linux/arch/x86
Daniel Kiper 2c33c27fd6 x86/boot: Introduce kernel_info
The relationships between the headers are analogous to the various data
sections:

  setup_header = .data
  boot_params/setup_data = .bss

What is missing from the above list? That's right:

  kernel_info = .rodata

We have been (ab)using .data for things that could go into .rodata or .bss for
a long time, for lack of alternatives and -- especially early on -- inertia.
Also, the BIOS stub is responsible for creating boot_params, so it isn't
available to a BIOS-based loader (setup_data is, though).

setup_header is permanently limited to 144 bytes due to the reach of the
2-byte jump field, which doubles as a length field for the structure, combined
with the size of the "hole" in struct boot_params that a protected-mode loader
or the BIOS stub has to copy it into. It is currently 119 bytes long, which
leaves us with 25 very precious bytes. This isn't something that can be fixed
without revising the boot protocol entirely, breaking backwards compatibility.

boot_params proper is limited to 4096 bytes, but can be arbitrarily extended
by adding setup_data entries. It cannot be used to communicate properties of
the kernel image, because it is .bss and has no image-provided content.

kernel_info solves this by providing an extensible place for information about
the kernel image. It is readonly, because the kernel cannot rely on a
bootloader copying its contents anywhere, but that is OK; if it becomes
necessary it can still contain data items that an enabled bootloader would be
expected to copy into a setup_data chunk.

Do not bump setup_header version in arch/x86/boot/header.S because it
will be followed by additional changes coming into the Linux/x86 boot
protocol.

Suggested-by: H. Peter Anvin (Intel) <hpa@zytor.com>
Signed-off-by: Daniel Kiper <daniel.kiper@oracle.com>
Signed-off-by: Borislav Petkov <bp@suse.de>
Reviewed-by: Konrad Rzeszutek Wilk <konrad.wilk@oracle.com>
Reviewed-by: Ross Philipson <ross.philipson@oracle.com>
Reviewed-by: H. Peter Anvin (Intel) <hpa@zytor.com>
Cc: Andy Lutomirski <luto@amacapital.net>
Cc: ard.biesheuvel@linaro.org
Cc: Boris Ostrovsky <boris.ostrovsky@oracle.com>
Cc: dave.hansen@linux.intel.com
Cc: eric.snowberg@oracle.com
Cc: Ingo Molnar <mingo@redhat.com>
Cc: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net>
Cc: Juergen Gross <jgross@suse.com>
Cc: kanth.ghatraju@oracle.com
Cc: linux-doc@vger.kernel.org
Cc: linux-efi <linux-efi@vger.kernel.org>
Cc: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@infradead.org>
Cc: rdunlap@infradead.org
Cc: ross.philipson@oracle.com
Cc: Thomas Gleixner <tglx@linutronix.de>
Cc: x86-ml <x86@kernel.org>
Cc: xen-devel@lists.xenproject.org
Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20191112134640.16035-2-daniel.kiper@oracle.com
2019-11-12 16:10:34 +01:00
..
boot x86/boot: Introduce kernel_info 2019-11-12 16:10:34 +01:00
configs x86/defconfigs: Remove useless UEVENT_HELPER_PATH 2019-06-21 19:22:08 +02:00
crypto crypto: x86/aes-ni - use AES library instead of single-use AES cipher 2019-09-09 23:48:41 +10:00
entry Kbuild updates for v5.4 2019-09-20 08:36:47 -07:00
events Merge branch 'x86-mm-for-linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tip/tip 2019-09-16 19:21:34 -07:00
hyperv Merge branch 'timers-core-for-linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tip/tip 2019-09-17 12:35:15 -07:00
ia32 clone: fix CLONE_PIDFD support 2019-07-14 20:36:12 +02:00
include x86/boot: Introduce kernel_info 2019-11-12 16:10:34 +01:00
kernel x86/init: Allow DT configured systems to disable RTC at boot time 2019-11-12 15:46:53 +01:00
kvm KVM: nVMX: cleanup and fix host 64-bit mode checks 2019-09-25 19:22:33 +02:00
lib x86/asm: Make some functions local labels 2019-09-06 10:41:11 +02:00
math-emu x86/fpu/math-emu: Address fallthrough warnings 2019-08-12 20:35:05 +02:00
mm Merge branch 'next-lockdown' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/jmorris/linux-security 2019-09-28 08:14:15 -07:00
net bpf: fix x64 JIT code generation for jmp to 1st insn 2019-08-01 13:12:09 -07:00
oprofile
pci dma-mapping updates for 5.4: 2019-09-19 13:27:23 -07:00
platform Driver core patches for 5.4-rc1 2019-09-18 10:04:39 -07:00
power Merge branch 'x86-apic-for-linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tip/tip 2019-09-17 12:04:39 -07:00
purgatory Merge branch 'x86-urgent-for-linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tip/tip 2019-09-28 13:37:41 -07:00
ras RAS/CEC: Add CONFIG_RAS_CEC_DEBUG and move CEC debug features there 2019-06-08 17:39:24 +02:00
realmode x86/realmode: Explicitly set entry point via ENTRY in linker script 2019-10-01 22:13:17 +02:00
tools Merge branch 'x86-paravirt-for-linus' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tip/tip 2019-07-08 17:34:44 -07:00
um um: Use real DMA barriers 2019-09-15 21:37:14 +02:00
video treewide: Add SPDX license identifier - Makefile/Kconfig 2019-05-21 10:50:46 +02:00
xen dma-mapping updates for 5.4: 2019-09-19 13:27:23 -07:00
.gitignore
Kbuild treewide: Add SPDX license identifier - Kbuild 2019-05-30 11:32:33 -07:00
Kconfig Merge branch 'next-lockdown' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/jmorris/linux-security 2019-09-28 08:14:15 -07:00
Kconfig.cpu x86/cpu: Create Zhaoxin processors architecture support file 2019-06-22 11:45:57 +02:00
Kconfig.debug x86, perf: Fix the dependency of the x86 insn decoder selftest 2019-09-02 20:05:58 +02:00
Makefile x86/build: Add -Wnoaddress-of-packed-member to REALMODE_CFLAGS, to silence GCC9 build warning 2019-08-28 17:31:31 +02:00
Makefile_32.cpu
Makefile.um