_events {
1007 __u8 serror_pending;
1008 __u8 serror_has_esr;
1009 /* Align it to 8 bytes */
1016 4.32 KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS
1018 Capability: KVM_CAP_VCPU_EVENTS
1019 Extended by: KVM_CAP_INTR_SHADOW
1020 Architectures: x86, arm, arm64
1022 Parameters: struct kvm_vcpu_event (in)
1023 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1027 Set pending exceptions, interrupts, and NMIs as well as related states of the
1030 See KVM_GET_VCPU_EVENTS for the data structure.
1032 Fields that may be modified asynchronously by running VCPUs can be excluded
1033 from the update. These fields are nmi.pending, sipi_vector, smi.smm,
1034 smi.pending. Keep the corresponding bits in the flags field cleared to
1035 suppress overwriting the current in-kernel state. The bits are:
1037 KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_NMI_PENDING - transfer nmi.pending to the kernel
1038 KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_SIPI_VECTOR - transfer sipi_vector
1039 KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_SMM - transfer the smi sub-struct.
1041 If KVM_CAP_INTR_SHADOW is available, KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_SHADOW can be set in
1042 the flags field to signal that interrupt.shadow contains a valid state and
1043 shall be written into the VCPU.
1045 KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_SMM can only be set if KVM_CAP_X86_SMM is available.
1047 If KVM_CAP_EXCEPTION_PAYLOAD is enabled, KVM_VCPUEVENT_VALID_PAYLOAD
1048 can be set in the flags field to signal that the
1049 exception_has_payload, exception_payload, and exception.pending fields
1050 contain a valid state and shall be written into the VCPU.
1054 Set the pending SError exception state for this VCPU. It is not possible to
1055 'cancel' an Serror that has been made pending.
1057 See KVM_GET_VCPU_EVENTS for the data structure.
1060 4.33 KVM_GET_DEBUGREGS
1062 Capability: KVM_CAP_DEBUGREGS
1065 Parameters: struct kvm_debugregs (out)
1066 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1068 Reads debug registers from the vcpu.
1070 struct kvm_debugregs {
1079 4.34 KVM_SET_DEBUGREGS
1081 Capability: KVM_CAP_DEBUGREGS
1084 Parameters: struct kvm_debugregs (in)
1085 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1087 Writes debug registers into the vcpu.
1089 See KVM_GET_DEBUGREGS for the data structure. The flags field is unused
1090 yet and must be cleared on entry.
1093 4.35 KVM_SET_USER_MEMORY_REGION
1095 Capability: KVM_CAP_USER_MEMORY
1098 Parameters: struct kvm_userspace_memory_region (in)
1099 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1101 struct kvm_userspace_memory_region {
1104 __u64 guest_phys_addr;
1105 __u64 memory_size; /* bytes */
1106 __u64 userspace_addr; /* start of the userspace allocated memory */
1109 /* for kvm_memory_region::flags */
1110 #define KVM_MEM_LOG_DIRTY_PAGES (1UL << 0)
1111 #define KVM_MEM_READONLY (1UL << 1)
1113 This ioctl allows the user to create, modify or delete a guest physical
1114 memory slot. Bits 0-15 of "slot" specify the slot id and this value
1115 should be less than the maximum number of user memory slots supported per
1116 VM. The maximum allowed slots can be queried using KVM_CAP_NR_MEMSLOTS.
1117 Slots may not overlap in guest physical address space.
1119 If KVM_CAP_MULTI_ADDRESS_SPACE is available, bits 16-31 of "slot"
1120 specifies the address space which is being modified. They must be
1121 less than the value that KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION returns for the
1122 KVM_CAP_MULTI_ADDRESS_SPACE capability. Slots in separate address spaces
1123 are unrelated; the restriction on overlapping slots only applies within
1126 Deleting a slot is done by passing zero for memory_size. When changing
1127 an existing slot, it may be moved in the guest physical memory space,
1128 or its flags may be modified, but it may not be resized.
1130 Memory for the region is taken starting at the address denoted by the
1131 field userspace_addr, which must point at user addressable memory for
1132 the entire memory slot size. Any object may back this memory, including
1133 anonymous memory, ordinary files, and hugetlbfs.
1135 It is recommended that the lower 21 bits of guest_phys_addr and userspace_addr
1136 be identical. This allows large pages in the guest to be backed by large
1139 The flags field supports two flags: KVM_MEM_LOG_DIRTY_PAGES and
1140 KVM_MEM_READONLY. The former can be set to instruct KVM to keep track of
1141 writes to memory within the slot. See KVM_GET_DIRTY_LOG ioctl to know how to
1142 use it. The latter can be set, if KVM_CAP_READONLY_MEM capability allows it,
1143 to make a new slot read-only. In this case, writes to this memory will be
1144 posted to userspace as KVM_EXIT_MMIO exits.
1146 When the KVM_CAP_SYNC_MMU capability is available, changes in the backing of
1147 the memory region are automatically reflected into the guest. For example, an
1148 mmap() that affects the region will be made visible immediately. Another
1149 example is madvise(MADV_DROP).
1151 It is recommended to use this API instead of the KVM_SET_MEMORY_REGION ioctl.
1152 The KVM_SET_MEMORY_REGION does not allow fine grained control over memory
1153 allocation and is deprecated.
1156 4.36 KVM_SET_TSS_ADDR
1158 Capability: KVM_CAP_SET_TSS_ADDR
1161 Parameters: unsigned long tss_address (in)
1162 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1164 This ioctl defines the physical address of a three-page region in the guest
1165 physical address space. The region must be within the first 4GB of the
1166 guest physical address space and must not conflict with any memory slot
1167 or any mmio address. The guest may malfunction if it accesses this memory
1170 This ioctl is required on Intel-based hosts. This is needed on Intel hardware
1171 because of a quirk in the virtualization implementation (see the internals
1172 documentation when it pops into existence).
1177 Capability: KVM_CAP_ENABLE_CAP
1178 Architectures: mips, ppc, s390
1180 Parameters: struct kvm_enable_cap (in)
1181 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
1183 Capability: KVM_CAP_ENABLE_CAP_VM
1186 Parameters: struct kvm_enable_cap (in)
1187 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
1189 +Not all extensions are enabled by default. Using this ioctl the application
1190 can enable an extension, making it available to the guest.
1192 On systems that do not support this ioctl, it always fails. On systems that
1193 do support it, it only works for extensions that are supported for enablement.
1195 To check if a capability can be enabled, the KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION ioctl should
1198 struct kvm_enable_cap {
1202 The capability that is supposed to get enabled.
1206 A bitfield indicating future enhancements. Has to be 0 for now.
1210 Arguments for enabling a feature. If a feature needs initial values to
1211 function properly, this is the place to put them.
1216 The vcpu ioctl should be used for vcpu-specific capabilities, the vm ioctl
1217 for vm-wide capabilities.
1219 4.38 KVM_GET_MP_STATE
1221 Capability: KVM_CAP_MP_STATE
1222 Architectures: x86, s390, arm, arm64
1224 Parameters: struct kvm_mp_state (out)
1225 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
1227 struct kvm_mp_state {
1231 Returns the vcpu's current "multiprocessing state" (though also valid on
1232 uniprocessor guests).
1234 Possible values are:
1236 - KVM_MP_STATE_RUNNABLE: the vcpu is currently running [x86,arm/arm64]
1237 - KVM_MP_STATE_UNINITIALIZED: the vcpu is an application processor (AP)
1238 which has not yet received an INIT signal [x86]
1239 - KVM_MP_STATE_INIT_RECEIVED: the vcpu has received an INIT signal, and is
1240 now ready for a SIPI [x86]
1241 - KVM_MP_STATE_HALTED: the vcpu has executed a HLT instruction and
1242 is waiting for an interrupt [x86]
1243 - KVM_MP_STATE_SIPI_RECEIVED: the vcpu has just received a SIPI (vector
1244 accessible via KVM_GET_VCPU_EVENTS) [x86]
1245 - KVM_MP_STATE_STOPPED: the vcpu is stopped [s390,arm/arm64]
1246 - KVM_MP_STATE_CHECK_STOP: the vcpu is in a special error state [s390]
1247 - KVM_MP_STATE_OPERATING: the vcpu is operating (running or halted)
1249 - KVM_MP_STATE_LOAD: the vcpu is in a special load/startup state
1252 On x86, this ioctl is only useful after KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP. Without an
1253 in-kernel irqchip, the multiprocessing state must be maintained by userspace on
1254 these architectures.
1258 The only states that are valid are KVM_MP_STATE_STOPPED and
1259 KVM_MP_STATE_RUNNABLE which reflect if the vcpu is paused or not.
1261 4.39 KVM_SET_MP_STATE
1263 Capability: KVM_CAP_MP_STATE
1264 Architectures: x86, s390, arm, arm64
1266 Parameters: struct kvm_mp_state (in)
1267 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
1269 Sets the vcpu's current "multiprocessing state"; see KVM_GET_MP_STATE for
1272 On x86, this ioctl is only useful after KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP. Without an
1273 in-kernel irqchip, the multiprocessing state must be maintained by userspace on
1274 these architectures.
1278 The only states that are valid are KVM_MP_STATE_STOPPED and
1279 KVM_MP_STATE_RUNNABLE which reflect if the vcpu should be paused or not.
1281 4.40 KVM_SET_IDENTITY_MAP_ADDR
1283 Capability: KVM_CAP_SET_IDENTITY_MAP_ADDR
1286 Parameters: unsigned long identity (in)
1287 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1289 This ioctl defines the physical address of a one-page region in the guest
1290 physical address space. The region must be within the first 4GB of the
1291 guest physical address space and must not conflict with any memory slot
1292 or any mmio address. The guest may malfunction if it accesses this memory
1295 Setting the address to 0 will result in resetting the address to its default
1298 This ioctl is required on Intel-based hosts. This is needed on Intel hardware
1299 because of a quirk in the virtualization implementation (see the internals
1300 documentation when it pops into existence).
1302 Fails if any VCPU has already been created.
1304 4.41 KVM_SET_BOOT_CPU_ID
1306 Capability: KVM_CAP_SET_BOOT_CPU_ID
1309 Parameters: unsigned long vcpu_id
1310 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1312 Define which vcpu is the Bootstrap Processor (BSP). Values are the same
1313 as the vcpu id in KVM_CREATE_VCPU. If this ioctl is not called, the default
1319 Capability: KVM_CAP_XSAVE
1322 Parameters: struct kvm_xsave (out)
1323 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1329 This ioctl would copy current vcpu's xsave struct to the userspace.
1334 Capability: KVM_CAP_XSAVE
1337 Parameters: struct kvm_xsave (in)
1338 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1344 This ioctl would copy userspace's xsave struct to the kernel.
1349 Capability: KVM_CAP_XCRS
1352 Parameters: struct kvm_xcrs (out)
1353 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1364 struct kvm_xcr xcrs[KVM_MAX_XCRS];
1368 This ioctl would copy current vcpu's xcrs to the userspace.
1373 Capability: KVM_CAP_XCRS
1376 Parameters: struct kvm_xcrs (in)
1377 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1388 struct kvm_xcr xcrs[KVM_MAX_XCRS];
1392 This ioctl would set vcpu's xcr to the value userspace specified.
1395 4.46 KVM_GET_SUPPORTED_CPUID
1397 Capability: KVM_CAP_EXT_CPUID
1400 Parameters: struct kvm_cpuid2 (in/out)
1401 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1406 struct kvm_cpuid_entry2 entries[0];
1409 #define KVM_CPUID_FLAG_SIGNIFCANT_INDEX BIT(0)
1410 #define KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATEFUL_FUNC BIT(1)
1411 #define KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATE_READ_NEXT BIT(2)
1413 struct kvm_cpuid_entry2 {
1424 This ioctl returns x86 cpuid features which are supported by both the
1425 hardware and kvm in its default configuration. Userspace can use the
1426 information returned by this ioctl to construct cpuid information (for
1427 KVM_SET_CPUID2) that is consistent with hardware, kernel, and
1428 userspace capabilities, and with user requirements (for example, the
1429 user may wish to constrain cpuid to emulate older hardware, or for
1430 feature consistency across a cluster).
1432 Note that certain capabilities, such as KVM_CAP_X86_DISABLE_EXITS, may
1433 expose cpuid features (e.g. MONITOR) which are not supported by kvm in
1434 its default configuration. If userspace enables such capabilities, it
1435 is responsible for modifying the results of this ioctl appropriately.
1437 Userspace invokes KVM_GET_SUPPORTED_CPUID by passing a kvm_cpuid2 structure
1438 with the 'nent' field indicating the number of entries in the variable-size
1439 array 'entries'. If the number of entries is too low to describe the cpu
1440 capabilities, an error (E2BIG) is returned. If the number is too high,
1441 the 'nent' field is adjusted and an error (ENOMEM) is returned. If the
1442 number is just right, the 'nent' field is adjusted to the number of valid
1443 entries in the 'entries' array, which is then filled.
1445 The entries returned are the host cpuid as returned by the cpuid instruction,
1446 with unknown or unsupported features masked out. Some features (for example,
1447 x2apic), may not be present in the host cpu, but are exposed by kvm if it can
1448 emulate them efficiently. The fields in each entry are defined as follows:
1450 function: the eax value used to obtain the entry
1451 index: the ecx value used to obtain the entry (for entries that are
1453 flags: an OR of zero or more of the following:
1454 KVM_CPUID_FLAG_SIGNIFCANT_INDEX:
1455 if the index field is valid
1456 KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATEFUL_FUNC:
1457 if cpuid for this function returns different values for successive
1458 invocations; there will be several entries with the same function,
1459 all with this flag set
1460 KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATE_READ_NEXT:
1461 for KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATEFUL_FUNC entries, set if this entry is
1462 the first entry to be read by a cpu
1463 eax, ebx, ecx, edx: the values returned by the cpuid instruction for
1464 this function/index combination
1466 The TSC deadline timer feature (CPUID leaf 1, ecx[24]) is always returned
1467 as false, since the feature depends on KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP for local APIC
1468 support. Instead it is reported via
1470 ioctl(KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION, KVM_CAP_TSC_DEADLINE_TIMER)
1472 if that returns true and you use KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP, or if you emulate the
1473 feature in userspace, then you can enable the feature for KVM_SET_CPUID2.
1476 4.47 KVM_PPC_GET_PVINFO
1478 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_GET_PVINFO
1481 Parameters: struct kvm_ppc_pvinfo (out)
1482 Returns: 0 on success, !0 on error
1484 struct kvm_ppc_pvinfo {
1490 This ioctl fetches PV specific information that need to be passed to the guest
1491 using the device tree or other means from vm context.
1493 The hcall array defines 4 instructions that make up a hypercall.
1495 If any additional field gets added to this structure later on, a bit for that
1496 additional piece of information will be set in the flags bitmap.
1498 The flags bitmap is defined as:
1500 /* the host supports the ePAPR idle hcall
1501 #define KVM_PPC_PVINFO_FLAGS_EV_IDLE (1<<0)
1503 4.52 KVM_SET_GSI_ROUTING
1505 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQ_ROUTING
1506 Architectures: x86 s390 arm arm64
1508 Parameters: struct kvm_irq_routing (in)
1509 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1511 Sets the GSI routing table entries, overwriting any previously set entries.
1513 On arm/arm64, GSI routing has the following limitation:
1514 - GSI routing does not apply to KVM_IRQ_LINE but only to KVM_IRQFD.
1516 struct kvm_irq_routing {
1519 struct kvm_irq_routing_entry entries[0];
1522 No flags are specified so far, the corresponding field must be set to zero.
1524 struct kvm_irq_routing_entry {
1530 struct kvm_irq_routing_irqchip irqchip;
1531 struct kvm_irq_routing_msi msi;
1532 struct kvm_irq_routing_s390_adapter adapter;
1533 struct kvm_irq_routing_hv_sint hv_sint;
1538 /* gsi routing entry types */
1539 #define KVM_IRQ_ROUTING_IRQCHIP 1
1540 #define KVM_IRQ_ROUTING_MSI 2
1541 #define KVM_IRQ_ROUTING_S390_ADAPTER 3
1542 #define KVM_IRQ_ROUTING_HV_SINT 4
1545 - KVM_MSI_VALID_DEVID: used along with KVM_IRQ_ROUTING_MSI routing entry
1546 type, specifies that the devid field contains a valid value. The per-VM
1547 KVM_CAP_MSI_DEVID capability advertises the requirement to provide
1548 the device ID. If this capability is not available, userspace should
1549 never set the KVM_MSI_VALID_DEVID flag as the ioctl might fail.
1552 struct kvm_irq_routing_irqchip {
1557 struct kvm_irq_routing_msi {
1567 If KVM_MSI_VALID_DEVID is set, devid contains a unique device identifier
1568 for the device that wrote the MSI message. For PCI, this is usually a
1569 BFD identifier in the lower 16 bits.
1571 On x86, address_hi is ignored unless the KVM_X2APIC_API_USE_32BIT_IDS
1572 feature of KVM_CAP_X2APIC_API capability is enabled. If it is enabled,
1573 address_hi bits 31-8 provide bits 31-8 of the destination id. Bits 7-0 of
1574 address_hi must be zero.
1576 struct kvm_irq_routing_s390_adapter {
1580 __u32 summary_offset;
1584 struct kvm_irq_routing_hv_sint {
1590 4.55 KVM_SET_TSC_KHZ
1592 Capability: KVM_CAP_TSC_CONTROL
1595 Parameters: virtual tsc_khz
1596 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1598 Specifies the tsc frequency for the virtual machine. The unit of the
1602 4.56 KVM_GET_TSC_KHZ
1604 Capability: KVM_CAP_GET_TSC_KHZ
1608 Returns: virtual tsc-khz on success, negative value on error
1610 Returns the tsc frequency of the guest. The unit of the return value is
1611 KHz. If the host has unstable tsc this ioctl returns -EIO instead as an
1617 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQCHIP
1620 Parameters: struct kvm_lapic_state (out)
1621 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1623 #define KVM_APIC_REG_SIZE 0x400
1624 struct kvm_lapic_state {
1625 char regs[KVM_APIC_REG_SIZE];
1628 Reads the Local APIC registers and copies them into the input argument. The
1629 data format and layout are the same as documented in the architecture manual.
1631 If KVM_X2APIC_API_USE_32BIT_IDS feature of KVM_CAP_X2APIC_API is
1632 enabled, then the format of APIC_ID register depends on the APIC mode
1633 (reported by MSR_IA32_APICBASE) of its VCPU. x2APIC stores APIC ID in
1634 the APIC_ID register (bytes 32-35). xAPIC only allows an 8-bit APIC ID
1635 which is stored in bits 31-24 of the APIC register, or equivalently in
1636 byte 35 of struct kvm_lapic_state's regs field. KVM_GET_LAPIC must then
1637 be called after MSR_IA32_APICBASE has been set with KVM_SET_MSR.
1639 If KVM_X2APIC_API_USE_32BIT_IDS feature is disabled, struct kvm_lapic_state
1640 always uses xAPIC format.
1645 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQCHIP
1648 Parameters: struct kvm_lapic_state (in)
1649 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1651 #define KVM_APIC_REG_SIZE 0x400
1652 struct kvm_lapic_state {
1653 char regs[KVM_APIC_REG_SIZE];
1656 Copies the input argument into the Local APIC registers. The data format
1657 and layout are the same as documented in the architecture manual.
1659 The format of the APIC ID register (bytes 32-35 of struct kvm_lapic_state's
1660 regs field) depends on the state of the KVM_CAP_X2APIC_API capability.
