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authorJinke Han <jinkehan@didiglobal.com>2026-09-08 15:37:42 +0800
committerIngo Molnar <mingo@kernel.org>2026-09-17 09:48:42 +0200
commita5f7a5bb3b7f28ba7e4fa246775b29a0e5537255 (patch)
tree73fef824f9a846cf935869d0dbc5070ef6e2f741 /Documentation/driver-api/mtd/spi-intel.rst
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x86/kprobes: Fix crash when probing CS CALL instructionsgrafted
When using eBPF to probe CS CALL instructions within a function, a crash can be triggered. The eBPF tool probes offset 257 of the __hrtimer_run_queues() function: <__hrtimer_run_queues+249>: nopl 0x0(%rax,%rax,1) <__hrtimer_run_queues+254>: mov %r14,%rdi <__hrtimer_run_queues+257>: cs call <__x86_indirect_thunk_r12> <__hrtimer_run_queues+263>: mov %eax,%r12d <__hrtimer_run_queues+266>: xchg %ax,%ax <__hrtimer_run_queues+268>: mov %r13,%rdi Which triggers this crash: BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: 00000000000f41c9 #PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0002) - not-present page PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0002 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 1 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/1 Kdump: loaded Tainted: P RIP: 0010:__hrtimer_run_queues+0x106/0x230 Note that __hrtimer_run_queues+0x106 is __hrtimer_run_queues+262, which is at the 6th byte of the above CS CALL instruction. Since the CS CALL instruction occupies 6 bytes, the exception occurred in the middle of that call instruction. The root cause is that when using eBPF tools to probe in the middle of a function, a kprobe with INT3 is used as the underlying implementation. During single-step emulation of the original CALL instruction, int3_emulate_call() assumes that the probed CALL instruction is 5 bytes long. However, the actual CS-prefixed CALL instruction occupies 6 bytes, so it constructs an incorrect exception return address. When the CPU returns from the kprobe handler, the next instruction to be executed is at the address of the last byte of that CS CALL instruction. Coincidentally, starting from that address, the CPU fetches and decodes a completely different instruction, which ultimately triggers a kernel crash. Fix the issue by using the actual instruction length obtained from the instruction decoder when constructing the exception return address, rather than relying on the hardcoded CALL_INSN_SIZE macro. [ mingo: Refined the changelog ] Fixes: 6256e668b7af ("x86/kprobes: Use int3 instead of debug trap for single-step") Suggested-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google) <mhiramat@kernel.org> Signed-off-by: Jinke Han <jinkehan@didiglobal.com> Signed-off-by: Ingo Molnar <mingo@kernel.org> Reviewed-by: Masami Hiramatsu (Google) <mhiramat@kernel.org> Acked-by: Yafang Shao <laoar.shao@gmail.com> Acked-by: Borislav Petkov <bp@alien8.de> Cc: Peter Zijlstra <peterz@infradead.org> Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260908073742.GA10517@didi-ThinkCentre-M920t-N000
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+==============================
+Upgrading BIOS using spi-intel
+==============================
+
+Many Intel CPUs like Baytrail and Braswell include SPI serial flash host
+controller which is used to hold BIOS and other platform specific data.
+Since contents of the SPI serial flash is crucial for machine to function,
+it is typically protected by different hardware protection mechanisms to
+avoid accidental (or on purpose) overwrite of the content.
+
+Not all manufacturers protect the SPI serial flash, mainly because it
+allows upgrading the BIOS image directly from an OS.
+
+The spi-intel driver makes it possible to read and write the SPI serial
+flash, if certain protection bits are not set and locked. If it finds
+any of them set, the whole MTD device is made read-only to prevent
+partial overwrites. By default the driver exposes SPI serial flash
+contents as read-only but it can be changed from kernel command line,
+passing "spi_intel.writeable=1".
+
+Please keep in mind that overwriting the BIOS image on SPI serial flash
+might render the machine unbootable and requires special equipment like
+Dediprog to revive. You have been warned!
+
+Below are the steps how to upgrade MinnowBoard MAX BIOS directly from
+Linux.
+
+ 1) Download and extract the latest Minnowboard MAX BIOS SPI image
+ [1]. At the time writing this the latest image is v92.
+
+ 2) Install mtd-utils package [2]. We need this in order to erase the SPI
+ serial flash. Distros like Debian and Fedora have this prepackaged with
+ name "mtd-utils".
+
+ 3) Add "spi_intel.writeable=1" to the kernel command line and reboot
+ the board (you can also reload the driver passing "writeable=1" as
+ module parameter to modprobe).
+
+ 4) Once the board is up and running again, find the right MTD partition
+ (it is named as "BIOS")::
+
+ # cat /proc/mtd
+ dev: size erasesize name
+ mtd0: 00800000 00001000 "BIOS"
+
+ So here it will be /dev/mtd0 but it may vary.
+
+ 5) Make backup of the existing image first::
+
+ # dd if=/dev/mtd0ro of=bios.bak
+ 16384+0 records in
+ 16384+0 records out
+ 8388608 bytes (8.4 MB) copied, 10.0269 s, 837 kB/s
+
+ 6) Verify the backup::
+
+ # sha1sum /dev/mtd0ro bios.bak
+ fdbb011920572ca6c991377c4b418a0502668b73 /dev/mtd0ro
+ fdbb011920572ca6c991377c4b418a0502668b73 bios.bak
+
+ The SHA1 sums must match. Otherwise do not continue any further!
+
+ 7) Erase the SPI serial flash. After this step, do not reboot the
+ board! Otherwise it will not start anymore::
+
+ # flash_erase /dev/mtd0 0 0
+ Erasing 4 Kibyte @ 7ff000 -- 100 % complete
+
+ 8) Once completed without errors you can write the new BIOS image::
+
+ # dd if=MNW2MAX1.X64.0092.R01.1605221712.bin of=/dev/mtd0
+
+ 9) Verify that the new content of the SPI serial flash matches the new
+ BIOS image::
+
+ # sha1sum /dev/mtd0ro MNW2MAX1.X64.0092.R01.1605221712.bin
+ 9b4df9e4be2057fceec3a5529ec3d950836c87a2 /dev/mtd0ro
+ 9b4df9e4be2057fceec3a5529ec3d950836c87a2 MNW2MAX1.X64.0092.R01.1605221712.bin
+
+ The SHA1 sums should match.
+
+ 10) Now you can reboot your board and observe the new BIOS starting up
+ properly.
+
+References
+----------
+
+[1] https://firmware.intel.com/sites/default/files/MinnowBoard%2EMAX_%2EX64%2E92%2ER01%2Ezip
+
+[2] http://www.linux-mtd.infradead.org/