linux-kernel - [PATCH 01/13] x86/microcode/intel: Drop stashed AP patch pointer optimization

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Date:   Tue, 17 Jan 2017 18:37:22 +0100
From:   Borislav Petkov <bp@...en8.de>
To:     X86 ML <x86@...nel.org>
Cc:     LKML <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: [PATCH 01/13] x86/microcode/intel: Drop stashed AP patch pointer optimization

From: Borislav Petkov <bp@...e.de>

This was meant to save us the scanning of the microcode containter in
the initrd since the first AP had already done that but it can also hurt
us:

Imagine a single hyperthreaded CPU (Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU N270 for
example) which updates the microcode on the BSP but since the microcode
engine is shared between the two threads, the update on CPU1 doesn't
happen because it has already happened on CPU0 and we don't find a newer
microcode revision.

Which doesn't set the intel_ucode_patch pointer and at initrd
jettisoning time and we don't save the microcode patch for later
application.

Now, when we suspend to RAM, the loaded microcode gets cleared so we
need to reload but there's no patch saved in the cache.

Removing this optimization fixes this issue and all is fine and dandy.

Signed-off-by: Borislav Petkov <bp@...e.de>
---
 arch/x86/kernel/cpu/microcode/intel.c | 9 +--------
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/microcode/intel.c b/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/microcode/intel.c
index 3f329b74e040..8325d8a09ab0 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/microcode/intel.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/microcode/intel.c
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@
 
 static const char ucode_path[] = "kernel/x86/microcode/GenuineIntel.bin";
 
-/* Current microcode patch used in early patching */
+/* Current microcode patch used in early patching on the APs. */
 struct microcode_intel *intel_ucode_patch;
 
 static inline bool cpu_signatures_match(unsigned int s1, unsigned int p1,
@@ -607,12 +607,6 @@ int __init save_microcode_in_initrd_intel(void)
 	struct ucode_cpu_info uci;
 	struct cpio_data cp;
 
-	/*
-	 * AP loading didn't find any microcode patch, no need to save anything.
-	 */
-	if (!intel_ucode_patch || IS_ERR(intel_ucode_patch))
-		return 0;
-
 	if (!load_builtin_intel_microcode(&cp))
 		cp = find_microcode_in_initrd(ucode_path, false);
 
@@ -628,7 +622,6 @@ int __init save_microcode_in_initrd_intel(void)
 	return 0;
 }
 
-
 /*
  * @res_patch, output: a pointer to the patch we found.
  */
-- 
2.11.0