1661 See the note in KVM_GET_LAPIC.
1666 Capability: KVM_CAP_IOEVENTFD
1669 Parameters: struct kvm_ioeventfd (in)
1670 Returns: 0 on success, !0 on error
1672 This ioctl attaches or detaches an ioeventfd to a legal pio/mmio address
1673 within the guest. A guest write in the registered address will signal the
1674 provided event instead of triggering an exit.
1676 struct kvm_ioeventfd {
1678 __u64 addr; /* legal pio/mmio address */
1679 __u32 len; /* 0, 1, 2, 4, or 8 bytes */
1685 For the special case of virtio-ccw devices on s390, the ioevent is matched
1686 to a subchannel/virtqueue tuple instead.
1688 The following flags are defined:
1690 #define KVM_IOEVENTFD_FLAG_DATAMATCH (1 << kvm_ioeventfd_flag_nr_datamatch)
1691 #define KVM_IOEVENTFD_FLAG_PIO (1 << kvm_ioeventfd_flag_nr_pio)
1692 #define KVM_IOEVENTFD_FLAG_DEASSIGN (1 << kvm_ioeventfd_flag_nr_deassign)
1693 #define KVM_IOEVENTFD_FLAG_VIRTIO_CCW_NOTIFY \
1694 (1 << kvm_ioeventfd_flag_nr_virtio_ccw_notify)
1696 If datamatch flag is set, the event will be signaled only if the written value
1697 to the registered address is equal to datamatch in struct kvm_ioeventfd.
1699 For virtio-ccw devices, addr contains the subchannel id and datamatch the
1702 With KVM_CAP_IOEVENTFD_ANY_LENGTH, a zero length ioeventfd is allowed, and
1703 the kernel will ignore the length of guest write and may get a faster vmexit.
1704 The speedup may only apply to specific architectures, but the ioeventfd will
1709 Capability: KVM_CAP_SW_TLB
1712 Parameters: struct kvm_dirty_tlb (in)
1713 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1715 struct kvm_dirty_tlb {
1720 This must be called whenever userspace has changed an entry in the shared
1721 TLB, prior to calling KVM_RUN on the associated vcpu.
1723 The "bitmap" field is the userspace address of an array. This array
1724 consists of a number of bits, equal to the total number of TLB entries as
1725 determined by the last successful call to KVM_CONFIG_TLB, rounded up to the
1726 nearest multiple of 64.
1728 Each bit corresponds to one TLB entry, ordered the same as in the shared TLB
1731 The array is little-endian: the bit 0 is the least significant bit of the
1732 first byte, bit 8 is the least significant bit of the second byte, etc.
1733 This avoids any complications with differing word sizes.
1735 The "num_dirty" field is a performance hint for KVM to determine whether it
1736 should skip processing the bitmap and just invalidate everything. It must
1737 be set to the number of set bits in the bitmap.
1740 4.62 KVM_CREATE_SPAPR_TCE
1742 Capability: KVM_CAP_SPAPR_TCE
1743 Architectures: powerpc
1745 Parameters: struct kvm_create_spapr_tce (in)
1746 Returns: file descriptor for manipulating the created TCE table
1748 This creates a virtual TCE (translation control entry) table, which
1749 is an IOMMU for PAPR-style virtual I/O. It is used to translate
1750 logical addresses used in virtual I/O into guest physical addresses,
1751 and provides a scatter/gather capability for PAPR virtual I/O.
1753 /* for KVM_CAP_SPAPR_TCE */
1754 struct kvm_create_spapr_tce {
1759 The liobn field gives the logical IO bus number for which to create a
1760 TCE table. The window_size field specifies the size of the DMA window
1761 which this TCE table will translate - the table will contain one 64
1762 bit TCE entry for every 4kiB of the DMA window.
1764 When the guest issues an H_PUT_TCE hcall on a liobn for which a TCE
1765 table has been created using this ioctl(), the kernel will handle it
1766 in real mode, updating the TCE table. H_PUT_TCE calls for other
1767 liobns will cause a vm exit and must be handled by userspace.
1769 The return value is a file descriptor which can be passed to mmap(2)
1770 to map the created TCE table into userspace. This lets userspace read
1771 the entries written by kernel-handled H_PUT_TCE calls, and also lets
1772 userspace update the TCE table directly which is useful in some
1776 4.63 KVM_ALLOCATE_RMA
1778 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_RMA
1779 Architectures: powerpc
1781 Parameters: struct kvm_allocate_rma (out)
1782 Returns: file descriptor for mapping the allocated RMA
1784 This allocates a Real Mode Area (RMA) from the pool allocated at boot
1785 time by the kernel. An RMA is a physically-contiguous, aligned region
1786 of memory used on older POWER processors to provide the memory which
1787 will be accessed by real-mode (MMU off) accesses in a KVM guest.
1788 POWER processors support a set of sizes for the RMA that usually
1789 includes 64MB, 128MB, 256MB and some larger powers of two.
1791 /* for KVM_ALLOCATE_RMA */
1792 struct kvm_allocate_rma {
1796 The return value is a file descriptor which can be passed to mmap(2)
1797 to map the allocated RMA into userspace. The mapped area can then be
1798 passed to the KVM_SET_USER_MEMORY_REGION ioctl to establish it as the
1799 RMA for a virtual machine. The size of the RMA in bytes (which is
1800 fixed at host kernel boot time) is returned in the rma_size field of
1801 the argument structure.
1803 The KVM_CAP_PPC_RMA capability is 1 or 2 if the KVM_ALLOCATE_RMA ioctl
1804 is supported; 2 if the processor requires all virtual machines to have
1805 an RMA, or 1 if the processor can use an RMA but doesn't require it,
1806 because it supports the Virtual RMA (VRMA) facility.
1811 Capability: KVM_CAP_USER_NMI
1815 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
1817 Queues an NMI on the thread's vcpu. Note this is well defined only
1818 when KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP has not been called, since this is an interface
1819 between the virtual cpu core and virtual local APIC. After KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP
1820 has been called, this interface is completely emulated within the kernel.
1822 To use this to emulate the LINT1 input with KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP, use the
1823 following algorithm:
1826 - read the local APIC's state (KVM_GET_LAPIC)
1827 - check whether changing LINT1 will queue an NMI (see the LVT entry for LINT1)
1828 - if so, issue KVM_NMI
1831 Some guests configure the LINT1 NMI input to cause a panic, aiding in
1835 4.65 KVM_S390_UCAS_MAP
1837 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_UCONTROL
1840 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_ucas_mapping (in)
1841 Returns: 0 in case of success
1843 The parameter is defined like this:
1844 struct kvm_s390_ucas_mapping {
1850 This ioctl maps the memory at "user_addr" with the length "length" to
1851 the vcpu's address space starting at "vcpu_addr". All parameters need to
1852 be aligned by 1 megabyte.
1855 4.66 KVM_S390_UCAS_UNMAP
1857 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_UCONTROL
1860 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_ucas_mapping (in)
1861 Returns: 0 in case of success
1863 The parameter is defined like this:
1864 struct kvm_s390_ucas_mapping {
1870 This ioctl unmaps the memory in the vcpu's address space starting at
1871 "vcpu_addr" with the length "length". The field "user_addr" is ignored.
1872 All parameters need to be aligned by 1 megabyte.
1875 4.67 KVM_S390_VCPU_FAULT
1877 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_UCONTROL
1880 Parameters: vcpu absolute address (in)
1881 Returns: 0 in case of success
1883 This call creates a page table entry on the virtual cpu's address space
1884 (for user controlled virtual machines) or the virtual machine's address
1885 space (for regular virtual machines). This only works for minor faults,
1886 thus it's recommended to access subject memory page via the user page
1887 table upfront. This is useful to handle validity intercepts for user
1888 controlled virtual machines to fault in the virtual cpu's lowcore pages
1889 prior to calling the KVM_RUN ioctl.
1892 4.68 KVM_SET_ONE_REG
1894 Capability: KVM_CAP_ONE_REG
1897 Parameters: struct kvm_one_reg (in)
1898 Returns: 0 on success, negative value on failure
1900 Â ENOENT: Â Â no such register
1901 Â EINVAL: Â Â invalid register ID, or no such register
1902 Â EPERM: Â Â Â (arm64) register access not allowed before vcpu finalization
1903 (These error codes are indicative only: do not rely on a specific error
1904 code being returned in a specific situation.)
1906 struct kvm_one_reg {
1911 Using this ioctl, a single vcpu register can be set to a specific value
1912 defined by user space with the passed in struct kvm_one_reg, where id
1913 refers to the register identifier as described below and addr is a pointer
1914 to a variable with the respective size. There can be architecture agnostic
1915 and architecture specific registers. Each have their own range of operation
1916 and their own constants and width. To keep track of the implemented
1917 registers, find a list below:
1919 Arch | Register | Width (bits)
1921 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_HIOR | 64
1922 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_IAC1 | 64
1923 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_IAC2 | 64
1924 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_IAC3 | 64
1925 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_IAC4 | 64
1926 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DAC1 | 64
1927 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DAC2 | 64
1928 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DABR | 64
1929 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DSCR | 64
1930 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PURR | 64
1931 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_SPURR | 64
1932 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DAR | 64
1933 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DSISR | 32
1934 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_AMR | 64
1935 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_UAMOR | 64
1936 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MMCR0 | 64
1937 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MMCR1 | 64
1938 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MMCRA | 64
1939 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MMCR2 | 64
1940 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MMCRS | 64
1941 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_SIAR | 64
1942 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_SDAR | 64
1943 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_SIER | 64
1944 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC1 | 32
1945 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC2 | 32
1946 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC3 | 32
1947 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC4 | 32
1948 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC5 | 32
1949 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC6 | 32
1950 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC7 | 32
1951 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PMC8 | 32
1952 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_FPR0 | 64
1954 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_FPR31 | 64
1955 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VR0 | 128
1957 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VR31 | 128
1958 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VSR0 | 128
1960 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VSR31 | 128
1961 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_FPSCR | 64
1962 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VSCR | 32
1963 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VPA_ADDR | 64
1964 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VPA_SLB | 128
1965 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VPA_DTL | 128
1966 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_EPCR | 32
1967 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_EPR | 32
1968 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TCR | 32
1969 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TSR | 32
1970 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_OR_TSR | 32
1971 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_CLEAR_TSR | 32
1972 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MAS0 | 32
1973 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MAS1 | 32
1974 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MAS2 | 64
1975 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MAS7_3 | 64
1976 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MAS4 | 32
1977 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MAS6 | 32
1978 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_MMUCFG | 32
1979 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB0CFG | 32
1980 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB1CFG | 32
1981 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB2CFG | 32
1982 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB3CFG | 32
1983 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB0PS | 32
1984 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB1PS | 32
1985 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB2PS | 32
1986 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TLB3PS | 32
1987 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_EPTCFG | 32
1988 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_ICP_STATE | 64
1989 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VP_STATE | 128
1990 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TB_OFFSET | 64
1991 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_SPMC1 | 32
1992 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_SPMC2 | 32
1993 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_IAMR | 64
1994 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TFHAR | 64
1995 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TFIAR | 64
1996 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TEXASR | 64
1997 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_FSCR | 64
1998 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PSPB | 32
1999 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_EBBHR | 64
2000 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_EBBRR | 64
2001 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_BESCR | 64
2002 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TAR | 64
2003 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DPDES | 64
2004 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DAWR | 64
2005 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DAWRX | 64
2006 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_CIABR | 64
2007 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_IC | 64
2008 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VTB | 64
2009 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_CSIGR | 64
2010 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TACR | 64
2011 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TCSCR | 64
2012 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PID | 64
2013 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_ACOP | 64
2014 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_VRSAVE | 32
2015 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_LPCR | 32
2016 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_LPCR_64 | 64
2017 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PPR | 64
2018 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_ARCH_COMPAT | 32
2019 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DABRX | 32
2020 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_WORT | 64
2021 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_SPRG9 | 64
2022 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DBSR | 32
2023 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TIDR | 64
2024 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PSSCR | 64
2025 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_DEC_EXPIRY | 64
2026 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_PTCR | 64
2027 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_GPR0 | 64
2029 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_GPR31 | 64
2030 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_VSR0 | 128
2032 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_VSR63 | 128
2033 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_CR | 64
2034 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_LR | 64
2035 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_CTR | 64
2036 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_FPSCR | 64
2037 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_AMR | 64
2038 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_PPR | 64
2039 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_VRSAVE | 64
2040 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_VSCR | 32
2041 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_DSCR | 64
2042 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_TAR | 64
2043 PPC | KVM_REG_PPC_TM_XER | 64
2045 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_R0 | 64
2047 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_R31 | 64
2048 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_HI | 64
2049 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_LO | 64
2050 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_PC | 64
2051 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_INDEX | 32
2052 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_ENTRYLO0 | 64
2053 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_ENTRYLO1 | 64
2054 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONTEXT | 64
2055 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONTEXTCONFIG| 32
2056 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_USERLOCAL | 64
2057 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_XCONTEXTCONFIG| 64
2058 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_PAGEMASK | 32
2059 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_PAGEGRAIN | 32
2060 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_SEGCTL0 | 64
2061 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_SEGCTL1 | 64
2062 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_SEGCTL2 | 64
2063 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_PWBASE | 64
2064 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_PWFIELD | 64
2065 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_PWSIZE | 64
2066 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_WIRED | 32
2067 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_PWCTL | 32
2068 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_HWRENA | 32
2069 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_BADVADDR | 64
2070 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_BADINSTR | 32
2071 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_BADINSTRP | 32
2072 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_COUNT | 32
2073 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_ENTRYHI | 64
2074 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_COMPARE | 32
2075 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_STATUS | 32
2076 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_INTCTL | 32
2077 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CAUSE | 32
2078 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_EPC | 64
2079 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_PRID | 32
2080 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_EBASE | 64
2081 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONFIG | 32
2082 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONFIG1 | 32
2083 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONFIG2 | 32
2084 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONFIG3 | 32
2085 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONFIG4 | 32
2086 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONFIG5 | 32
2087 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_CONFIG7 | 32
2088 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_XCONTEXT | 64
2089 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_ERROREPC | 64
2090 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_KSCRATCH1 | 64
2091 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_KSCRATCH2 | 64
2092 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_KSCRATCH3 | 64
2093 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_KSCRATCH4 | 64
2094 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_KSCRATCH5 | 64
2095 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_KSCRATCH6 | 64
2096 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_MAAR(0..63) | 64
2097 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_COUNT_CTL | 64
2098 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_COUNT_RESUME | 64
2099 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_COUNT_HZ | 64
2100 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_FPR_32(0..31) | 32
2101 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_FPR_64(0..31) | 64
2102 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_VEC_128(0..31) | 128
2103 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_FCR_IR | 32
2104 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_FCR_CSR | 32
2105 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_MSA_IR | 32
2106 MIPS | KVM_REG_MIPS_MSA_CSR | 32
2108 ARM registers are mapped using the lower 32 bits. The upper 16 of that
2109 is the register group type, or coprocessor number:
2111 ARM core registers have the following id bit patterns:
2112 0x4020 0000 0010 <index into the kvm_regs struct:16>
2114 ARM 32-bit CP15 registers have the following id bit patterns:
2115 0x4020 0000 000F <zero:1> <crn:4> <crm:4> <opc1:4> <opc2:3>
2117 ARM 64-bit CP15 registers have the following id bit patterns:
2118 0x4030 0000 000F <zero:1> <zero:4> <crm:4> <opc1:4> <zero:3>
2120 ARM CCSIDR registers are demultiplexed by CSSELR value:
2121 0x4020 0000 0011 00 <csselr:8>
2123 ARM 32-bit VFP control registers have the following id bit patterns:
2124 0x4020 0000 0012 1 <regno:12>
2126 ARM 64-bit FP registers have the following id bit patterns:
2127 0x4030 0000 0012 0 <regno:12>
2129 ARM firmware pseudo-registers have the following bit pattern:
2130 0x4030 0000 0014 <regno:16>
2133 arm64 registers are mapped using the lower 32 bits. The upper 16 of
2134 that is the register group type, or coprocessor number:
2136 arm64 core/FP-SIMD registers have the following id bit patterns. Note
2137 that the size of the access is variable, as the kvm_regs structure
2138 contains elements ranging from 32 to 128 bits. The index is a 32bit
2139 value in the kvm_regs structure seen as a 32bit array.
2140 0x60x0 0000 0010 <index into the kvm_regs struct:16>
2143 Encoding Register Bits kvm_regs member
2144 ----------------------------------------------------------------
2145 0x6030 0000 0010 0000 X0 64 regs.regs[0]
2146 0x6030 0000 0010 0002 X1 64 regs.regs[1]
2148 0x6030 0000 0010 003c X30 64 regs.regs[30]
2149 0x6030 0000 0010 003e SP 64 regs.sp
2150 0x6030 0000 0010 0040 PC 64 regs.pc
2151 0x6030 0000 0010 0042 PSTATE 64 regs.pstate
2152 0x6030 0000 0010 0044 SP_EL1 64 sp_el1
2153 0x6030 0000 0010 0046 ELR_EL1 64 elr_el1
2154 0x6030 0000 0010 0048 SPSR_EL1 64 spsr[KVM_SPSR_EL1] (alias SPSR_SVC)
2155 0x6030 0000 0010 004a SPSR_ABT 64 spsr[KVM_SPSR_ABT]
2156 0x6030 0000 0010 004c SPSR_UND 64 spsr[KVM_SPSR_UND]
2157 0x6030 0000 0010 004e SPSR_IRQ 64 spsr[KVM_SPSR_IRQ]
2158 0x6060 0000 0010 0050 SPSR_FIQ 64 spsr[KVM_SPSR_FIQ]
2159 0x6040 0000 0010 0054 V0 128 fp_regs.vregs[0] (*)
2160 0x6040 0000 0010 0058 V1 128 fp_regs.vregs[1] (*)
2162 0x6040 0000 0010 00d0 V31 128 fp_regs.vregs[31] (*)
2163 0x6020 0000 0010 00d4 FPSR 32 fp_regs.fpsr
2164 0x6020 0000 0010 00d5 FPCR 32 fp_regs.fpcr
2166 (*) These encodings are not accepted for SVE-enabled vcpus. See
2169 The equivalent register content can be accessed via bits [127:0] of
2170 the corresponding SVE Zn registers instead for vcpus that have SVE
2171 enabled (see below).
2173 arm64 CCSIDR registers are demultiplexed by CSSELR value:
2174 0x6020 0000 0011 00 <csselr:8>
2176 arm64 system registers have the following id bit patterns:
2177 0x6030 0000 0013 <op0:2> <op1:3> <crn:4> <crm:4> <op2:3>
2179 arm64 firmware pseudo-registers have the following bit pattern:
2180 0x6030 0000 0014 <regno:16>
2182 arm64 SVE registers have the following bit patterns:
2183 0x6080 0000 0015 00 <n:5> <slice:5> Zn bits[2048*slice + 2047 : 2048*slice]
2184 0x6050 0000 0015 04 <n:4> <slice:5> Pn bits[256*slice + 255 : 256*slice]
2185 0x6050 0000 0015 060 <slice:5> FFR bits[256*slice + 255 : 256*slice]
2186 0x6060 0000 0015 ffff KVM_REG_ARM64_SVE_VLS pseudo-register
2188 Access to register IDs where 2048 * slice >= 128 * max_vq will fail with
2189 ENOENT. max_vq is the vcpu's maximum supported vector length in 128-bit
2190 quadwords: see (**) below.
