• Borislav Petkov's avatar
    x86/msr: Filter MSR writes · a7e1f67e
    Borislav Petkov authored
    Add functionality to disable writing to MSRs from userspace. Writes can
    still be allowed by supplying the allow_writes=on module parameter. The
    kernel will be tainted so that it shows in oopses.
    
    Having unfettered access to all MSRs on a system is and has always been
    a disaster waiting to happen. Think performance counter MSRs, MSRs with
    sticky or locked bits, MSRs making major system changes like loading
    microcode, MTRRs, PAT configuration, TSC counter, security mitigations
    MSRs, you name it.
    
    This also destroys all the kernel's caching of MSR values for
    performance, as the recent case with MSR_AMD64_LS_CFG showed.
    
    Another example is writing MSRs by mistake by simply typing the wrong
    MSR address. System freezes have been experienced that way.
    
    In general, poking at MSRs under the kernel's feet is a bad bad idea.
    
    So log writing to MSRs by default. Longer term, such writes will be
    disabled by default.
    
    If userspace still wants to do that, then proper interfaces should be
    defined which are under the kernel's control and accesses to those MSRs
    can be synchronized and sanitized properly.
    
    [ Fix sparse warnings. ]
    Reported-by: default avatarkernel test robot <lkp@intel.com>
    Signed-off-by: default avatarBorislav Petkov <bp@suse.de>
    Tested-by: default avatarSean Christopherson <sean.j.christopherson@intel.com>
    Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20200612105026.GA22660@zn.tnic
    a7e1f67e
msr.c 6.62 KB