• Madhukar Pappireddy's avatar
    Fix exception handlers in BL31: Use DSB to synchronize pending EA · c2d32a5f
    Madhukar Pappireddy authored
    For SoCs which do not implement RAS, use DSB as a barrier to
    synchronize pending external aborts at the entry and exit of
    exception handlers. This is needed to isolate the SErrors to
    appropriate context.
    
    However, this introduces an unintended side effect as discussed
    in the https://review.trustedfirmware.org/c/TF-A/trusted-firmware-a/+/3440
    
    
    A summary of the side effect and a quick workaround is provided as
    part of this patch and summarized here:
    
    The explicit DSB at the entry of various exception vectors in BL31
    for handling exceptions from lower ELs can inadvertently trigger an
    SError exception in EL3 due to pending asyncrhonouus aborts in lower
    ELs. This will end up being handled by serror_sp_elx in EL3 which will
    ultimately panic and die.
    
    The way to workaround is to update a flag to indicate if the exception
    truly came from EL3. This flag is allocated in the cpu_context
    structure. This is not a bullet proof solution to the problem at hand
    because we assume the instructions following "isb" that help to update
    the flag (lines 100-102 & 139-141) execute without causing further
    exceptions.
    
    Change-Id: I4d345b07d746a727459435ddd6abb37fda24a9bf
    Signed-off-by: default avatarMadhukar Pappireddy <madhukar.pappireddy@arm.com>
    c2d32a5f
runtime_exceptions.S 16.7 KB