2192 These registers are only accessible on vcpus for which SVE is enabled.
2193 See KVM_ARM_VCPU_INIT for details.
2195 In addition, except for KVM_REG_ARM64_SVE_VLS, these registers are not
2196 accessible until the vcpu's SVE configuration has been finalized
2197 using KVM_ARM_VCPU_FINALIZE(KVM_ARM_VCPU_SVE). See KVM_ARM_VCPU_INIT
2198 and KVM_ARM_VCPU_FINALIZE for more information about this procedure.
2200 KVM_REG_ARM64_SVE_VLS is a pseudo-register that allows the set of vector
2201 lengths supported by the vcpu to be discovered and configured by
2202 userspace. When transferred to or from user memory via KVM_GET_ONE_REG
2203 or KVM_SET_ONE_REG, the value of this register is of type
2204 __u64[KVM_ARM64_SVE_VLS_WORDS], and encodes the set of vector lengths as
2207 __u64 vector_lengths[KVM_ARM64_SVE_VLS_WORDS];
2209 if (vq >= SVE_VQ_MIN && vq <= SVE_VQ_MAX &&
2210 ((vector_lengths[(vq - KVM_ARM64_SVE_VQ_MIN) / 64] >>
2211 ((vq - KVM_ARM64_SVE_VQ_MIN) % 64)) & 1))
2212 /* Vector length vq * 16 bytes supported */
2214 /* Vector length vq * 16 bytes not supported */
2216 (**) The maximum value vq for which the above condition is true is
2217 max_vq. This is the maximum vector length available to the guest on
2218 this vcpu, and determines which register slices are visible through
2219 this ioctl interface.
2221 (See Documentation/arm64/sve.rst for an explanation of the "vq"
2224 KVM_REG_ARM64_SVE_VLS is only accessible after KVM_ARM_VCPU_INIT.
2225 KVM_ARM_VCPU_INIT initialises it to the best set of vector lengths that
2228 Userspace may subsequently modify it if desired until the vcpu's SVE
2229 configuration is finalized using KVM_ARM_VCPU_FINALIZE(KVM_ARM_VCPU_SVE).
2231 Apart from simply removing all vector lengths from the host set that
2232 exceed some value, support for arbitrarily chosen sets of vector lengths
2233 is hardware-dependent and may not be available. Attempting to configure
2234 an invalid set of vector lengths via KVM_SET_ONE_REG will fail with
2237 After the vcpu's SVE configuration is finalized, further attempts to
2238 write this register will fail with EPERM.
2241 MIPS registers are mapped using the lower 32 bits. The upper 16 of that is
2242 the register group type:
2244 MIPS core registers (see above) have the following id bit patterns:
2245 0x7030 0000 0000 <reg:16>
2247 MIPS CP0 registers (see KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_* above) have the following id bit
2248 patterns depending on whether they're 32-bit or 64-bit registers:
2249 0x7020 0000 0001 00 <reg:5> <sel:3> (32-bit)
2250 0x7030 0000 0001 00 <reg:5> <sel:3> (64-bit)
2252 Note: KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_ENTRYLO0 and KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_ENTRYLO1 are the MIPS64
2253 versions of the EntryLo registers regardless of the word size of the host
2254 hardware, host kernel, guest, and whether XPA is present in the guest, i.e.
2255 with the RI and XI bits (if they exist) in bits 63 and 62 respectively, and
2256 the PFNX field starting at bit 30.
2258 MIPS MAARs (see KVM_REG_MIPS_CP0_MAAR(*) above) have the following id bit
2260 0x7030 0000 0001 01 <reg:8>
2262 MIPS KVM control registers (see above) have the following id bit patterns:
2263 0x7030 0000 0002 <reg:16>
2265 MIPS FPU registers (see KVM_REG_MIPS_FPR_{32,64}() above) have the following
2266 id bit patterns depending on the size of the register being accessed. They are
2267 always accessed according to the current guest FPU mode (Status.FR and
2268 Config5.FRE), i.e. as the guest would see them, and they become unpredictable
2269 if the guest FPU mode is changed. MIPS SIMD Architecture (MSA) vector
2270 registers (see KVM_REG_MIPS_VEC_128() above) have similar patterns as they
2271 overlap the FPU registers:
2272 0x7020 0000 0003 00 <0:3> <reg:5> (32-bit FPU registers)
2273 0x7030 0000 0003 00 <0:3> <reg:5> (64-bit FPU registers)
2274 0x7040 0000 0003 00 <0:3> <reg:5> (128-bit MSA vector registers)
2276 MIPS FPU control registers (see KVM_REG_MIPS_FCR_{IR,CSR} above) have the
2277 following id bit patterns:
2278 0x7020 0000 0003 01 <0:3> <reg:5>
2280 MIPS MSA control registers (see KVM_REG_MIPS_MSA_{IR,CSR} above) have the
2281 following id bit patterns:
2282 0x7020 0000 0003 02 <0:3> <reg:5>
2285 4.69 KVM_GET_ONE_REG
2287 Capability: KVM_CAP_ONE_REG
2290 Parameters: struct kvm_one_reg (in and out)
2291 Returns: 0 on success, negative value on failure
2293 Â ENOENT: Â Â no such register
2294 Â EINVAL: Â Â invalid register ID, or no such register
2295 Â EPERM: Â Â Â (arm64) register access not allowed before vcpu finalization
2296 (These error codes are indicative only: do not rely on a specific error
2297 code being returned in a specific situation.)
2299 This ioctl allows to receive the value of a single register implemented
2300 in a vcpu. The register to read is indicated by the "id" field of the
2301 kvm_one_reg struct passed in. On success, the register value can be found
2302 at the memory location pointed to by "addr".
2304 The list of registers accessible using this interface is identical to the
2308 4.70 KVM_KVMCLOCK_CTRL
2310 Capability: KVM_CAP_KVMCLOCK_CTRL
2311 Architectures: Any that implement pvclocks (currently x86 only)
2314 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2316 This signals to the host kernel that the specified guest is being paused by
2317 userspace. The host will set a flag in the pvclock structure that is checked
2318 from the soft lockup watchdog. The flag is part of the pvclock structure that
2319 is shared between guest and host, specifically the second bit of the flags
2320 field of the pvclock_vcpu_time_info structure. It will be set exclusively by
2321 the host and read/cleared exclusively by the guest. The guest operation of
2322 checking and clearing the flag must an atomic operation so
2323 load-link/store-conditional, or equivalent must be used. There are two cases
2324 where the guest will clear the flag: when the soft lockup watchdog timer resets
2325 itself or when a soft lockup is detected. This ioctl can be called any time
2326 after pausing the vcpu, but before it is resumed.
2331 Capability: KVM_CAP_SIGNAL_MSI
2332 Architectures: x86 arm arm64
2334 Parameters: struct kvm_msi (in)
2335 Returns: >0 on delivery, 0 if guest blocked the MSI, and -1 on error
2337 Directly inject a MSI message. Only valid with in-kernel irqchip that handles
2349 flags: KVM_MSI_VALID_DEVID: devid contains a valid value. The per-VM
2350 KVM_CAP_MSI_DEVID capability advertises the requirement to provide
2351 the device ID. If this capability is not available, userspace
2352 should never set the KVM_MSI_VALID_DEVID flag as the ioctl might fail.
2354 If KVM_MSI_VALID_DEVID is set, devid contains a unique device identifier
2355 for the device that wrote the MSI message. For PCI, this is usually a
2356 BFD identifier in the lower 16 bits.
2358 On x86, address_hi is ignored unless the KVM_X2APIC_API_USE_32BIT_IDS
2359 feature of KVM_CAP_X2APIC_API capability is enabled. If it is enabled,
2360 address_hi bits 31-8 provide bits 31-8 of the destination id. Bits 7-0 of
2361 address_hi must be zero.
2364 4.71 KVM_CREATE_PIT2
2366 Capability: KVM_CAP_PIT2
2369 Parameters: struct kvm_pit_config (in)
2370 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2372 Creates an in-kernel device model for the i8254 PIT. This call is only valid
2373 after enabling in-kernel irqchip support via KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP. The following
2374 parameters have to be passed:
2376 struct kvm_pit_config {
2383 #define KVM_PIT_SPEAKER_DUMMY 1 /* emulate speaker port stub */
2385 PIT timer interrupts may use a per-VM kernel thread for injection. If it
2386 exists, this thread will have a name of the following pattern:
2388 kvm-pit/<owner-process-pid>
2390 When running a guest with elevated priorities, the scheduling parameters of
2391 this thread may have to be adjusted accordingly.
2393 This IOCTL replaces the obsolete KVM_CREATE_PIT.
2398 Capability: KVM_CAP_PIT_STATE2
2401 Parameters: struct kvm_pit_state2 (out)
2402 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2404 Retrieves the state of the in-kernel PIT model. Only valid after
2405 KVM_CREATE_PIT2. The state is returned in the following structure:
2407 struct kvm_pit_state2 {
2408 struct kvm_pit_channel_state channels[3];
2415 /* disable PIT in HPET legacy mode */
2416 #define KVM_PIT_FLAGS_HPET_LEGACY 0x00000001
2418 This IOCTL replaces the obsolete KVM_GET_PIT.
2423 Capability: KVM_CAP_PIT_STATE2
2426 Parameters: struct kvm_pit_state2 (in)
2427 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2429 Sets the state of the in-kernel PIT model. Only valid after KVM_CREATE_PIT2.
2430 See KVM_GET_PIT2 for details on struct kvm_pit_state2.
2432 This IOCTL replaces the obsolete KVM_SET_PIT.
2435 4.74 KVM_PPC_GET_SMMU_INFO
2437 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_GET_SMMU_INFO
2438 Architectures: powerpc
2441 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2443 This populates and returns a structure describing the features of
2444 the "Server" class MMU emulation supported by KVM.
2445 This can in turn be used by userspace to generate the appropriate
2446 device-tree properties for the guest operating system.
2448 The structure contains some global information, followed by an
2449 array of supported segment page sizes:
2451 struct kvm_ppc_smmu_info {
2455 struct kvm_ppc_one_seg_page_size sps[KVM_PPC_PAGE_SIZES_MAX_SZ];
2458 The supported flags are:
2460 - KVM_PPC_PAGE_SIZES_REAL:
2461 When that flag is set, guest page sizes must "fit" the backing
2462 store page sizes. When not set, any page size in the list can
2463 be used regardless of how they are backed by userspace.
2465 - KVM_PPC_1T_SEGMENTS
2466 The emulated MMU supports 1T segments in addition to the
2470 This flag indicates that HPT guests are not supported by KVM,
2471 thus all guests must use radix MMU mode.
2473 The "slb_size" field indicates how many SLB entries are supported
2475 The "sps" array contains 8 entries indicating the supported base
2476 page sizes for a segment in increasing order. Each entry is defined
2479 struct kvm_ppc_one_seg_page_size {
2480 __u32 page_shift; /* Base page shift of segment (or 0) */
2481 __u32 slb_enc; /* SLB encoding for BookS */
2482 struct kvm_ppc_one_page_size enc[KVM_PPC_PAGE_SIZES_MAX_SZ];
2485 An entry with a "page_shift" of 0 is unused. Because the array is
2486 organized in increasing order, a lookup can stop when encoutering
2489 The "slb_enc" field provides the encoding to use in the SLB for the
2490 page size. The bits are in positions such as the value can directly
2491 be OR'ed into the "vsid" argument of the slbmte instruction.
2493 The "enc" array is a list which for each of those segment base page
2494 size provides the list of supported actual page sizes (which can be
2495 only larger or equal to the base page size), along with the
2496 corresponding encoding in the hash PTE. Similarly, the array is
2497 8 entries sorted by increasing sizes and an entry with a "0" shift
2498 is an empty entry and a terminator:
2500 struct kvm_ppc_one_page_size {
2501 __u32 page_shift; /* Page shift (or 0) */
2502 __u32 pte_enc; /* Encoding in the HPTE (>>12) */
2505 The "pte_enc" field provides a value that can OR'ed into the hash
2506 PTE's RPN field (ie, it needs to be shifted left by 12 to OR it
2507 into the hash PTE second double word).
2511 Capability: KVM_CAP_IRQFD
2512 Architectures: x86 s390 arm arm64
2514 Parameters: struct kvm_irqfd (in)
2515 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2517 Allows setting an eventfd to directly trigger a guest interrupt.
2518 kvm_irqfd.fd specifies the file descriptor to use as the eventfd and
2519 kvm_irqfd.gsi specifies the irqchip pin toggled by this event. When
2520 an event is triggered on the eventfd, an interrupt is injected into
2521 the guest using the specified gsi pin. The irqfd is removed using
2522 the KVM_IRQFD_FLAG_DEASSIGN flag, specifying both kvm_irqfd.fd
2525 With KVM_CAP_IRQFD_RESAMPLE, KVM_IRQFD supports a de-assert and notify
2526 mechanism allowing emulation of level-triggered, irqfd-based
2527 interrupts. When KVM_IRQFD_FLAG_RESAMPLE is set the user must pass an
2528 additional eventfd in the kvm_irqfd.resamplefd field. When operating
2529 in resample mode, posting of an interrupt through kvm_irq.fd asserts
2530 the specified gsi in the irqchip. When the irqchip is resampled, such
2531 as from an EOI, the gsi is de-asserted and the user is notified via
2532 kvm_irqfd.resamplefd. It is the user's responsibility to re-queue
2533 the interrupt if the device making use of it still requires service.
2534 Note that closing the resamplefd is not sufficient to disable the
2535 irqfd. The KVM_IRQFD_FLAG_RESAMPLE is only necessary on assignment
2536 and need not be specified with KVM_IRQFD_FLAG_DEASSIGN.
2538 On arm/arm64, gsi routing being supported, the following can happen:
2539 - in case no routing entry is associated to this gsi, injection fails
2540 - in case the gsi is associated to an irqchip routing entry,
2541 irqchip.pin + 32 corresponds to the injected SPI ID.
2542 - in case the gsi is associated to an MSI routing entry, the MSI
2543 message and device ID are translated into an LPI (support restricted
2544 to GICv3 ITS in-kernel emulation).
2546 4.76 KVM_PPC_ALLOCATE_HTAB
2548 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_ALLOC_HTAB
2549 Architectures: powerpc
2551 Parameters: Pointer to u32 containing hash table order (in/out)
2552 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2554 This requests the host kernel to allocate an MMU hash table for a
2555 guest using the PAPR paravirtualization interface. This only does
2556 anything if the kernel is configured to use the Book 3S HV style of
2557 virtualization. Otherwise the capability doesn't exist and the ioctl
2558 returns an ENOTTY error. The rest of this description assumes Book 3S
2561 There must be no vcpus running when this ioctl is called; if there
2562 are, it will do nothing and return an EBUSY error.
2564 The parameter is a pointer to a 32-bit unsigned integer variable
2565 containing the order (log base 2) of the desired size of the hash
2566 table, which must be between 18 and 46. On successful return from the
2567 ioctl, the value will not be changed by the kernel.
2569 If no hash table has been allocated when any vcpu is asked to run
2570 (with the KVM_RUN ioctl), the host kernel will allocate a
2571 default-sized hash table (16 MB).
2573 If this ioctl is called when a hash table has already been allocated,
2574 with a different order from the existing hash table, the existing hash
2575 table will be freed and a new one allocated. If this is ioctl is
2576 called when a hash table has already been allocated of the same order
2577 as specified, the kernel will clear out the existing hash table (zero
2578 all HPTEs). In either case, if the guest is using the virtualized
2579 real-mode area (VRMA) facility, the kernel will re-create the VMRA
2580 HPTEs on the next KVM_RUN of any vcpu.
2582 4.77 KVM_S390_INTERRUPT
2586 Type: vm ioctl, vcpu ioctl
2587 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_interrupt (in)
2588 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2590 Allows to inject an interrupt to the guest. Interrupts can be floating
2591 (vm ioctl) or per cpu (vcpu ioctl), depending on the interrupt type.
2593 Interrupt parameters are passed via kvm_s390_interrupt:
2595 struct kvm_s390_interrupt {
2601 type can be one of the following:
2603 KVM_S390_SIGP_STOP (vcpu) - sigp stop; optional flags in parm
2604 KVM_S390_PROGRAM_INT (vcpu) - program check; code in parm
2605 KVM_S390_SIGP_SET_PREFIX (vcpu) - sigp set prefix; prefix address in parm
2606 KVM_S390_RESTART (vcpu) - restart
2607 KVM_S390_INT_CLOCK_COMP (vcpu) - clock comparator interrupt
2608 KVM_S390_INT_CPU_TIMER (vcpu) - CPU timer interrupt
2609 KVM_S390_INT_VIRTIO (vm) - virtio external interrupt; external interrupt
2610 parameters in parm and parm64
2611 KVM_S390_INT_SERVICE (vm) - sclp external interrupt; sclp parameter in parm
2612 KVM_S390_INT_EMERGENCY (vcpu) - sigp emergency; source cpu in parm
2613 KVM_S390_INT_EXTERNAL_CALL (vcpu) - sigp external call; source cpu in parm
2614 KVM_S390_INT_IO(ai,cssid,ssid,schid) (vm) - compound value to indicate an
2615 I/O interrupt (ai - adapter interrupt; cssid,ssid,schid - subchannel);
2616 I/O interruption parameters in parm (subchannel) and parm64 (intparm,
2617 interruption subclass)
2618 KVM_S390_MCHK (vm, vcpu) - machine check interrupt; cr 14 bits in parm,
2619 machine check interrupt code in parm64 (note that
2620 machine checks needing further payload are not
2621 supported by this ioctl)
2623 This is an asynchronous vcpu ioctl and can be invoked from any thread.
2625 4.78 KVM_PPC_GET_HTAB_FD
2627 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_HTAB_FD
2628 Architectures: powerpc
2630 Parameters: Pointer to struct kvm_get_htab_fd (in)
2631 Returns: file descriptor number (>= 0) on success, -1 on error
2633 This returns a file descriptor that can be used either to read out the
2634 entries in the guest's hashed page table (HPT), or to write entries to
2635 initialize the HPT. The returned fd can only be written to if the
2636 KVM_GET_HTAB_WRITE bit is set in the flags field of the argument, and
2637 can only be read if that bit is clear. The argument struct looks like
2640 /* For KVM_PPC_GET_HTAB_FD */
2641 struct kvm_get_htab_fd {
2647 /* Values for kvm_get_htab_fd.flags */
2648 #define KVM_GET_HTAB_BOLTED_ONLY ((__u64)0x1)
2649 #define KVM_GET_HTAB_WRITE ((__u64)0x2)
2651 The `start_index' field gives the index in the HPT of the entry at
2652 which to start reading. It is ignored when writing.
2654 Reads on the fd will initially supply information about all
2655 "interesting" HPT entries. Interesting entries are those with the
2656 bolted bit set, if the KVM_GET_HTAB_BOLTED_ONLY bit is set, otherwise
2657 all entries. When the end of the HPT is reached, the read() will
2658 return. If read() is called again on the fd, it will start again from
2659 the beginning of the HPT, but will only return HPT entries that have
2660 changed since they were last read.
2662 Data read or written is structured as a header (8 bytes) followed by a
2663 series of valid HPT entries (16 bytes) each. The header indicates how
2664 many valid HPT entries there are and how many invalid entries follow
2665 the valid entries. The invalid entries are not represented explicitly
2666 in the stream. The header format is:
2668 struct kvm_get_htab_header {
2674 Writes to the fd create HPT entries starting at the index given in the
2675 header; first `n_valid' valid entries with contents from the data
2676 written, then `n_invalid' invalid entries, invalidating any previously
2677 valid entries found.
