Re: [PATCH] RISC-V: KVM: Fix TOCTOU race in SBI system suspend handler

On Sat, May 23, 2026 at 01:32:32AM +0000, Jiakai Xu wrote:
> > But... before we get too carried away. Unless I'm missing something, this
> > race really looks too theoretical to justify any change at all. Do you
> > have a test case in mind that could force it?
> 
> Unfortunately, I don't have a reproducer or test case that can reliably
> trigger this race. 
> 
> But as we saw earlier, this is a real bug, and we can tell that just by 
> analyzing the code.
> 
> The real environment is complex and unpredictable, and such races are 
> possible. Wouldn't it be nice if we found it and fixed it now?
>

I assume the scenario we're trying to fix is:

 HART-x                                                 HART-z
 ------                                                 ------
 SUSP()
   Check HART-y is stopped
                                                        HART_START(HART-y)
                                                        HART_STOP()
   Check HART-z is stopped
   Determine all HARTs are stopped and exit to userspace

Besides the fact that the race seems quite unlikely (only a pathological
guest would try to force it), userspace can/should still double check that
all HARTs are stopped before proceeding with its system suspend
implementation. So, since we would need to introduce a new lock to resolve
this very unlikely issue, then I'm not 100% convinced we should. I would
be more willing to fix it if I thought the host was at any risk, but I
think this is "only" a guest corruption issue. If the guest does wild
things like this during a system suspend, then it can keep all its pieces.
I would agree that we should add a comment about this choice, though.

Thanks,
drew

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