[PATCH 1/7] x86/fpu: Document signal frame layout and portability

[Andrei Vagin]

The x86 signal frame is designed to be self-describing, with the
'xstate_size' field in the software-reserved bytes indicating the actual
size of the context. This design is required for portability, allowing a
signal frame created on a system with a specific set of xstate features
to be restored on a machine with a different (larger) set of features.

Reviewed-by: Alexander Mikhalitsyn <alexander@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Signed-off-by: Andrei Vagin <avagin@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
 Documentation/arch/x86/xstate.rst      | 54 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 arch/x86/include/uapi/asm/sigcontext.h | 15 +++++++
 2 files changed, 69 insertions(+)

diff --git a/Documentation/arch/x86/xstate.rst b/Documentation/arch/x86/xstate.rst
index cec05ac464c1..e2944f744255 100644
--- a/Documentation/arch/x86/xstate.rst
+++ b/Documentation/arch/x86/xstate.rst
@@ -172,3 +172,57 @@ are extended to control the guest permission:
 
 Note that some VMMs may have already established a set of supported state
 components. These options are not presumed to support any particular VMM.
+
+Signal Frame Layout and Portability
+-----------------------------------
+
+The signal frame is designed to be self-describing and portable. This is
+especially important for checkpoint/restore tools like CRIU, which may restore
+a process on a different host than where it was checkpointed. A signal frame
+created on a machine with fewer CPU features can be successfully restored on a
+machine with more CPU features, but not vice-versa.
+
+Signal Frame Software Reserved Bytes
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+On CPUs supporting XSAVE, bytes 464..511 in the 512-byte FXSAVE/FXRSTOR frame
+are reserved for software use and contain ``struct _fpx_sw_bytes`` (defined in
+``<uapi/asm/sigcontext.h>``)::
+
+    struct _fpx_sw_bytes {
+        __u32 magic1;
+        __u32 extended_size;
+        __u64 xfeatures;
+        __u32 xstate_size;
+        __u32 padding[7];
+    };
+
+- ``magic1``: Set to ``FP_XSTATE_MAGIC1`` (``0x46505853U``) if an extended
+  xstate context is present; 0 for a legacy frame.
+- ``extended_size``: The total size allocated on the stack for the frame,
+  measured from the ``fpstate`` pointer. In 32-bit signal frames, this also
+  includes the 112-byte legacy FPU state prefix of ``struct _fpstate_32``.
+- ``xfeatures``: The mask of xstate features saved in the frame.
+- ``xstate_size``: The actual size of the xstate context for the enabled
+  features (including the 512-byte FXSAVE area and the 64-byte XSAVE header).
+
+The kernel uses ``xstate_size`` in conjunction with the pointer to the xstate
+context to locate the ``FP_XSTATE_MAGIC2`` (``0x46505845U``) marker right after
+the xstate context (at ``xstate_context + xstate_size``). In 64-bit signal frames,
+the ``fpstate`` pointer points directly to the xstate context. In 32-bit signal
+frames (including 32-bit compat tasks on 64-bit kernels), the ``fpstate``
+pointer points to ``struct _fpstate_32``, which contains the 112-byte legacy
+FPU state followed by the 512-byte FXSR state (and any extended xstate). Since
+there is no standalone UAPI structure defined for just the 112-byte legacy
+state, the xstate context starts at ``fpstate + 112`` (and ``extended_size``
+spans the entire allocation from ``fpstate``).
+
+Portability Constraints
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Signal frame portability is constrained by the architectural XSAVE layout.
+Restoration is supported only if the destination host supports all features
+present in the frame and uses matching component offsets and sizes for them.
+While layout compatibility is generally maintained across CPUs from the same
+vendor, differences can occur across vendors or if the XSAVE space of a
+deprecated feature (e.g. MPX) is repurposed for a newer feature (e.g. APX).
diff --git a/arch/x86/include/uapi/asm/sigcontext.h b/arch/x86/include/uapi/asm/sigcontext.h
index d0d9b331d3a1..cff01406c0f4 100644
--- a/arch/x86/include/uapi/asm/sigcontext.h
+++ b/arch/x86/include/uapi/asm/sigcontext.h
@@ -34,6 +34,21 @@
  * fpstate+extended_size-FP_XSTATE_MAGIC2_SIZE address) is set to
  * FP_XSTATE_MAGIC2 so that you can sanity check your size calculations.)
  *
+ * The xstate_size field indicates the actual size of the xstate context
+ * (including the 512-byte FXSAVE area and the 64-byte XSAVE header struct
+ * _header). This size is used in conjunction with the pointer to the xstate
+ * context to locate FP_XSTATE_MAGIC2.
+ *
+ * In 64-bit signal frames, the fpstate pointer points directly to the xstate
+ * context. In 32-bit signal frames (including 32-bit compat tasks on 64-bit
+ * kernels), the fpstate pointer points to struct _fpstate_32, which contains
+ * the 112-byte legacy FPU state followed by the 512-byte FXSR state (and any
+ * extended xstate), so the xstate context starts at fpstate + 112.
+ *
+ * This makes the signal frame self-describing and portable across machines
+ * with different xstate features. See Documentation/arch/x86/xstate.rst
+ * for details on signal frame portability and its architectural constraints.
+ *
  * This extended area typically grows with newer CPUs that have larger and
  * larger XSAVE areas.
  */
-- 
2.55.0.1082.g2b9226bbc0-goog