2679 4.79 KVM_CREATE_DEVICE
2681 Capability: KVM_CAP_DEVICE_CTRL
2683 Parameters: struct kvm_create_device (in/out)
2684 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2686 ENODEV: The device type is unknown or unsupported
2687 EEXIST: Device already created, and this type of device may not
2688 be instantiated multiple times
2690 Other error conditions may be defined by individual device types or
2691 have their standard meanings.
2693 Creates an emulated device in the kernel. The file descriptor returned
2694 in fd can be used with KVM_SET/GET/HAS_DEVICE_ATTR.
2696 If the KVM_CREATE_DEVICE_TEST flag is set, only test whether the
2697 device type is supported (not necessarily whether it can be created
2700 Individual devices should not define flags. Attributes should be used
2701 for specifying any behavior that is not implied by the device type
2704 struct kvm_create_device {
2705 __u32 type; /* in: KVM_DEV_TYPE_xxx */
2706 __u32 fd; /* out: device handle */
2707 __u32 flags; /* in: KVM_CREATE_DEVICE_xxx */
2710 4.80 KVM_SET_DEVICE_ATTR/KVM_GET_DEVICE_ATTR
2712 Capability: KVM_CAP_DEVICE_CTRL, KVM_CAP_VM_ATTRIBUTES for vm device,
2713 KVM_CAP_VCPU_ATTRIBUTES for vcpu device
2714 Type: device ioctl, vm ioctl, vcpu ioctl
2715 Parameters: struct kvm_device_attr
2716 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2718 ENXIO: The group or attribute is unknown/unsupported for this device
2719 or hardware support is missing.
2720 EPERM: The attribute cannot (currently) be accessed this way
2721 (e.g. read-only attribute, or attribute that only makes
2722 sense when the device is in a different state)
2724 Other error conditions may be defined by individual device types.
2726 Gets/sets a specified piece of device configuration and/or state. The
2727 semantics are device-specific. See individual device documentation in
2728 the "devices" directory. As with ONE_REG, the size of the data
2729 transferred is defined by the particular attribute.
2731 struct kvm_device_attr {
2732 __u32 flags; /* no flags currently defined */
2733 __u32 group; /* device-defined */
2734 __u64 attr; /* group-defined */
2735 __u64 addr; /* userspace address of attr data */
2738 4.81 KVM_HAS_DEVICE_ATTR
2740 Capability: KVM_CAP_DEVICE_CTRL, KVM_CAP_VM_ATTRIBUTES for vm device,
2741 KVM_CAP_VCPU_ATTRIBUTES for vcpu device
2742 Type: device ioctl, vm ioctl, vcpu ioctl
2743 Parameters: struct kvm_device_attr
2744 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2746 ENXIO: The group or attribute is unknown/unsupported for this device
2747 or hardware support is missing.
2749 Tests whether a device supports a particular attribute. A successful
2750 return indicates the attribute is implemented. It does not necessarily
2751 indicate that the attribute can be read or written in the device's
2752 current state. "addr" is ignored.
2754 4.82 KVM_ARM_VCPU_INIT
2757 Architectures: arm, arm64
2759 Parameters: struct kvm_vcpu_init (in)
2760 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
2762 Â EINVAL: Â Â Â the target is unknown, or the combination of features is invalid.
2763 Â ENOENT: Â Â Â a features bit specified is unknown.
2765 This tells KVM what type of CPU to present to the guest, and what
2766 optional features it should have. Â This will cause a reset of the cpu
2767 registers to their initial values. Â If this is not called, KVM_RUN will
2768 return ENOEXEC for that vcpu.
2770 Note that because some registers reflect machine topology, all vcpus
2771 should be created before this ioctl is invoked.
2773 Userspace can call this function multiple times for a given vcpu, including
2774 after the vcpu has been run. This will reset the vcpu to its initial
2775 state. All calls to this function after the initial call must use the same
2776 target and same set of feature flags, otherwise EINVAL will be returned.
2779 - KVM_ARM_VCPU_POWER_OFF: Starts the CPU in a power-off state.
2780 Depends on KVM_CAP_ARM_PSCI. If not set, the CPU will be powered on
2781 and execute guest code when KVM_RUN is called.
2782 - KVM_ARM_VCPU_EL1_32BIT: Starts the CPU in a 32bit mode.
2783 Depends on KVM_CAP_ARM_EL1_32BIT (arm64 only).
2784 - KVM_ARM_VCPU_PSCI_0_2: Emulate PSCI v0.2 (or a future revision
2785 backward compatible with v0.2) for the CPU.
2786 Depends on KVM_CAP_ARM_PSCI_0_2.
2787 - KVM_ARM_VCPU_PMU_V3: Emulate PMUv3 for the CPU.
2788 Depends on KVM_CAP_ARM_PMU_V3.
2790 - KVM_ARM_VCPU_PTRAUTH_ADDRESS: Enables Address Pointer authentication
2792 Depends on KVM_CAP_ARM_PTRAUTH_ADDRESS.
2793 If KVM_CAP_ARM_PTRAUTH_ADDRESS and KVM_CAP_ARM_PTRAUTH_GENERIC are
2794 both present, then both KVM_ARM_VCPU_PTRAUTH_ADDRESS and
2795 KVM_ARM_VCPU_PTRAUTH_GENERIC must be requested or neither must be
2798 - KVM_ARM_VCPU_PTRAUTH_GENERIC: Enables Generic Pointer authentication
2800 Depends on KVM_CAP_ARM_PTRAUTH_GENERIC.
2801 If KVM_CAP_ARM_PTRAUTH_ADDRESS and KVM_CAP_ARM_PTRAUTH_GENERIC are
2802 both present, then both KVM_ARM_VCPU_PTRAUTH_ADDRESS and
2803 KVM_ARM_VCPU_PTRAUTH_GENERIC must be requested or neither must be
2806 - KVM_ARM_VCPU_SVE: Enables SVE for the CPU (arm64 only).
2807 Depends on KVM_CAP_ARM_SVE.
2808 Requires KVM_ARM_VCPU_FINALIZE(KVM_ARM_VCPU_SVE):
2810 * After KVM_ARM_VCPU_INIT:
2812 - KVM_REG_ARM64_SVE_VLS may be read using KVM_GET_ONE_REG: the
2813 initial value of this pseudo-register indicates the best set of
2814 vector lengths possible for a vcpu on this host.
2816 * Before KVM_ARM_VCPU_FINALIZE(KVM_ARM_VCPU_SVE):
2818 - KVM_RUN and KVM_GET_REG_LIST are not available;
2820 - KVM_GET_ONE_REG and KVM_SET_ONE_REG cannot be used to access
2821 the scalable archietctural SVE registers
2822 KVM_REG_ARM64_SVE_ZREG(), KVM_REG_ARM64_SVE_PREG() or
2823 KVM_REG_ARM64_SVE_FFR;
2825 - KVM_REG_ARM64_SVE_VLS may optionally be written using
2826 KVM_SET_ONE_REG, to modify the set of vector lengths available
2829 * After KVM_ARM_VCPU_FINALIZE(KVM_ARM_VCPU_SVE):
2831 - the KVM_REG_ARM64_SVE_VLS pseudo-register is immutable, and can
2832 no longer be written using KVM_SET_ONE_REG.
2834 4.83 KVM_ARM_PREFERRED_TARGET
2837 Architectures: arm, arm64
2839 Parameters: struct struct kvm_vcpu_init (out)
2840 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
2842 ENODEV: no preferred target available for the host
2844 This queries KVM for preferred CPU target type which can be emulated
2845 by KVM on underlying host.
2847 The ioctl returns struct kvm_vcpu_init instance containing information
2848 about preferred CPU target type and recommended features for it. The
2849 kvm_vcpu_init->features bitmap returned will have feature bits set if
2850 the preferred target recommends setting these features, but this is
2853 The information returned by this ioctl can be used to prepare an instance
2854 of struct kvm_vcpu_init for KVM_ARM_VCPU_INIT ioctl which will result in
2855 in VCPU matching underlying host.
2858 4.84 KVM_GET_REG_LIST
2861 Architectures: arm, arm64, mips
2863 Parameters: struct kvm_reg_list (in/out)
2864 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
2866 Â E2BIG: Â Â Â Â the reg index list is too big to fit in the array specified by
2867 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â the user (the number required will be written into n).
2869 struct kvm_reg_list {
2870 __u64 n; /* number of registers in reg[] */
2874 This ioctl returns the guest registers that are supported for the
2875 KVM_GET_ONE_REG/KVM_SET_ONE_REG calls.
2878 4.85 KVM_ARM_SET_DEVICE_ADDR (deprecated)
2880 Capability: KVM_CAP_ARM_SET_DEVICE_ADDR
2881 Architectures: arm, arm64
2883 Parameters: struct kvm_arm_device_address (in)
2884 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2886 ENODEV: The device id is unknown
2887 ENXIO: Device not supported on current system
2888 EEXIST: Address already set
2889 E2BIG: Address outside guest physical address space
2890 EBUSY: Address overlaps with other device range
2892 struct kvm_arm_device_addr {
2897 Specify a device address in the guest's physical address space where guests
2898 can access emulated or directly exposed devices, which the host kernel needs
2899 to know about. The id field is an architecture specific identifier for a
2902 ARM/arm64 divides the id field into two parts, a device id and an
2903 address type id specific to the individual device.
2905 Â bits: | 63 ... 32 | 31 ... 16 | 15 ... 0 |
2906 field: | 0x00000000 | device id | addr type id |
2908 ARM/arm64 currently only require this when using the in-kernel GIC
2909 support for the hardware VGIC features, using KVM_ARM_DEVICE_VGIC_V2
2910 as the device id. When setting the base address for the guest's
2911 mapping of the VGIC virtual CPU and distributor interface, the ioctl
2912 must be called after calling KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP, but before calling
2913 KVM_RUN on any of the VCPUs. Calling this ioctl twice for any of the
2914 base addresses will return -EEXIST.
2916 Note, this IOCTL is deprecated and the more flexible SET/GET_DEVICE_ATTR API
2917 should be used instead.
2920 4.86 KVM_PPC_RTAS_DEFINE_TOKEN
2922 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_RTAS
2925 Parameters: struct kvm_rtas_token_args
2926 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
2928 Defines a token value for a RTAS (Run Time Abstraction Services)
2929 service in order to allow it to be handled in the kernel. The
2930 argument struct gives the name of the service, which must be the name
2931 of a service that has a kernel-side implementation. If the token
2932 value is non-zero, it will be associated with that service, and
2933 subsequent RTAS calls by the guest specifying that token will be
2934 handled by the kernel. If the token value is 0, then any token
2935 associated with the service will be forgotten, and subsequent RTAS
2936 calls by the guest for that service will be passed to userspace to be
2939 4.87 KVM_SET_GUEST_DEBUG
2941 Capability: KVM_CAP_SET_GUEST_DEBUG
2942 Architectures: x86, s390, ppc, arm64
2944 Parameters: struct kvm_guest_debug (in)
2945 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
2947 struct kvm_guest_debug {
2950 struct kvm_guest_debug_arch arch;
2953 Set up the processor specific debug registers and configure vcpu for
2954 handling guest debug events. There are two parts to the structure, the
2955 first a control bitfield indicates the type of debug events to handle
2956 when running. Common control bits are:
2958 - KVM_GUESTDBG_ENABLE: guest debugging is enabled
2959 - KVM_GUESTDBG_SINGLESTEP: the next run should single-step
2961 The top 16 bits of the control field are architecture specific control
2962 flags which can include the following:
2964 - KVM_GUESTDBG_USE_SW_BP: using software breakpoints [x86, arm64]
2965 - KVM_GUESTDBG_USE_HW_BP: using hardware breakpoints [x86, s390, arm64]
2966 - KVM_GUESTDBG_INJECT_DB: inject DB type exception [x86]
2967 - KVM_GUESTDBG_INJECT_BP: inject BP type exception [x86]
2968 - KVM_GUESTDBG_EXIT_PENDING: trigger an immediate guest exit [s390]
2970 For example KVM_GUESTDBG_USE_SW_BP indicates that software breakpoints
2971 are enabled in memory so we need to ensure breakpoint exceptions are
2972 correctly trapped and the KVM run loop exits at the breakpoint and not
2973 running off into the normal guest vector. For KVM_GUESTDBG_USE_HW_BP
2974 we need to ensure the guest vCPUs architecture specific registers are
2975 updated to the correct (supplied) values.
2977 The second part of the structure is architecture specific and
2978 typically contains a set of debug registers.
2980 For arm64 the number of debug registers is implementation defined and
2981 can be determined by querying the KVM_CAP_GUEST_DEBUG_HW_BPS and
2982 KVM_CAP_GUEST_DEBUG_HW_WPS capabilities which return a positive number
2983 indicating the number of supported registers.
2985 When debug events exit the main run loop with the reason
2986 KVM_EXIT_DEBUG with the kvm_debug_exit_arch part of the kvm_run
2987 structure containing architecture specific debug information.
2989 4.88 KVM_GET_EMULATED_CPUID
2991 Capability: KVM_CAP_EXT_EMUL_CPUID
2994 Parameters: struct kvm_cpuid2 (in/out)
2995 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
3000 struct kvm_cpuid_entry2 entries[0];
3003 The member 'flags' is used for passing flags from userspace.
3005 #define KVM_CPUID_FLAG_SIGNIFCANT_INDEX BIT(0)
3006 #define KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATEFUL_FUNC BIT(1)
3007 #define KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATE_READ_NEXT BIT(2)
3009 struct kvm_cpuid_entry2 {
3020 This ioctl returns x86 cpuid features which are emulated by
3021 kvm.Userspace can use the information returned by this ioctl to query
3022 which features are emulated by kvm instead of being present natively.
3024 Userspace invokes KVM_GET_EMULATED_CPUID by passing a kvm_cpuid2
3025 structure with the 'nent' field indicating the number of entries in
3026 the variable-size array 'entries'. If the number of entries is too low
3027 to describe the cpu capabilities, an error (E2BIG) is returned. If the
3028 number is too high, the 'nent' field is adjusted and an error (ENOMEM)
3029 is returned. If the number is just right, the 'nent' field is adjusted
3030 to the number of valid entries in the 'entries' array, which is then
3033 The entries returned are the set CPUID bits of the respective features
3034 which kvm emulates, as returned by the CPUID instruction, with unknown
3035 or unsupported feature bits cleared.
3037 Features like x2apic, for example, may not be present in the host cpu
3038 but are exposed by kvm in KVM_GET_SUPPORTED_CPUID because they can be
3039 emulated efficiently and thus not included here.
3041 The fields in each entry are defined as follows:
3043 function: the eax value used to obtain the entry
3044 index: the ecx value used to obtain the entry (for entries that are
3046 flags: an OR of zero or more of the following:
3047 KVM_CPUID_FLAG_SIGNIFCANT_INDEX:
3048 if the index field is valid
3049 KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATEFUL_FUNC:
3050 if cpuid for this function returns different values for successive
3051 invocations; there will be several entries with the same function,
3052 all with this flag set
3053 KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATE_READ_NEXT:
3054 for KVM_CPUID_FLAG_STATEFUL_FUNC entries, set if this entry is
3055 the first entry to be read by a cpu
3056 eax, ebx, ecx, edx: the values returned by the cpuid instruction for
3057 this function/index combination
3059 4.89 KVM_S390_MEM_OP
3061 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_MEM_OP
3064 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_mem_op (in)
3065 Returns: = 0 on success,
3066 < 0 on generic error (e.g. -EFAULT or -ENOMEM),
3067 > 0 if an exception occurred while walking the page tables
3069 Read or write data from/to the logical (virtual) memory of a VCPU.
3071 Parameters are specified via the following structure:
3073 struct kvm_s390_mem_op {
3074 __u64 gaddr; /* the guest address */
3075 __u64 flags; /* flags */
3076 __u32 size; /* amount of bytes */
3077 __u32 op; /* type of operation */
3078 __u64 buf; /* buffer in userspace */
3079 __u8 ar; /* the access register number */
3080 __u8 reserved[31]; /* should be set to 0 */
3083 The type of operation is specified in the "op" field. It is either
3084 KVM_S390_MEMOP_LOGICAL_READ for reading from logical memory space or
3085 KVM_S390_MEMOP_LOGICAL_WRITE for writing to logical memory space. The
3086 KVM_S390_MEMOP_F_CHECK_ONLY flag can be set in the "flags" field to check
3087 whether the corresponding memory access would create an access exception
3088 (without touching the data in the memory at the destination). In case an
3089 access exception occurred while walking the MMU tables of the guest, the
3090 ioctl returns a positive error number to indicate the type of exception.
3091 This exception is also raised directly at the corresponding VCPU if the
3092 flag KVM_S390_MEMOP_F_INJECT_EXCEPTION is set in the "flags" field.
3094 The start address of the memory region has to be specified in the "gaddr"
3095 field, and the length of the region in the "size" field (which must not
3096 be 0). The maximum value for "size" can be obtained by checking the
3097 KVM_CAP_S390_MEM_OP capability. "buf" is the buffer supplied by the
3098 userspace application where the read data should be written to for
3099 KVM_S390_MEMOP_LOGICAL_READ, or where the data that should be written is
3100 stored for a KVM_S390_MEMOP_LOGICAL_WRITE. When KVM_S390_MEMOP_F_CHECK_ONLY
3101 is specified, "buf" is unused and can be NULL. "ar" designates the access
3102 register number to be used; the valid range is 0..15.
3104 The "reserved" field is meant for future extensions. It is not used by
3105 KVM with the currently defined set of flags.
3107 4.90 KVM_S390_GET_SKEYS
3109 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_SKEYS
3112 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_skeys
3113 Returns: 0 on success, KVM_S390_GET_KEYS_NONE if guest is not using storage
3114 keys, negative value on error
3116 This ioctl is used to get guest storage key values on the s390
3117 architecture. The ioctl takes parameters via the kvm_s390_skeys struct.
3119 struct kvm_s390_skeys {
3122 __u64 skeydata_addr;
3127 The start_gfn field is the number of the first guest frame whose storage keys
3130 The count field is the number of consecutive frames (starting from start_gfn)
3131 whose storage keys to get. The count field must be at least 1 and the maximum
3132 allowed value is defined as KVM_S390_SKEYS_ALLOC_MAX. Values outside this range
3133 will cause the ioctl to return -EINVAL.
3135 The skeydata_addr field is the address to a buffer large enough to hold count
3136 bytes. This buffer will be filled with storage key data by the ioctl.
3138 4.91 KVM_S390_SET_SKEYS
3140 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_SKEYS
3143 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_skeys
3144 Returns: 0 on success, negative value on error
3146 This ioctl is used to set guest storage key values on the s390
3147 architecture. The ioctl takes parameters via the kvm_s390_skeys struct.
3148 See section on KVM_S390_GET_SKEYS for struct definition.
3150 The start_gfn field is the number of the first guest frame whose storage keys
3153 The count field is the number of consecutive frames (starting from start_gfn)
3154 whose storage keys to get. The count field must be at least 1 and the maximum
3155 allowed value is defined as KVM_S390_SKEYS_ALLOC_MAX. Values outside this range
3156 will cause the ioctl to return -EINVAL.
