Subject: Re: [PATCH v7 2/4] KVM: arm64: PMU: Protect the list of PMUs with RCU

From: Marc Zyngier <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 19 Apr 2026 15:34:52 +0100

On Sat, 18 Apr 2026 09:14:24 +0100,
Akihiko Odaki <[email-masked]> wrote:
> 
> Convert the list of PMUs to a RCU-protected list that has primitives to
> avoid read-side contention.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Akihiko Odaki <[email-masked]>
> ---
>  arch/arm64/kvm/pmu-emul.c | 14 ++++++--------
>  1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/arch/arm64/kvm/pmu-emul.c b/arch/arm64/kvm/pmu-emul.c
> index 59ec96e09321..ef5140bbfe28 100644
> --- a/arch/arm64/kvm/pmu-emul.c
> +++ b/arch/arm64/kvm/pmu-emul.c
> @@ -7,9 +7,9 @@
>  #include <linux/cpu.h>
>  #include <linux/kvm.h>
>  #include <linux/kvm_host.h>
> -#include <linux/list.h>
>  #include <linux/perf_event.h>
>  #include <linux/perf/arm_pmu.h>
> +#include <linux/rculist.h>
>  #include <linux/uaccess.h>
>  #include <asm/kvm_emulate.h>
>  #include <kvm/arm_pmu.h>
> @@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ static bool kvm_pmu_counter_is_enabled(struct kvm_pmc *pmc);
>  
>  bool kvm_supports_guest_pmuv3(void)
>  {
> -	guard(mutex)(&arm_pmus_lock);
>  	return !list_empty(&arm_pmus);

Please read include/linux/rculist.h and the discussion about the
interaction of list_empty() with RCU-protected lists. How about using
list_first_or_null_rcu() for peace of mind?

Thanks,

	M.

-- 
Jazz isn't dead. It just smells funny.