3158 The skeydata_addr field is the address to a buffer containing count bytes of
3159 storage keys. Each byte in the buffer will be set as the storage key for a
3160 single frame starting at start_gfn for count frames.
3162 Note: If any architecturally invalid key value is found in the given data then
3163 the ioctl will return -EINVAL.
3167 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_INJECT_IRQ
3170 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_irq (in)
3171 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
3173 EINVAL: interrupt type is invalid
3174 type is KVM_S390_SIGP_STOP and flag parameter is invalid value
3175 type is KVM_S390_INT_EXTERNAL_CALL and code is bigger
3176 than the maximum of VCPUs
3177 EBUSY: type is KVM_S390_SIGP_SET_PREFIX and vcpu is not stopped
3178 type is KVM_S390_SIGP_STOP and a stop irq is already pending
3179 type is KVM_S390_INT_EXTERNAL_CALL and an external call interrupt
3182 Allows to inject an interrupt to the guest.
3184 Using struct kvm_s390_irq as a parameter allows
3185 to inject additional payload which is not
3186 possible via KVM_S390_INTERRUPT.
3188 Interrupt parameters are passed via kvm_s390_irq:
3190 struct kvm_s390_irq {
3193 struct kvm_s390_io_info io;
3194 struct kvm_s390_ext_info ext;
3195 struct kvm_s390_pgm_info pgm;
3196 struct kvm_s390_emerg_info emerg;
3197 struct kvm_s390_extcall_info extcall;
3198 struct kvm_s390_prefix_info prefix;
3199 struct kvm_s390_stop_info stop;
3200 struct kvm_s390_mchk_info mchk;
3205 type can be one of the following:
3207 KVM_S390_SIGP_STOP - sigp stop; parameter in .stop
3208 KVM_S390_PROGRAM_INT - program check; parameters in .pgm
3209 KVM_S390_SIGP_SET_PREFIX - sigp set prefix; parameters in .prefix
3210 KVM_S390_RESTART - restart; no parameters
3211 KVM_S390_INT_CLOCK_COMP - clock comparator interrupt; no parameters
3212 KVM_S390_INT_CPU_TIMER - CPU timer interrupt; no parameters
3213 KVM_S390_INT_EMERGENCY - sigp emergency; parameters in .emerg
3214 KVM_S390_INT_EXTERNAL_CALL - sigp external call; parameters in .extcall
3215 KVM_S390_MCHK - machine check interrupt; parameters in .mchk
3217 This is an asynchronous vcpu ioctl and can be invoked from any thread.
3219 4.94 KVM_S390_GET_IRQ_STATE
3221 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_IRQ_STATE
3224 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_irq_state (out)
3225 Returns: >= number of bytes copied into buffer,
3226 -EINVAL if buffer size is 0,
3227 -ENOBUFS if buffer size is too small to fit all pending interrupts,
3228 -EFAULT if the buffer address was invalid
3230 This ioctl allows userspace to retrieve the complete state of all currently
3231 pending interrupts in a single buffer. Use cases include migration
3232 and introspection. The parameter structure contains the address of a
3233 userspace buffer and its length:
3235 struct kvm_s390_irq_state {
3237 __u32 flags; /* will stay unused for compatibility reasons */
3239 __u32 reserved[4]; /* will stay unused for compatibility reasons */
3242 Userspace passes in the above struct and for each pending interrupt a
3243 struct kvm_s390_irq is copied to the provided buffer.
3245 The structure contains a flags and a reserved field for future extensions. As
3246 the kernel never checked for flags == 0 and QEMU never pre-zeroed flags and
3247 reserved, these fields can not be used in the future without breaking
3250 If -ENOBUFS is returned the buffer provided was too small and userspace
3251 may retry with a bigger buffer.
3253 4.95 KVM_S390_SET_IRQ_STATE
3255 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_IRQ_STATE
3258 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_irq_state (in)
3259 Returns: 0 on success,
3260 -EFAULT if the buffer address was invalid,
3261 -EINVAL for an invalid buffer length (see below),
3262 -EBUSY if there were already interrupts pending,
3263 errors occurring when actually injecting the
3264 interrupt. See KVM_S390_IRQ.
3266 This ioctl allows userspace to set the complete state of all cpu-local
3267 interrupts currently pending for the vcpu. It is intended for restoring
3268 interrupt state after a migration. The input parameter is a userspace buffer
3269 containing a struct kvm_s390_irq_state:
3271 struct kvm_s390_irq_state {
3273 __u32 flags; /* will stay unused for compatibility reasons */
3275 __u32 reserved[4]; /* will stay unused for compatibility reasons */
3278 The restrictions for flags and reserved apply as well.
3279 (see KVM_S390_GET_IRQ_STATE)
3281 The userspace memory referenced by buf contains a struct kvm_s390_irq
3282 for each interrupt to be injected into the guest.
3283 If one of the interrupts could not be injected for some reason the
3286 len must be a multiple of sizeof(struct kvm_s390_irq). It must be > 0
3287 and it must not exceed (max_vcpus + 32) * sizeof(struct kvm_s390_irq),
3288 which is the maximum number of possibly pending cpu-local interrupts.
3292 Capability: KVM_CAP_X86_SMM
3296 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
3298 Queues an SMI on the thread's vcpu.
3300 4.97 KVM_CAP_PPC_MULTITCE
3302 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_MULTITCE
3306 This capability means the kernel is capable of handling hypercalls
3307 H_PUT_TCE_INDIRECT and H_STUFF_TCE without passing those into the user
3308 space. This significantly accelerates DMA operations for PPC KVM guests.
3309 User space should expect that its handlers for these hypercalls
3310 are not going to be called if user space previously registered LIOBN
3311 in KVM (via KVM_CREATE_SPAPR_TCE or similar calls).
3313 In order to enable H_PUT_TCE_INDIRECT and H_STUFF_TCE use in the guest,
3314 user space might have to advertise it for the guest. For example,
3315 IBM pSeries (sPAPR) guest starts using them if "hcall-multi-tce" is
3316 present in the "ibm,hypertas-functions" device-tree property.
3318 The hypercalls mentioned above may or may not be processed successfully
3319 in the kernel based fast path. If they can not be handled by the kernel,
3320 they will get passed on to user space. So user space still has to have
3321 an implementation for these despite the in kernel acceleration.
3323 This capability is always enabled.
3325 4.98 KVM_CREATE_SPAPR_TCE_64
3327 Capability: KVM_CAP_SPAPR_TCE_64
3328 Architectures: powerpc
3330 Parameters: struct kvm_create_spapr_tce_64 (in)
3331 Returns: file descriptor for manipulating the created TCE table
3333 This is an extension for KVM_CAP_SPAPR_TCE which only supports 32bit
3334 windows, described in 4.62 KVM_CREATE_SPAPR_TCE
3336 This capability uses extended struct in ioctl interface:
3338 /* for KVM_CAP_SPAPR_TCE_64 */
3339 struct kvm_create_spapr_tce_64 {
3343 __u64 offset; /* in pages */
3344 __u64 size; /* in pages */
3347 The aim of extension is to support an additional bigger DMA window with
3348 a variable page size.
3349 KVM_CREATE_SPAPR_TCE_64 receives a 64bit window size, an IOMMU page shift and
3350 a bus offset of the corresponding DMA window, @size and @offset are numbers
3353 @flags are not used at the moment.
3355 The rest of functionality is identical to KVM_CREATE_SPAPR_TCE.
3357 4.99 KVM_REINJECT_CONTROL
3359 Capability: KVM_CAP_REINJECT_CONTROL
3362 Parameters: struct kvm_reinject_control (in)
3363 Returns: 0 on success,
3364 -EFAULT if struct kvm_reinject_control cannot be read,
3365 -ENXIO if KVM_CREATE_PIT or KVM_CREATE_PIT2 didn't succeed earlier.
3367 i8254 (PIT) has two modes, reinject and !reinject. The default is reinject,
3368 where KVM queues elapsed i8254 ticks and monitors completion of interrupt from
3369 vector(s) that i8254 injects. Reinject mode dequeues a tick and injects its
3370 interrupt whenever there isn't a pending interrupt from i8254.
3371 !reinject mode injects an interrupt as soon as a tick arrives.
3373 struct kvm_reinject_control {
3378 pit_reinject = 0 (!reinject mode) is recommended, unless running an old
3379 operating system that uses the PIT for timing (e.g. Linux 2.4.x).
3381 4.100 KVM_PPC_CONFIGURE_V3_MMU
3383 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_RADIX_MMU or KVM_CAP_PPC_HASH_MMU_V3
3386 Parameters: struct kvm_ppc_mmuv3_cfg (in)
3387 Returns: 0 on success,
3388 -EFAULT if struct kvm_ppc_mmuv3_cfg cannot be read,
3389 -EINVAL if the configuration is invalid
3391 This ioctl controls whether the guest will use radix or HPT (hashed
3392 page table) translation, and sets the pointer to the process table for
3395 struct kvm_ppc_mmuv3_cfg {
3397 __u64 process_table;
3400 There are two bits that can be set in flags; KVM_PPC_MMUV3_RADIX and
3401 KVM_PPC_MMUV3_GTSE. KVM_PPC_MMUV3_RADIX, if set, configures the guest
3402 to use radix tree translation, and if clear, to use HPT translation.
3403 KVM_PPC_MMUV3_GTSE, if set and if KVM permits it, configures the guest
3404 to be able to use the global TLB and SLB invalidation instructions;
3405 if clear, the guest may not use these instructions.
3407 The process_table field specifies the address and size of the guest
3408 process table, which is in the guest's space. This field is formatted
3409 as the second doubleword of the partition table entry, as defined in
3410 the Power ISA V3.00, Book III section 5.7.6.1.
3412 4.101 KVM_PPC_GET_RMMU_INFO
3414 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_RADIX_MMU
3417 Parameters: struct kvm_ppc_rmmu_info (out)
3418 Returns: 0 on success,
3419 -EFAULT if struct kvm_ppc_rmmu_info cannot be written,
3420 -EINVAL if no useful information can be returned
3422 This ioctl returns a structure containing two things: (a) a list
3423 containing supported radix tree geometries, and (b) a list that maps
3424 page sizes to put in the "AP" (actual page size) field for the tlbie
3425 (TLB invalidate entry) instruction.
3427 struct kvm_ppc_rmmu_info {
3428 struct kvm_ppc_radix_geom {
3433 __u32 ap_encodings[8];
3436 The geometries[] field gives up to 8 supported geometries for the
3437 radix page table, in terms of the log base 2 of the smallest page
3438 size, and the number of bits indexed at each level of the tree, from
3439 the PTE level up to the PGD level in that order. Any unused entries
3440 will have 0 in the page_shift field.
3442 The ap_encodings gives the supported page sizes and their AP field
3443 encodings, encoded with the AP value in the top 3 bits and the log
3444 base 2 of the page size in the bottom 6 bits.
3446 4.102 KVM_PPC_RESIZE_HPT_PREPARE
3448 Capability: KVM_CAP_SPAPR_RESIZE_HPT
3449 Architectures: powerpc
3451 Parameters: struct kvm_ppc_resize_hpt (in)
3452 Returns: 0 on successful completion,
3453 >0 if a new HPT is being prepared, the value is an estimated
3454 number of milliseconds until preparation is complete
3455 -EFAULT if struct kvm_reinject_control cannot be read,
3456 -EINVAL if the supplied shift or flags are invalid
3457 -ENOMEM if unable to allocate the new HPT
3458 -ENOSPC if there was a hash collision when moving existing
3459 HPT entries to the new HPT
3460 -EIO on other error conditions
3462 Used to implement the PAPR extension for runtime resizing of a guest's
3463 Hashed Page Table (HPT). Specifically this starts, stops or monitors
3464 the preparation of a new potential HPT for the guest, essentially
3465 implementing the H_RESIZE_HPT_PREPARE hypercall.
3467 If called with shift > 0 when there is no pending HPT for the guest,
3468 this begins preparation of a new pending HPT of size 2^(shift) bytes.
3469 It then returns a positive integer with the estimated number of
3470 milliseconds until preparation is complete.
3472 If called when there is a pending HPT whose size does not match that
3473 requested in the parameters, discards the existing pending HPT and
3474 creates a new one as above.
3476 If called when there is a pending HPT of the size requested, will:
3477 * If preparation of the pending HPT is already complete, return 0
3478 * If preparation of the pending HPT has failed, return an error
3479 code, then discard the pending HPT.
3480 * If preparation of the pending HPT is still in progress, return an
3481 estimated number of milliseconds until preparation is complete.
3483 If called with shift == 0, discards any currently pending HPT and
3484 returns 0 (i.e. cancels any in-progress preparation).
3486 flags is reserved for future expansion, currently setting any bits in
3487 flags will result in an -EINVAL.
3489 Normally this will be called repeatedly with the same parameters until
3490 it returns <= 0. The first call will initiate preparation, subsequent
3491 ones will monitor preparation until it completes or fails.
3493 struct kvm_ppc_resize_hpt {
3499 4.103 KVM_PPC_RESIZE_HPT_COMMIT
3501 Capability: KVM_CAP_SPAPR_RESIZE_HPT
3502 Architectures: powerpc
3504 Parameters: struct kvm_ppc_resize_hpt (in)
3505 Returns: 0 on successful completion,
3506 -EFAULT if struct kvm_reinject_control cannot be read,
3507 -EINVAL if the supplied shift or flags are invalid
3508 -ENXIO is there is no pending HPT, or the pending HPT doesn't
3509 have the requested size
3510 -EBUSY if the pending HPT is not fully prepared
3511 -ENOSPC if there was a hash collision when moving existing
3512 HPT entries to the new HPT
3513 -EIO on other error conditions
3515 Used to implement the PAPR extension for runtime resizing of a guest's
3516 Hashed Page Table (HPT). Specifically this requests that the guest be
3517 transferred to working with the new HPT, essentially implementing the
3518 H_RESIZE_HPT_COMMIT hypercall.
3520 This should only be called after KVM_PPC_RESIZE_HPT_PREPARE has
3521 returned 0 with the same parameters. In other cases
3522 KVM_PPC_RESIZE_HPT_COMMIT will return an error (usually -ENXIO or
3523 -EBUSY, though others may be possible if the preparation was started,
3526 This will have undefined effects on the guest if it has not already
3527 placed itself in a quiescent state where no vcpu will make MMU enabled
3530 On succsful completion, the pending HPT will become the guest's active
3531 HPT and the previous HPT will be discarded.
3533 On failure, the guest will still be operating on its previous HPT.
3535 struct kvm_ppc_resize_hpt {
3541 4.104 KVM_X86_GET_MCE_CAP_SUPPORTED
3543 Capability: KVM_CAP_MCE
3546 Parameters: u64 mce_cap (out)
3547 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
3549 Returns supported MCE capabilities. The u64 mce_cap parameter
3550 has the same format as the MSR_IA32_MCG_CAP register. Supported
3551 capabilities will have the corresponding bits set.
3553 4.105 KVM_X86_SETUP_MCE
3555 Capability: KVM_CAP_MCE
3558 Parameters: u64 mcg_cap (in)
3559 Returns: 0 on success,
3560 -EFAULT if u64 mcg_cap cannot be read,
3561 -EINVAL if the requested number of banks is invalid,
3562 -EINVAL if requested MCE capability is not supported.
3564 Initializes MCE support for use. The u64 mcg_cap parameter
3565 has the same format as the MSR_IA32_MCG_CAP register and
3566 specifies which capabilities should be enabled. The maximum
3567 supported number of error-reporting banks can be retrieved when
3568 checking for KVM_CAP_MCE. The supported capabilities can be
3569 retrieved with KVM_X86_GET_MCE_CAP_SUPPORTED.
3571 4.106 KVM_X86_SET_MCE
3573 Capability: KVM_CAP_MCE
3576 Parameters: struct kvm_x86_mce (in)
3577 Returns: 0 on success,
3578 -EFAULT if struct kvm_x86_mce cannot be read,
3579 -EINVAL if the bank number is invalid,
3580 -EINVAL if VAL bit is not set in status field.
3582 Inject a machine check error (MCE) into the guest. The input
3585 struct kvm_x86_mce {
3595 If the MCE being reported is an uncorrected error, KVM will
3596 inject it as an MCE exception into the guest. If the guest
3597 MCG_STATUS register reports that an MCE is in progress, KVM
3598 causes an KVM_EXIT_SHUTDOWN vmexit.
3600 Otherwise, if the MCE is a corrected error, KVM will just
3601 store it in the corresponding bank (provided this bank is
3602 not holding a previously reported uncorrected error).
3604 4.107 KVM_S390_GET_CMMA_BITS
3606 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_CMMA_MIGRATION
3609 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_cmma_log (in, out)
3610 Returns: 0 on success, a negative value on error
3612 This ioctl is used to get the values of the CMMA bits on the s390
3613 architecture. It is meant to be used in two scenarios:
3614 - During live migration to save the CMMA values. Live migration needs
3615 to be enabled via the KVM_REQ_START_MIGRATION VM property.
3616 - To non-destructively peek at the CMMA values, with the flag
3617 KVM_S390_CMMA_PEEK set.
3619 The ioctl takes parameters via the kvm_s390_cmma_log struct. The desired
3620 values are written to a buffer whose location is indicated via the "values"
3621 member in the kvm_s390_cmma_log struct. The values in the input struct are
3622 also updated as needed.
3623 Each CMMA value takes up one byte.
3625 struct kvm_s390_cmma_log {
3636 start_gfn is the number of the first guest frame whose CMMA values are
3639 count is the length of the buffer in bytes,
3641 values points to the buffer where the result will be written to.
3643 If count is greater than KVM_S390_SKEYS_MAX, then it is considered to be
3644 KVM_S390_SKEYS_MAX. KVM_S390_SKEYS_MAX is re-used for consistency with
3647 The result is written in the buffer pointed to by the field values, and
3648 the values of the input parameter are updated as follows.
3650 Depending on the flags, different actions are performed. The only
3651 supported flag so far is KVM_S390_CMMA_PEEK.
3653 The default behaviour if KVM_S390_CMMA_PEEK is not set is:
3654 start_gfn will indicate the first page frame whose CMMA bits were dirty.
3655 It is not necessarily the same as the one passed as input, as clean pages
3658 count will indicate the number of bytes actually written in the buffer.
3659 It can (and very often will) be smaller than the input value, since the
3660 buffer is only filled until 16 bytes of clean values are found (which
3661 are then not copied in the buffer). Since a CMMA migration block needs
3662 the base address and the length, for a total of 16 bytes, we will send
3663 back some clean data if there is some dirty data afterwards, as long as
3664 the size of the clean data does not exceed the size of the header. This
3665 allows to minimize the amount of data to be saved or transferred over
3666 the network at the expense of more roundtrips to userspace. The next
3667 invocation of the ioctl will skip over all the clean values, saving
3668 potentially more than just the 16 bytes we found.
3670 If KVM_S390_CMMA_PEEK is set:
3671 the existing storage attributes are read even when not in migration
3672 mode, and no other action is performed;
3674 the output start_gfn will be equal to the input start_gfn,
3676 the output count will be equal to the input count, except if the end of
3677 memory has been reached.
3680 the field "remaining" will indicate the total number of dirty CMMA values
3681 still remaining, or 0 if KVM_S390_CMMA_PEEK is set and migration mode is
3686 values points to the userspace buffer where the result will be stored.
3688 This ioctl can fail with -ENOMEM if not enough memory can be allocated to
3689 complete the task, with -ENXIO if CMMA is not enabled, with -EINVAL if
3690 KVM_S390_CMMA_PEEK is not set but migration mode was not enabled, with
3691 -EFAULT if the userspace address is invalid or if no page table is
3692 present for the addresses (e.g. when using hugepages).
3694 4.108 KVM_S390_SET_CMMA_BITS
3696 Capability: KVM_CAP_S390_CMMA_MIGRATION
3699 Parameters: struct kvm_s390_cmma_log (in)
3700 Returns: 0 on success, a negative value on error
3702 This ioctl is used to set the values of the CMMA bits on the s390
3703 architecture. It is meant to be used during live migration to restore
3704 the CMMA values, but there are no restrictions on its use.
3705 The ioctl takes parameters via the kvm_s390_cmma_values struct.
3706 Each CMMA value takes up one byte.
3708 struct kvm_s390_cmma_log {
3719 start_gfn indicates the starting guest frame number,
3721 count indicates how many values are to be considered in the buffer,
3723 flags is not used and must be 0.
3725 mask indicates which PGSTE bits are to be considered.
3727 remaining is not used.
3729 values points to the buffer in userspace where to store the values.
3731 This ioctl can fail with -ENOMEM if not enough memory can be allocated to
3732 complete the task, with -ENXIO if CMMA is not enabled, with -EINVAL if
3733 the count field is too large (e.g. more than KVM_S390_CMMA_SIZE_MAX) or
3734 if the flags field was not 0, with -EFAULT if the userspace address is
3735 invalid, if invalid pages are written to (e.g. after the end of memory)
3736 or if no page table is present for the addresses (e.g. when using
3739 4.109 KVM_PPC_GET_CPU_CHAR
3741 Capability: KVM_CAP_PPC_GET_CPU_CHAR
3742 Architectures: powerpc
3744 Parameters: struct kvm_ppc_cpu_char (out)
3745 Returns: 0 on successful completion
3746 -EFAULT if struct kvm_ppc_cpu_char cannot be written
3748 This ioctl gives userspace information about certain characteristics
3749 of the CPU relating to speculative execution of instructions and
3750 possible information leakage resulting from speculative execution (see
3751 CVE-2017-5715, CVE-2017-5753 and CVE-2017-5754). The information is
3752 returned in struct kvm_ppc_cpu_char, which looks like this:
3754 struct kvm_ppc_cpu_char {
3755 __u64 character; /* characteristics of the CPU */
3756 __u64 behaviour; /* recommended software behaviour */
3757 __u64 character_mask; /* valid bits in character */
3758 __u64 behaviour_mask; /* valid bits in behaviour */
3761 For extensibility, the character_mask and behaviour_mask fields
3762 indicate which bits of character and behaviour have been filled in by
3763 the kernel. If the set of defined bits is extended in future then
3764 userspace will be able to tell whether it is running on a kernel that
3765 knows about the new bits.
3767 The character field describes attributes of the CPU which can help
3768 with preventing inadvertent information disclosure - specifically,
3769 whether there is an instruction to flash-invalidate the L1 data cache
3770 (ori 30,30,0 or mtspr SPRN_TRIG2,rN), whether the L1 data cache is set
3771 to a mode where entries can only be used by the thread that created
3772 them, whether the bcctr[l] instruction prevents speculation, and
3773 whether a speculation barrier instruction (ori 31,31,0) is provided.
3775 The behaviour field describes actions that software should take to
3776 prevent inadvertent information disclosure, and thus describes which
3777 vulnerabilities the hardware is subject to; specifically whether the
3778 L1 data cache should be flushed when returning to user mode from the
3779 kernel, and whether a speculation barrier should be placed between an
3780 array bounds check and the array access.
3782 These fields use the same bit definitions as the new
3783 H_GET_CPU_CHARACTERISTICS hypercall.
3785 4.110 KVM_MEMORY_ENCRYPT_OP
3790 Parameters: an opaque platform specific structure (in/out)
3791 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
3793 If the platform supports creating encrypted VMs then this ioctl can be used
3794 for issuing platform-specific memory encryption commands to manage those
3797 Currently, this ioctl is used for issuing Secure Encrypted Virtualization
3798 (SEV) commands on AMD Processors. The SEV commands are defined in
3799 Documentation/virt/kvm/amd-memory-encryption.rst.
3801 4.111 KVM_MEMORY_ENCRYPT_REG_REGION
3806 Parameters: struct kvm_enc_region (in)
3807 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
3809 This ioctl can be used to register a guest memory region which may
3810 contain encrypted data (e.g. guest RAM, SMRAM etc).
3812 It is used in the SEV-enabled guest. When encryption is enabled, a guest
3813 memory region may contain encrypted data. The SEV memory encryption
3814 engine uses a tweak such that two identical plaintext pages, each at
3815 different locations will have differing ciphertexts. So swapping or
3816 moving ciphertext of those pages will not result in plaintext being
3817 swapped. So relocating (or migrating) physical backing pages for the SEV
3818 guest will require some additional steps.
3820 Note: The current SEV key management spec does not provide commands to
3821 swap or migrate (move) ciphertext pages. Hence, for now we pin the guest
3822 memory region registered with the ioctl.
3824 4.112 KVM_MEMORY_ENCRYPT_UNREG_REGION
3829 Parameters: struct kvm_enc_region (in)
3830 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
3832 This ioctl can be used to unregister the guest memory region registered
3833 with KVM_MEMORY_ENCRYPT_REG_REGION ioctl above.
3835 4.113 KVM_HYPERV_EVENTFD
3837 Capability: KVM_CAP_HYPERV_EVENTFD
3840 Parameters: struct kvm_hyperv_eventfd (in)
3842 This ioctl (un)registers an eventfd to receive notifications from the guest on
3843 the specified Hyper-V connection id through the SIGNAL_EVENT hypercall, without
3844 causing a user exit. SIGNAL_EVENT hypercall with non-zero event flag number
3845 (bits 24-31) still triggers a KVM_EXIT_HYPERV_HCALL user exit.
3847 struct kvm_hyperv_eventfd {
3854 The conn_id field should fit within 24 bits:
3856 #define KVM_HYPERV_CONN_ID_MASK 0x00ffffff
3858 The acceptable values for the flags field are:
3860 #define KVM_HYPERV_EVENTFD_DEASSIGN (1 << 0)
3862 Returns: 0 on success,
3863 -EINVAL if conn_id or flags is outside the allowed range
3864 -ENOENT on deassign if the conn_id isn't registered
3865 -EEXIST on assign if the conn_id is already registered
3867 4.114 KVM_GET_NESTED_STATE
3869 Capability: KVM_CAP_NESTED_STATE
3872 Parameters: struct kvm_nested_state (in/out)
3873 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
3875 E2BIG: the total state size exceeds the value of 'size' specified by
3876 the user; the size required will be written into size.
3878 struct kvm_nested_state {
3884 struct kvm_vmx_nested_state_hdr vmx;
3885 struct kvm_svm_nested_state_hdr svm;
3887 /* Pad the header to 128 bytes. */
3892 struct kvm_vmx_nested_state_data vmx[0];
3893 struct kvm_svm_nested_state_data svm[0];
3897 #define KVM_STATE_NESTED_GUEST_MODE 0x00000001
3898 #define KVM_STATE_NESTED_RUN_PENDING 0x00000002
3899 #define KVM_STATE_NESTED_EVMCS 0x00000004
3901 #define KVM_STATE_NESTED_FORMAT_VMX 0
3902 #define KVM_STATE_NESTED_FORMAT_SVM 1
3904 #define KVM_STATE_NESTED_VMX_VMCS_SIZE 0x1000
3906 #define KVM_STATE_NESTED_VMX_SMM_GUEST_MODE 0x00000001
3907 #define KVM_STATE_NESTED_VMX_SMM_VMXON 0x00000002
3909 struct kvm_vmx_nested_state_hdr {
3918 struct kvm_vmx_nested_state_data {
3919 __u8 vmcs12[KVM_STATE_NESTED_VMX_VMCS_SIZE];
3920 __u8 shadow_vmcs12[KVM_STATE_NESTED_VMX_VMCS_SIZE];
3923 This ioctl copies the vcpu's nested virtualization state from the kernel to
3926 The maximum size of the state can be retrieved by passing KVM_CAP_NESTED_STATE
3927 to the KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION ioctl().
3929 4.115 KVM_SET_NESTED_STATE
3931 Capability: KVM_CAP_NESTED_STATE
3934 Parameters: struct kvm_nested_state (in)
3935 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
3937 This copies the vcpu's kvm_nested_state struct from userspace to the kernel.
3938 For the definition of struct kvm_nested_state, see KVM_GET_NESTED_STATE.
3940 4.116 KVM_(UN)REGISTER_COALESCED_MMIO
3942 Capability: KVM_CAP_COALESCED_MMIO (for coalesced mmio)
3943 KVM_CAP_COALESCED_PIO (for coalesced pio)
3946 Parameters: struct kvm_coalesced_mmio_zone
3947 Returns: 0 on success, < 0 on error
3949 Coalesced I/O is a performance optimization that defers hardware
3950 register write emulation so that userspace exits are avoided. It is
3951 typically used to reduce the overhead of emulating frequently accessed
3954 When a hardware register is configured for coalesced I/O, write accesses
3955 do not exit to userspace and their value is recorded in a ring buffer
3956 that is shared between kernel and userspace.
3958 Coalesced I/O is used if one or more write accesses to a hardware
3959 register can be deferred until a read or a write to another hardware
3960 register on the same device. This last access will cause a vmexit and
3961 userspace will process accesses from the ring buffer before emulating
3962 it. That will avoid exiting to userspace on repeated writes.
3964 Coalesced pio is based on coalesced mmio. There is little difference
3965 between coalesced mmio and pio except that coalesced pio records accesses
3968 4.117 KVM_CLEAR_DIRTY_LOG (vm ioctl)
3970 Capability: KVM_CAP_MANUAL_DIRTY_LOG_PROTECT2
3971 Architectures: x86, arm, arm64, mips
3973 Parameters: struct kvm_dirty_log (in)
3974 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
3976 /* for KVM_CLEAR_DIRTY_LOG */
3977 struct kvm_clear_dirty_log {
3982 void __user *dirty_bitmap; /* one bit per page */
3987 The ioctl clears the dirty status of pages in a memory slot, according to
3988 the bitmap that is passed in struct kvm_clear_dirty_log's dirty_bitmap
3989 field. Bit 0 of the bitmap corresponds to page "first_page" in the
3990 memory slot, and num_pages is the size in bits of the input bitmap.
3991 first_page must be a multiple of 64; num_pages must also be a multiple of
3992 64 unless first_page + num_pages is the size of the memory slot. For each
3993 bit that is set in the input bitmap, the corresponding page is marked "clean"
3994 in KVM's dirty bitmap, and dirty tracking is re-enabled for that page
3995 (for example via write-protection, or by clearing the dirty bit in
3996 a page table entry).
3998 If KVM_CAP_MULTI_ADDRESS_SPACE is available, bits 16-31 specifies
3999 the address space for which you want to return the dirty bitmap.
4000 They must be less than the value that KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION returns for
4001 the KVM_CAP_MULTI_ADDRESS_SPACE capability.
4003 This ioctl is mostly useful when KVM_CAP_MANUAL_DIRTY_LOG_PROTECT2
4004 is enabled; for more information, see the description of the capability.
4005 However, it can always be used as long as KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION confirms
4006 that KVM_CAP_MANUAL_DIRTY_LOG_PROTECT2 is present.
4008 4.118 KVM_GET_SUPPORTED_HV_CPUID
4010 Capability: KVM_CAP_HYPERV_CPUID
4013 Parameters: struct kvm_cpuid2 (in/out)
4014 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
4019 struct kvm_cpuid_entry2 entries[0];
4022 struct kvm_cpuid_entry2 {
4033 This ioctl returns x86 cpuid features leaves related to Hyper-V emulation in
4034 KVM. Userspace can use the information returned by this ioctl to construct
4035 cpuid information presented to guests consuming Hyper-V enlightenments (e.g.
4036 Windows or Hyper-V guests).
4038 CPUID feature leaves returned by this ioctl are defined by Hyper-V Top Level
4039 Functional Specification (TLFS). These leaves can't be obtained with
4040 KVM_GET_SUPPORTED_CPUID ioctl because some of them intersect with KVM feature
4041 leaves (0x40000000, 0x40000001).
4043 Currently, the following list of CPUID leaves are returned:
4044 HYPERV_CPUID_VENDOR_AND_MAX_FUNCTIONS
4045 HYPERV_CPUID_INTERFACE
4046 HYPERV_CPUID_VERSION
4047 HYPERV_CPUID_FEATURES
4048 HYPERV_CPUID_ENLIGHTMENT_INFO
4049 HYPERV_CPUID_IMPLEMENT_LIMITS
4050 HYPERV_CPUID_NESTED_FEATURES
4052 HYPERV_CPUID_NESTED_FEATURES leaf is only exposed when Enlightened VMCS was
4053 enabled on the corresponding vCPU (KVM_CAP_HYPERV_ENLIGHTENED_VMCS).
4055 Userspace invokes KVM_GET_SUPPORTED_CPUID by passing a kvm_cpuid2 structure
4056 with the 'nent' field indicating the number of entries in the variable-size
4057 array 'entries'. If the number of entries is too low to describe all Hyper-V
4058 feature leaves, an error (E2BIG) is returned. If the number is more or equal
4059 to the number of Hyper-V feature leaves, the 'nent' field is adjusted to the
4060 number of valid entries in the 'entries' array, which is then filled.
4062 'index' and 'flags' fields in 'struct kvm_cpuid_entry2' are currently reserved,
4063 userspace should not expect to get any particular value there.
4065 4.119 KVM_ARM_VCPU_FINALIZE
4067 Architectures: arm, arm64
4069 Parameters: int feature (in)
4070 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
4072 EPERM: feature not enabled, needs configuration, or already finalized
4073 EINVAL: feature unknown or not present
4075 Recognised values for feature:
4076 arm64 KVM_ARM_VCPU_SVE (requires KVM_CAP_ARM_SVE)
4078 Finalizes the configuration of the specified vcpu feature.
4080 The vcpu must already have been initialised, enabling the affected feature, by
4081 means of a successful KVM_ARM_VCPU_INIT call with the appropriate flag set in
4084 For affected vcpu features, this is a mandatory step that must be performed
4085 before the vcpu is fully usable.
4087 Between KVM_ARM_VCPU_INIT and KVM_ARM_VCPU_FINALIZE, the feature may be
4088 configured by use of ioctls such as KVM_SET_ONE_REG. The exact configuration
4089 that should be performaned and how to do it are feature-dependent.
4091 Other calls that depend on a particular feature being finalized, such as
4092 KVM_RUN, KVM_GET_REG_LIST, KVM_GET_ONE_REG and KVM_SET_ONE_REG, will fail with
4093 -EPERM unless the feature has already been finalized by means of a
4094 KVM_ARM_VCPU_FINALIZE call.
4096 See KVM_ARM_VCPU_INIT for details of vcpu features that require finalization
4099 4.120 KVM_SET_PMU_EVENT_FILTER
4101 Capability: KVM_CAP_PMU_EVENT_FILTER
4104 Parameters: struct kvm_pmu_event_filter (in)
4105 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
4107 struct kvm_pmu_event_filter {
4110 __u32 fixed_counter_bitmap;
4116 This ioctl restricts the set of PMU events that the guest can program.
4117 The argument holds a list of events which will be allowed or denied.
4118 The eventsel+umask of each event the guest attempts to program is compared
4119 against the events field to determine whether the guest should have access.
4120 The events field only controls general purpose counters; fixed purpose
4121 counters are controlled by the fixed_counter_bitmap.
4123 No flags are defined yet, the field must be zero.
4125 Valid values for 'action':
4126 #define KVM_PMU_EVENT_ALLOW 0
4127 #define KVM_PMU_EVENT_DENY 1
4130 5. The kvm_run structure
4131 ------------------------
4133 Application code obtains a pointer to the kvm_run structure by
4134 mmap()ing a vcpu fd. From that point, application code can control
4135 execution by changing fields in kvm_run prior to calling the KVM_RUN
4136 ioctl, and obtain information about the reason KVM_RUN returned by
4137 looking up structure members.
4141 __u8 request_interrupt_window;
4143 Request that KVM_RUN return when it becomes possible to inject external
4144 interrupts into the guest. Useful in conjunction with KVM_INTERRUPT.
4146 __u8 immediate_exit;
4148 This field is polled once when KVM_RUN starts; if non-zero, KVM_RUN
4149 exits immediately, returning -EINTR. In the common scenario where a
4150 signal is used to "kick" a VCPU out of KVM_RUN, this field can be used
4151 to avoid usage of KVM_SET_SIGNAL_MASK, which has worse scalability.
4152 Rather than blocking the signal outside KVM_RUN, userspace can set up
4153 a signal handler that sets run->immediate_exit to a non-zero value.
4155 This field is ignored if KVM_CAP_IMMEDIATE_EXIT is not available.
4162 When KVM_RUN has returned successfully (return value 0), this informs
4163 application code why KVM_RUN has returned. Allowable values for this
4164 field are detailed below.
4166 __u8 ready_for_interrupt_injection;
4168 If request_interrupt_window has been specified, this field indicates
4169 an interrupt can be injected now with KVM_INTERRUPT.
4173 The value of the current interrupt flag. Only valid if in-kernel
4174 local APIC is not used.
4178 More architecture-specific flags detailing state of the VCPU that may
4179 affect the device's behavior. The only currently defined flag is
4180 KVM_RUN_X86_SMM, which is valid on x86 machines and is set if the
4181 VCPU is in system management mode.
4183 /* in (pre_kvm_run), out (post_kvm_run) */
4186 The value of the cr8 register. Only valid if in-kernel local APIC is
4187 not used. Both input and output.
4191 The value of the APIC BASE msr. Only valid if in-kernel local
4192 APIC is not used. Both input and output.
4195 /* KVM_EXIT_UNKNOWN */
4197 __u64 hardware_exit_reason;
4200 If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_UNKNOWN, the vcpu has exited due to unknown
4201 reasons. Further architecture-specific information is available in
4202 hardware_exit_reason.
4204 /* KVM_EXIT_FAIL_ENTRY */
4206 __u64 hardware_entry_failure_reason;
4209 If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_FAIL_ENTRY, the vcpu could not be run due
4210 to unknown reasons. Further architecture-specific information is
4211 available in hardware_entry_failure_reason.
4213 /* KVM_EXIT_EXCEPTION */
4223 #define KVM_EXIT_IO_IN 0
4224 #define KVM_EXIT_IO_OUT 1
4226 __u8 size; /* bytes */
4229 __u64 data_offset; /* relative to kvm_run start */
4232 If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_IO, then the vcpu has
4233 executed a port I/O instruction which could not be satisfied by kvm.
4234 data_offset describes where the data is located (KVM_EXIT_IO_OUT) or
4235 where kvm expects application code to place the data for the next
4236 KVM_RUN invocation (KVM_EXIT_IO_IN). Data format is a packed array.
4238 /* KVM_EXIT_DEBUG */
4240 struct kvm_debug_exit_arch arch;
4243 If the exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_DEBUG, then a vcpu is processing a debug event
4244 for which architecture specific information is returned.
4254 If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_MMIO, then the vcpu has
4255 executed a memory-mapped I/O instruction which could not be satisfied
4256 by kvm. The 'data' member contains the written data if 'is_write' is
4257 true, and should be filled by application code otherwise.
4259 The 'data' member contains, in its first 'len' bytes, the value as it would
4260 appear if the VCPU performed a load or store of the appropriate width directly
4263 NOTE: For KVM_EXIT_IO, KVM_EXIT_MMIO, KVM_EXIT_OSI, KVM_EXIT_PAPR and
4264 KVM_EXIT_EPR the corresponding
4265 operations are complete (and guest state is consistent) only after userspace
4266 has re-entered the kernel with KVM_RUN. The kernel side will first finish
4267 incomplete operations and then check for pending signals. Userspace
4268 can re-enter the guest with an unmasked signal pending to complete
4271 /* KVM_EXIT_HYPERCALL */
4280 Unused. This was once used for 'hypercall to userspace'. To implement
4281 such functionality, use KVM_EXIT_IO (x86) or KVM_EXIT_MMIO (all except s390).
4282 Note KVM_EXIT_IO is significantly faster than KVM_EXIT_MMIO.
4284 /* KVM_EXIT_TPR_ACCESS */
4291 To be documented (KVM_TPR_ACCESS_REPORTING).
4293 /* KVM_EXIT_S390_SIEIC */
4296 __u64 mask; /* psw upper half */
4297 __u64 addr; /* psw lower half */
4304 /* KVM_EXIT_S390_RESET */
4305 #define KVM_S390_RESET_POR 1
4306 #define KVM_S390_RESET_CLEAR 2
4307 #define KVM_S390_RESET_SUBSYSTEM 4
4308 #define KVM_S390_RESET_CPU_INIT 8
4309 #define KVM_S390_RESET_IPL 16
4310 __u64 s390_reset_flags;
4314 /* KVM_EXIT_S390_UCONTROL */
4316 __u64 trans_exc_code;
4320 s390 specific. A page fault has occurred for a user controlled virtual
4321 machine (KVM_VM_S390_UNCONTROL) on it's host page table that cannot be
4322 resolved by the kernel.
4323 The program code and the translation exception code that were placed
4324 in the cpu's lowcore are presented here as defined by the z Architecture
4325 Principles of Operation Book in the Chapter for Dynamic Address Translation
4335 Deprecated - was used for 440 KVM.
4342 MOL uses a special hypercall interface it calls 'OSI'. To enable it, we catch
4343 hypercalls and exit with this exit struct that contains all the guest gprs.
4345 If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_OSI, then the vcpu has triggered such a hypercall.
4346 Userspace can now handle the hypercall and when it's done modify the gprs as
4347 necessary. Upon guest entry all guest GPRs will then be replaced by the values
4350 /* KVM_EXIT_PAPR_HCALL */
4357 This is used on 64-bit PowerPC when emulating a pSeries partition,
4358 e.g. with the 'pseries' machine type in qemu. It occurs when the
4359 guest does a hypercall using the 'sc 1' instruction. The 'nr' field
4360 contains the hypercall number (from the guest R3), and 'args' contains
4361 the arguments (from the guest R4 - R12). Userspace should put the
4362 return code in 'ret' and any extra returned values in args[].
4363 The possible hypercalls are defined in the Power Architecture Platform
4364 Requirements (PAPR) document available from www.power.org (free
4365 developer registration required to access it).
4367 /* KVM_EXIT_S390_TSCH */
4369 __u16 subchannel_id;
4370 __u16 subchannel_nr;
4377 s390 specific. This exit occurs when KVM_CAP_S390_CSS_SUPPORT has been enabled
4378 and TEST SUBCHANNEL was intercepted. If dequeued is set, a pending I/O
4379 interrupt for the target subchannel has been dequeued and subchannel_id,
4380 subchannel_nr, io_int_parm and io_int_word contain the parameters for that
4381 interrupt. ipb is needed for instruction parameter decoding.
4388 On FSL BookE PowerPC chips, the interrupt controller has a fast patch
4389 interrupt acknowledge path to the core. When the core successfully
4390 delivers an interrupt, it automatically populates the EPR register with
4391 the interrupt vector number and acknowledges the interrupt inside
4392 the interrupt controller.
4394 In case the interrupt controller lives in user space, we need to do
4395 the interrupt acknowledge cycle through it to fetch the next to be
4396 delivered interrupt vector using this exit.
4398 It gets triggered whenever both KVM_CAP_PPC_EPR are enabled and an
4399 external interrupt has just been delivered into the guest. User space
4400 should put the acknowledged interrupt vector into the 'epr' field.
4402 /* KVM_EXIT_SYSTEM_EVENT */
4404 #define KVM_SYSTEM_EVENT_SHUTDOWN 1
4405 #define KVM_SYSTEM_EVENT_RESET 2
4406 #define KVM_SYSTEM_EVENT_CRASH 3
4411 If exit_reason is KVM_EXIT_SYSTEM_EVENT then the vcpu has triggered
4412 a system-level event using some architecture specific mechanism (hypercall
4413 or some special instruction). In case of ARM/ARM64, this is triggered using
4414 HVC instruction based PSCI call from the vcpu. The 'type' field describes
4415 the system-level event type. The 'flags' field describes architecture
4416 specific flags for the system-level event.
4418 Valid values for 'type' are:
4419 KVM_SYSTEM_EVENT_SHUTDOWN -- the guest has requested a shutdown of the
4420 VM. Userspace is not obliged to honour this, and if it does honour
4421 this does not need to destroy the VM synchronously (ie it may call
4422 KVM_RUN again before shutdown finally occurs).
4423 KVM_SYSTEM_EVENT_RESET -- the guest has requested a reset of the VM.
4424 As with SHUTDOWN, userspace can choose to ignore the request, or
4425 to schedule the reset to occur in the future and may call KVM_RUN again.
4426 KVM_SYSTEM_EVENT_CRASH -- the guest crash occurred and the guest
4427 has requested a crash condition maintenance. Userspace can choose
4428 to ignore the request, or to gather VM memory core dump and/or
4429 reset/shutdown of the VM.
4431 /* KVM_EXIT_IOAPIC_EOI */
4436 Indicates that the VCPU's in-kernel local APIC received an EOI for a
4437 level-triggered IOAPIC interrupt. This exit only triggers when the
4438 IOAPIC is implemented in userspace (i.e. KVM_CAP_SPLIT_IRQCHIP is enabled);
4439 the userspace IOAPIC should process the EOI and retrigger the interrupt if
4440 it is still asserted. Vector is the LAPIC interrupt vector for which the
4443 struct kvm_hyperv_exit {
4444 #define KVM_EXIT_HYPERV_SYNIC 1
4445 #define KVM_EXIT_HYPERV_HCALL 2
4463 /* KVM_EXIT_HYPERV */
4464 struct kvm_hyperv_exit hyperv;
4465 Indicates that the VCPU exits into userspace to process some tasks
4466 related to Hyper-V emulation.
4467 Valid values for 'type' are:
4468 KVM_EXIT_HYPERV_SYNIC -- synchronously notify user-space about
4469 Hyper-V SynIC state change. Notification is used to remap SynIC
4470 event/message pages and to enable/disable SynIC messages/events processing
4473 /* Fix the size of the union. */
4478 * shared registers between kvm and userspace.
4479 * kvm_valid_regs specifies the register classes set by the host
4480 * kvm_dirty_regs specified the register classes dirtied by userspace
4481 * struct kvm_sync_regs is architecture specific, as well as the
4482 * bits for kvm_valid_regs and kvm_dirty_regs
4484 __u64 kvm_valid_regs;
4485 __u64 kvm_dirty_regs;
4487 struct kvm_sync_regs regs;
4488 char padding[SYNC_REGS_SIZE_BYTES];
4491 If KVM_CAP_SYNC_REGS is defined, these fields allow userspace to access
4492 certain guest registers without having to call SET/GET_*REGS. Thus we can
4493 avoid some system call overhead if userspace has to handle the exit.
4494 Userspace can query the validity of the structure by checking
4495 kvm_valid_regs for specific bits. These bits are architecture specific
4496 and usually define the validity of a groups of registers. (e.g. one bit
4497 for general purpose registers)
4499 Please note that the kernel is allowed to use the kvm_run structure as the
4500 primary storage for certain register types. Therefore, the kernel may use the
4501 values in kvm_run even if the corresponding bit in kvm_dirty_regs is not set.
4507 6. Capabilities that can be enabled on vCPUs
4508 --------------------------------------------
4510 There are certain capabilities that change the behavior of the virtual CPU or
4511 the virtual machine when enabled. To enable them, please see section 4.37.
4512 Below you can find a list of capabilities and what their effect on the vCPU or
4513 the virtual machine is when enabling them.
4515 The following information is provided along with the description:
4517 Architectures: which instruction set architectures provide this ioctl.
4518 x86 includes both i386 and x86_64.
4520 Target: whether this is a per-vcpu or per-vm capability.
4522 Parameters: what parameters are accepted by the capability.
4524 Returns: the return value. General error numbers (EBADF, ENOMEM, EINVAL)
4525 are not detailed, but errors with specific meanings are.
4533 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
4535 This capability enables interception of OSI hypercalls that otherwise would
4536 be treated as normal system calls to be injected into the guest. OSI hypercalls
4537 were invented by Mac-on-Linux to have a standardized communication mechanism
4538 between the guest and the host.
4540 When this capability is enabled, KVM_EXIT_OSI can occur.
4543 6.2 KVM_CAP_PPC_PAPR
4548 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
4550 This capability enables interception of PAPR hypercalls. PAPR hypercalls are
4551 done using the hypercall instruction "sc 1".
4553 It also sets the guest privilege level to "supervisor" mode. Usually the guest
4554 runs in "hypervisor" privilege mode with a few missing features.
4556 In addition to the above, it changes the semantics of SDR1. In this mode, the
4557 HTAB address part of SDR1 contains an HVA instead of a GPA, as PAPR keeps the
4558 HTAB invisible to the guest.
4560 When this capability is enabled, KVM_EXIT_PAPR_HCALL can occur.
4567 Parameters: args[0] is the address of a struct kvm_config_tlb
4568 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
4570 struct kvm_config_tlb {
4577 Configures the virtual CPU's TLB array, establishing a shared memory area
4578 between userspace and KVM. The "params" and "array" fields are userspace
4579 addresses of mmu-type-specific data structures. The "array_len" field is an
4580 safety mechanism, and should be set to the size in bytes of the memory that
4581 userspace has reserved for the array. It must be at least the size dictated
4582 by "mmu_type" and "params".
4584 While KVM_RUN is active, the shared region is under control of KVM. Its
4585 contents are undefined, and any modification by userspace results in
4586 boundedly undefined behavior.
4588 On return from KVM_RUN, the shared region will reflect the current state of
4589 the guest's TLB. If userspace makes any changes, it must call KVM_DIRTY_TLB
4590 to tell KVM which entries have been changed, prior to calling KVM_RUN again
4593 For mmu types KVM_MMU_FSL_BOOKE_NOHV and KVM_MMU_FSL_BOOKE_HV:
4594 - The "params" field is of type "struct kvm_book3e_206_tlb_params".
4595 - The "array" field points to an array of type "struct
4596 kvm_book3e_206_tlb_entry".
4597 - The array consists of all entries in the first TLB, followed by all
4598 entries in the second TLB.
4599 - Within a TLB, entries are ordered first by increasing set number. Within a
4600 set, entries are ordered by way (increasing ESEL).
4601 - The hash for determining set number in TLB0 is: (MAS2 >> 12) & (num_sets - 1)
4602 where "num_sets" is the tlb_sizes[] value divided by the tlb_ways[] value.
4603 - The tsize field of mas1 shall be set to 4K on TLB0, even though the
4604 hardware ignores this value for TLB0.
4606 6.4 KVM_CAP_S390_CSS_SUPPORT
4611 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
4613 This capability enables support for handling of channel I/O instructions.
4615 TEST PENDING INTERRUPTION and the interrupt portion of TEST SUBCHANNEL are
4616 handled in-kernel, while the other I/O instructions are passed to userspace.
4618 When this capability is enabled, KVM_EXIT_S390_TSCH will occur on TEST
4619 SUBCHANNEL intercepts.
4621 Note that even though this capability is enabled per-vcpu, the complete
4622 virtual machine is affected.
4628 Parameters: args[0] defines whether the proxy facility is active
4629 Returns: 0 on success; -1 on error
4631 This capability enables or disables the delivery of interrupts through the
4632 external proxy facility.
4634 When enabled (args[0] != 0), every time the guest gets an external interrupt
4635 delivered, it automatically exits into user space with a KVM_EXIT_EPR exit
4636 to receive the topmost interrupt vector.
4638 When disabled (args[0] == 0), behavior is as if this facility is unsupported.
4640 When this capability is enabled, KVM_EXIT_EPR can occur.
4642 6.6 KVM_CAP_IRQ_MPIC
4645 Parameters: args[0] is the MPIC device fd
4646 args[1] is the MPIC CPU number for this vcpu
4648 This capability connects the vcpu to an in-kernel MPIC device.
4650 6.7 KVM_CAP_IRQ_XICS
4654 Parameters: args[0] is the XICS device fd
4655 args[1] is the XICS CPU number (server ID) for this vcpu
4657 This capability connects the vcpu to an in-kernel XICS device.
4659 6.8 KVM_CAP_S390_IRQCHIP
4665 This capability enables the in-kernel irqchip for s390. Please refer to
4666 "4.24 KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP" for details.
4668 6.9 KVM_CAP_MIPS_FPU
4672 Parameters: args[0] is reserved for future use (should be 0).
4674 This capability allows the use of the host Floating Point Unit by the guest. It
4675 allows the Config1.FP bit to be set to enable the FPU in the guest. Once this is
4676 done the KVM_REG_MIPS_FPR_* and KVM_REG_MIPS_FCR_* registers can be accessed
4677 (depending on the current guest FPU register mode), and the Status.FR,
4678 Config5.FRE bits are accessible via the KVM API and also from the guest,
4679 depending on them being supported by the FPU.
4681 6.10 KVM_CAP_MIPS_MSA
4685 Parameters: args[0] is reserved for future use (should be 0).
4687 This capability allows the use of the MIPS SIMD Architecture (MSA) by the guest.
4688 It allows the Config3.MSAP bit to be set to enable the use of MSA by the guest.
4689 Once this is done the KVM_REG_MIPS_VEC_* and KVM_REG_MIPS_MSA_* registers can be
4690 accessed, and the Config5.MSAEn bit is accessible via the KVM API and also from
4693 6.74 KVM_CAP_SYNC_REGS
4694 Architectures: s390, x86
4695 Target: s390: always enabled, x86: vcpu
4697 Returns: x86: KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION returns a bit-array indicating which register
4698 sets are supported (bitfields defined in arch/x86/include/uapi/asm/kvm.h).
4700 As described above in the kvm_sync_regs struct info in section 5 (kvm_run):
4701 KVM_CAP_SYNC_REGS "allow[s] userspace to access certain guest registers
4702 without having to call SET/GET_*REGS". This reduces overhead by eliminating
4703 repeated ioctl calls for setting and/or getting register values. This is
4704 particularly important when userspace is making synchronous guest state
4705 modifications, e.g. when emulating and/or intercepting instructions in
4708 For s390 specifics, please refer to the source code.
4711 - the register sets to be copied out to kvm_run are selectable
4712 by userspace (rather that all sets being copied out for every exit).
4713 - vcpu_events are available in addition to regs and sregs.
4715 For x86, the 'kvm_valid_regs' field of struct kvm_run is overloaded to
4716 function as an input bit-array field set by userspace to indicate the
4717 specific register sets to be copied out on the next exit.
4719 To indicate when userspace has modified values that should be copied into
4720 the vCPU, the all architecture bitarray field, 'kvm_dirty_regs' must be set.
4721 This is done using the same bitflags as for the 'kvm_valid_regs' field.
4722 If the dirty bit is not set, then the register set values will not be copied
4723 into the vCPU even if they've been modified.
4725 Unused bitfields in the bitarrays must be set to zero.
4727 struct kvm_sync_regs {
4728 struct kvm_regs regs;
4729 struct kvm_sregs sregs;
4730 struct kvm_vcpu_events events;
4733 6.75 KVM_CAP_PPC_IRQ_XIVE
4737 Parameters: args[0] is the XIVE device fd
4738 args[1] is the XIVE CPU number (server ID) for this vcpu
4740 This capability connects the vcpu to an in-kernel XIVE device.
4742 7. Capabilities that can be enabled on VMs
4743 ------------------------------------------
4745 There are certain capabilities that change the behavior of the virtual
4746 machine when enabled. To enable them, please see section 4.37. Below
4747 you can find a list of capabilities and what their effect on the VM
4748 is when enabling them.
4750 The following information is provided along with the description:
4752 Architectures: which instruction set architectures provide this ioctl.
4753 x86 includes both i386 and x86_64.
4755 Parameters: what parameters are accepted by the capability.
4757 Returns: the return value. General error numbers (EBADF, ENOMEM, EINVAL)
4758 are not detailed, but errors with specific meanings are.
4761 7.1 KVM_CAP_PPC_ENABLE_HCALL
4764 Parameters: args[0] is the sPAPR hcall number
4765 args[1] is 0 to disable, 1 to enable in-kernel handling
4767 This capability controls whether individual sPAPR hypercalls (hcalls)
4768 get handled by the kernel or not. Enabling or disabling in-kernel
4769 handling of an hcall is effective across the VM. On creation, an
4770 initial set of hcalls are enabled for in-kernel handling, which
4771 consists of those hcalls for which in-kernel handlers were implemented
4772 before this capability was implemented. If disabled, the kernel will
4773 not to attempt to handle the hcall, but will always exit to userspace
4774 to handle it. Note that it may not make sense to enable some and
4775 disable others of a group of related hcalls, but KVM does not prevent
4776 userspace from doing that.
4778 If the hcall number specified is not one that has an in-kernel
4779 implementation, the KVM_ENABLE_CAP ioctl will fail with an EINVAL
4782 7.2 KVM_CAP_S390_USER_SIGP
4787 This capability controls which SIGP orders will be handled completely in user
4788 space. With this capability enabled, all fast orders will be handled completely
4794 - CONDITIONAL EMERGENCY SIGNAL
4796 All other orders will be handled completely in user space.
4798 Only privileged operation exceptions will be checked for in the kernel (or even
4799 in the hardware prior to interception). If this capability is not enabled, the
4800 old way of handling SIGP orders is used (partially in kernel and user space).
4802 7.3 KVM_CAP_S390_VECTOR_REGISTERS
4806 Returns: 0 on success, negative value on error
4808 Allows use of the vector registers introduced with z13 processor, and
4809 provides for the synchronization between host and user space. Will
4810 return -EINVAL if the machine does not support vectors.
4812 7.4 KVM_CAP_S390_USER_STSI
4817 This capability allows post-handlers for the STSI instruction. After
4818 initial handling in the kernel, KVM exits to user space with
4819 KVM_EXIT_S390_STSI to allow user space to insert further data.
4821 Before exiting to userspace, kvm handlers should fill in s390_stsi field of
4832 @addr - guest address of STSI SYSIB
4836 @ar - access register number
4838 KVM handlers should exit to userspace with rc = -EREMOTE.
4840 7.5 KVM_CAP_SPLIT_IRQCHIP
4843 Parameters: args[0] - number of routes reserved for userspace IOAPICs
4844 Returns: 0 on success, -1 on error
4846 Create a local apic for each processor in the kernel. This can be used
4847 instead of KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP if the userspace VMM wishes to emulate the
4848 IOAPIC and PIC (and also the PIT, even though this has to be enabled
4851 This capability also enables in kernel routing of interrupt requests;
4852 when KVM_CAP_SPLIT_IRQCHIP only routes of KVM_IRQ_ROUTING_MSI type are
4853 used in the IRQ routing table. The first args[0] MSI routes are reserved
4854 for the IOAPIC pins. Whenever the LAPIC receives an EOI for these routes,
4855 a KVM_EXIT_IOAPIC_EOI vmexit will be reported to userspace.
4857 Fails if VCPU has already been created, or if the irqchip is already in the
4858 kernel (i.e. KVM_CREATE_IRQCHIP has already been called).
4865 Allows use of runtime-instrumentation introduced with zEC12 processor.
4866 Will return -EINVAL if the machine does not support runtime-instrumentation.
4867 Will return -EBUSY if a VCPU has already been created.
4869 7.7 KVM_CAP_X2APIC_API
4872 Parameters: args[0] - features that should be enabled
4873 Returns: 0 on success, -EINVAL when args[0] contains invalid features
4875 Valid feature flags in args[0] are
4877 #define KVM_X2APIC_API_USE_32BIT_IDS (1ULL << 0)
4878 #define KVM_X2APIC_API_DISABLE_BROADCAST_QUIRK (1ULL << 1)
4880 Enabling KVM_X2APIC_API_USE_32BIT_IDS changes the behavior of
4881 KVM_SET_GSI_ROUTING, KVM_SIGNAL_MSI, KVM_SET_LAPIC, and KVM_GET_LAPIC,
4882 allowing the use of 32-bit APIC IDs. See KVM_CAP_X2APIC_API in their
4883 respective sections.
4885 KVM_X2APIC_API_DISABLE_BROADCAST_QUIRK must be enabled for x2APIC to work
4886 in logical mode or with more than 255 VCPUs. Otherwise, KVM treats 0xff
4887 as a broadcast even in x2APIC mode in order to support physical x2APIC
4888 without interrupt remapping. This is undesirable in logical mode,
4889 where 0xff represents CPUs 0-7 in cluster 0.
4891 7.8 KVM_CAP_S390_USER_INSTR0
4896 With this capability enabled, all illegal instructions 0x0000 (2 bytes) will
4897 be intercepted and forwarded to user space. User space can use this
4898 mechanism e.g. to realize 2-byte software breakpoints. The kernel will
4899 not inject an operating exception for these instructions, user space has
4900 to take care of that.
4902 This capability can be enabled dynamically even if VCPUs were already
4903 created and are running.
4909 Returns: 0 on success; -EINVAL if the machine does not support
4910 guarded storage; -EBUSY if a VCPU has already been created.
4912 Allows use of guarded storage for the KVM guest.
4914 7.10 KVM_CAP_S390_AIS
4919 Allow use of adapter-interruption suppression.
4920 Returns: 0 on success; -EBUSY if a VCPU has already been created.
4922 7.11 KVM_CAP_PPC_SMT
4925 Parameters: vsmt_mode, flags
4927 Enabling this capability on a VM provides userspace with a way to set
4928 the desired virtual SMT mode (i.e. the number of virtual CPUs per
4929 virtual core). The virtual SMT mode, vsmt_mode, must be a power of 2
4930 between 1 and 8. On POWER8, vsmt_mode must also be no greater than
4931 the number of threads per subcore for the host. Currently flags must
4932 be 0. A successful call to enable this capability will result in
4933 vsmt_mode being returned when the KVM_CAP_PPC_SMT capability is
4934 subsequently queried for the VM. This capability is only supported by
4935 HV KVM, and can only be set before any VCPUs have been created.
4936 The KVM_CAP_PPC_SMT_POSSIBLE capability indicates which virtual SMT
4937 modes are available.
4939 7.12 KVM_CAP_PPC_FWNMI
4944 With this capability a machine check exception in the guest address
4945 space will cause KVM to exit the guest with NMI exit reason. This
4946 enables QEMU to build error log and branch to guest kernel registered
4947 machine check handling routine. Without this capability KVM will
4948 branch to guests' 0x200 interrupt vector.
4950 7.13 KVM_CAP_X86_DISABLE_EXITS
4953 Parameters: args[0] defines which exits are disabled
4954 Returns: 0 on success, -EINVAL when args[0] contains invalid exits
4956 Valid bits in args[0] are
4958 #define KVM_X86_DISABLE_EXITS_MWAIT (1 << 0)
4959 #define KVM_X86_DISABLE_EXITS_HLT (1 << 1)
4960 #define KVM_X86_DISABLE_EXITS_PAUSE (1 << 2)
4961 #define KVM_X86_DISABLE_EXITS_CSTATE (1 << 3)
4963 Enabling this capability on a VM provides userspace with a way to no
4964 longer intercept some instructions for improved latency in some
4965 workloads, and is suggested when vCPUs are associated to dedicated
4966 physical CPUs. More bits can be added in the future; userspace can
4967 just pass the KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION result to KVM_ENABLE_CAP to disable
4970 Do not enable KVM_FEATURE_PV_UNHALT if you disable HLT exits.
4972 7.14 KVM_CAP_S390_HPAGE_1M
4976 Returns: 0 on success, -EINVAL if hpage module parameter was not set
4977 or cmma is enabled, or the VM has the KVM_VM_S390_UCONTROL
4980 With this capability the KVM support for memory backing with 1m pages
4981 through hugetlbfs can be enabled for a VM. After the capability is
4982 enabled, cmma can't be enabled anymore and pfmfi and the storage key
4983 interpretation are disabled. If cmma has already been enabled or the
4984 hpage module parameter is not set to 1, -EINVAL is returned.
4986 While it is generally possible to create a huge page backed VM without
4987 this capability, the VM will not be able to run.
4989 7.15 KVM_CAP_MSR_PLATFORM_INFO
4992 Parameters: args[0] whether feature should be enabled or not
4994 With this capability, a guest may read the MSR_PLATFORM_INFO MSR. Otherwise,
4995 a #GP would be raised when the guest tries to access. Currently, this
4996 capability does not enable write permissions of this MSR for the guest.
4998 7.16 KVM_CAP_PPC_NESTED_HV
5002 Returns: 0 on success, -EINVAL when the implementation doesn't support
5003 nested-HV virtualization.
5005 HV-KVM on POWER9 and later systems allows for "nested-HV"
5006 virtualization, which provides a way for a guest VM to run guests that
5007 can run using the CPU's supervisor mode (privileged non-hypervisor
5008 state). Enabling this capability on a VM depends on the CPU having
5009 the necessary functionality and on the facility being enabled with a
5010 kvm-hv module parameter.
5012 7.17 KVM_CAP_EXCEPTION_PAYLOAD
5015 Parameters: args[0] whether feature should be enabled or not
5017 With this capability enabled, CR2 will not be modified prior to the
5018 emulated VM-exit when L1 intercepts a #PF exception that occurs in
5019 L2. Similarly, for kvm-intel only, DR6 will not be modified prior to
5020 the emulated VM-exit when L1 intercepts a #DB exception that occurs in
5021 L2. As a result, when KVM_GET_VCPU_EVENTS reports a pending #PF (or
5022 #DB) exception for L2, exception.has_payload will be set and the
5023 faulting address (or the new DR6 bits*) will be reported in the
5024 exception_payload field. Similarly, when userspace injects a #PF (or
5025 #DB) into L2 using KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS, it is expected to set
5026 exception.has_payload and to put the faulting address (or the new DR6
5027 bits*) in the exception_payload field.
5029 This capability also enables exception.pending in struct
5030 kvm_vcpu_events, which allows userspace to distinguish between pending
5031 and injected exceptions.
5034 * For the new DR6 bits, note that bit 16 is set iff the #DB exception
5037 7.18 KVM_CAP_MANUAL_DIRTY_LOG_PROTECT2
5039 Architectures: x86, arm, arm64, mips
5040 Parameters: args[0] whether feature should be enabled or not
5042 With this capability enabled, KVM_GET_DIRTY_LOG will not automatically
5043 clear and write-protect all pages that are returned as dirty.
5044 Rather, userspace will have to do this operation separately using
5045 KVM_CLEAR_DIRTY_LOG.
5047 At the cost of a slightly more complicated operation, this provides better
5048 scalability and responsiveness for two reasons. First,
5049 KVM_CLEAR_DIRTY_LOG ioctl can operate on a 64-page granularity rather
5050 than requiring to sync a full memslot; this ensures that KVM does not
5051 take spinlocks for an extended period of time. Second, in some cases a
5052 large amount of time can pass between a call to KVM_GET_DIRTY_LOG and
5053 userspace actually using the data in the page. Pages can be modified
5054 during this time, which is inefficint for both the guest and userspace:
5055 the guest will incur a higher penalty due to write protection faults,
5056 while userspace can see false reports of dirty pages. Manual reprotection
5057 helps reducing this time, improving guest performance and reducing the
5058 number of dirty log false positives.
5060 KVM_CAP_MANUAL_DIRTY_LOG_PROTECT2 was previously available under the name
5061 KVM_CAP_MANUAL_DIRTY_LOG_PROTECT, but the implementation had bugs that make
5062 it hard or impossible to use it correctly. The availability of
5063 KVM_CAP_MANUAL_DIRTY_LOG_PROTECT2 signals that those bugs are fixed.
5064 Userspace should not try to use KVM_CAP_MANUAL_DIRTY_LOG_PROTECT.
5066 8. Other capabilities.
5067 ----------------------
5069 This section lists capabilities that give information about other
5070 features of the KVM implementation.
5072 8.1 KVM_CAP_PPC_HWRNG
5076 This capability, if KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION indicates that it is
5077 available, means that that the kernel has an implementation of the
5078 H_RANDOM hypercall backed by a hardware random-number generator.
5079 If present, the kernel H_RANDOM handler can be enabled for guest use
5080 with the KVM_CAP_PPC_ENABLE_HCALL capability.
5082 8.2 KVM_CAP_HYPERV_SYNIC
5085 This capability, if KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION indicates that it is
5086 available, means that that the kernel has an implementation of the
5087 Hyper-V Synthetic interrupt controller(SynIC). Hyper-V SynIC is
5088 used to support Windows Hyper-V based guest paravirt drivers(VMBus).
5090 In order to use SynIC, it has to be activated by setting this
5091 capability via KVM_ENABLE_CAP ioctl on the vcpu fd. Note that this
5092 will disable the use of APIC hardware virtualization even if supported
5093 by the CPU, as it's incompatible with SynIC auto-EOI behavior.
5095 8.3 KVM_CAP_PPC_RADIX_MMU
5099 This capability, if KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION indicates that it is
5100 available, means that that the kernel can support guests using the
5101 radix MMU defined in Power ISA V3.00 (as implemented in the POWER9
5104 8.4 KVM_CAP_PPC_HASH_MMU_V3
5108 This capability, if KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION indicates that it is
5109 available, means that that the kernel can support guests using the
5110 hashed page table MMU defined in Power ISA V3.00 (as implemented in
5111 the POWER9 processor), including in-memory segment tables.
5117 This capability, if KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION on the main kvm handle indicates that
5118 it is available, means that full hardware assisted virtualization capabilities
5119 of the hardware are available for use through KVM. An appropriate
5120 KVM_VM_MIPS_* type must be passed to KVM_CREATE_VM to create a VM which
5123 If KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION on a kvm VM handle indicates that this capability is
5124 available, it means that the VM is using full hardware assisted virtualization
5125 capabilities of the hardware. This is useful to check after creating a VM with
5126 KVM_VM_MIPS_DEFAULT.
5128 The value returned by KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION should be compared against known
5129 values (see below). All other values are reserved. This is to allow for the
5130 possibility of other hardware assisted virtualization implementations which
5131 may be incompatible with the MIPS VZ ASE.
5133 0: The trap & emulate implementation is in use to run guest code in user
5134 mode. Guest virtual memory segments are rearranged to fit the guest in the
5135 user mode address space.
5137 1: The MIPS VZ ASE is in use, providing full hardware assisted
5138 virtualization, including standard guest virtual memory segments.
5144 This capability, if KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION on the main kvm handle indicates that
5145 it is available, means that the trap & emulate implementation is available to
5146 run guest code in user mode, even if KVM_CAP_MIPS_VZ indicates that hardware
5147 assisted virtualisation is also available. KVM_VM_MIPS_TE (0) must be passed
5148 to KVM_CREATE_VM to create a VM which utilises it.
5150 If KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION on a kvm VM handle indicates that this capability is
5151 available, it means that the VM is using trap & emulate.
5153 8.7 KVM_CAP_MIPS_64BIT
5157 This capability indicates the supported architecture type of the guest, i.e. the
5158 supported register and address width.
5160 The values returned when this capability is checked by KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION on a
5161 kvm VM handle correspond roughly to the CP0_Config.AT register field, and should
5162 be checked specifically against known values (see below). All other values are
5165 0: MIPS32 or microMIPS32.
5166 Both registers and addresses are 32-bits wide.
5167 It will only be possible to run 32-bit guest code.
5169 1: MIPS64 or microMIPS64 with access only to 32-bit compatibility segments.
5170 Registers are 64-bits wide, but addresses are 32-bits wide.
5171 64-bit guest code may run but cannot access MIPS64 memory segments.
5172 It will also be possible to run 32-bit guest code.
5174 2: MIPS64 or microMIPS64 with access to all address segments.
5175 Both registers and addresses are 64-bits wide.
5176 It will be possible to run 64-bit or 32-bit guest code.
5178 8.9 KVM_CAP_ARM_USER_IRQ
5180 Architectures: arm, arm64
5181 This capability, if KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION indicates that it is available, means
5182 that if userspace creates a VM without an in-kernel interrupt controller, it
5183 will be notified of changes to the output level of in-kernel emulated devices,
5184 which can generate virtual interrupts, presented to the VM.
5185 For such VMs, on every return to userspace, the kernel
5186 updates the vcpu's run->s.regs.device_irq_level field to represent the actual
5187 output level of the device.
5189 Whenever kvm detects a change in the device output level, kvm guarantees at
5190 least one return to userspace before running the VM. This exit could either
5191 be a KVM_EXIT_INTR or any other exit event, like KVM_EXIT_MMIO. This way,
5192 userspace can always sample the device output level and re-compute the state of
5193 the userspace interrupt controller. Userspace should always check the state
5194 of run->s.regs.device_irq_level on every kvm exit.
5195 The value in run->s.regs.device_irq_level can represent both level and edge
5196 triggered interrupt signals, depending on the device. Edge triggered interrupt
5197 signals will exit to userspace with the bit in run->s.regs.device_irq_level
5198 set exactly once per edge signal.
5200 The field run->s.regs.device_irq_level is available independent of
5201 run->kvm_valid_regs or run->kvm_dirty_regs bits.
5203 If KVM_CAP_ARM_USER_IRQ is supported, the KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION ioctl returns a
5204 number larger than 0 indicating the version of this capability is implemented
5205 and thereby which bits in in run->s.regs.device_irq_level can signal values.
5207 Currently the following bits are defined for the device_irq_level bitmap:
5209 KVM_CAP_ARM_USER_IRQ >= 1:
5211 KVM_ARM_DEV_EL1_VTIMER - EL1 virtual timer
5212 KVM_ARM_DEV_EL1_PTIMER - EL1 physical timer
5213 KVM_ARM_DEV_PMU - ARM PMU overflow interrupt signal
5215 Future versions of kvm may implement additional events. These will get
5216 indicated by returning a higher number from KVM_CHECK_EXTENSION and will be
5219 8.10 KVM_CAP_PPC_SMT_POSSIBLE
5223 Querying this capability returns a bitmap indicating the possible
5224 virtual SMT modes that can be set using KVM_CAP_PPC_SMT. If bit N
5225 (counting from the right) is set, then a virtual SMT mode of 2^N is
5228 8.11 KVM_CAP_HYPERV_SYNIC2
5232 This capability enables a newer version of Hyper-V Synthetic interrupt
5233 controller (SynIC). The only difference with KVM_CAP_HYPERV_SYNIC is that KVM
5234 doesn't clear SynIC message and event flags pages when they are enabled by
5235 writing to the respective MSRs.
5237 8.12 KVM_CAP_HYPERV_VP_INDEX
5241 This capability indicates that userspace can load HV_X64_MSR_VP_INDEX msr. Its
5242 value is used to denote the target vcpu for a SynIC interrupt. For
5243 compatibilty, KVM initializes this msr to KVM's internal vcpu index. When this
5244 capability is absent, userspace can still query this msr's value.
5246 8.13 KVM_CAP_S390_AIS_MIGRATION
5251 This capability indicates if the flic device will be able to get/set the
5252 AIS states for migration via the KVM_DEV_FLIC_AISM_ALL attribute and allows
5253 to discover this without having to create a flic device.
5255 8.14 KVM_CAP_S390_PSW
5259 This capability indicates that the PSW is exposed via the kvm_run structure.
5261 8.15 KVM_CAP_S390_GMAP
5265 This capability indicates that the user space memory used as guest mapping can
5266 be anywhere in the user memory address space, as long as the memory slots are
5267 aligned and sized to a segment (1MB) boundary.
5269 8.16 KVM_CAP_S390_COW
5273 This capability indicates that the user space memory used as guest mapping can
5274 use copy-on-write semantics as well as dirty pages tracking via read-only page
5277 8.17 KVM_CAP_S390_BPB
5281 This capability indicates that kvm will implement the interfaces to handle
5282 reset, migration and nested KVM for branch prediction blocking. The stfle
5283 facility 82 should not be provided to the guest without this capability.
5285 8.18 KVM_CAP_HYPERV_TLBFLUSH
5289 This capability indicates that KVM supports paravirtualized Hyper-V TLB Flush
5291 HvFlushVirtualAddressSpace, HvFlushVirtualAddressSpaceEx,
5292 HvFlushVirtualAddressList, HvFlushVirtualAddressListEx.
5294 8.19 KVM_CAP_ARM_INJECT_SERROR_ESR
5296 Architectures: arm, arm64
5298 This capability indicates that userspace can specify (via the
5299 KVM_SET_VCPU_EVENTS ioctl) the syndrome value reported to the guest when it
5300 takes a virtual SError interrupt exception.
5301 If KVM advertises this capability, userspace can only specify the ISS field for
5302 the ESR syndrome. Other parts of the ESR, such as the EC are generated by the
5303 CPU when the exception is taken. If this virtual SError is taken to EL1 using
5304 AArch64, this value will be reported in the ISS field of ESR_ELx.
5306 See KVM_CAP_VCPU_EVENTS for more details.
5307 8.20 KVM_CAP_HYPERV_SEND_IPI
5311 This capability indicates that KVM supports paravirtualized Hyper-V IPI send
5313 HvCallSendSyntheticClusterIpi, HvCallSendSyntheticClusterIpiEx.
5314 8.21 KVM_CAP_HYPERV_DIRECT_TLBFLUSH
5318 This capability indicates that KVM running on top of Hyper-V hypervisor
5319 enables Direct TLB flush for its guests meaning that TLB flush
5320 hypercalls are handled by Level 0 hypervisor (Hyper-V) bypassing KVM.
5321 Due to the different ABI for hypercall parameters between Hyper-V and
5322 KVM, enabling this capability effectively disables all hypercall
5323 handling by KVM (as some KVM hypercall may be mistakenly treated as TLB
5324 flush hypercalls by Hyper-V) so userspace should disable KVM identification
5325 in CPUID and only exposes Hyper-V identification. In this case, guest
5326 thinks it's running on Hyper-V and only use Hyper-V hypercalls.