Commit Graph
2 Commits
Author SHA1 Message Date
Mauricio Faria de Oliveira 18d8eafdea templates/linux_xen: Properly order the multiple initrd files
The linux_xen template orders the "early" initrd file(s) _first_
(i.e., before the "real" initrd files) and that seems reasonable,
as microcode updates usually come first.

However, this usually breaks Linux boot with initrd under Xen
because Xen assumes the real initrd is the first multiboot[2]
module after the kernel, passing its address over to Linux in
Xen's start_info struct.

So, if a microcode-only initrd (i.e., without init/userspace)
is found by grub-mkconfig, it ends up considered as a normal
initrd by the Linux kernel, which cannot do anything with it
(as it has no other files) and panic()s unable to mount root
if it depends on a initrd to do that (e.g., root=UUID=...).

...

Well, since Xen doesn't actually use the provided microcode
by default / unless the 'ucode=<module number|scan>' option
is enabled, this isn't used in the general case (and breaks).

Additionally, if an user enables the 'ucode=' option, that
either specifies which module is to be used for microcode,
or scans all modules (regardless of being first) for that.

Thus, for Xen:
- it is *not required* to have microcode first,
- but it is *required* to have real initrd first

So, fix it by ordering the real initrd before early initrd(s).

After:

    # touch /boot/xen /boot/microcode.cpio
    # grub-mkconfig 2>/dev/null | grep -P '^\t(multiboot|module)'
            multiboot      /boot/xen ...
            module  /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-122-generic ...
            module  --nounzip   /boot/initrd.img-5.4.0-122-generic
            module  --nounzip   /boot/microcode.cpio

...

Corner case specific to Xen implementation details:

It is actually _possible_ to have a microcode initrd first,
but that requires a non-default option (so can't rely on it),
and it turns out to be inconsistent with its counterpart
(really shouldn't rely on it, as it may get confusing; below).

'ucode=1' does manually specify the first module is microcode
_AND_ clears its bit in the module bitmap. The next module is
now the 'new first', and gets passed to Linux as initrd. Good.

'ucode=scan' checks all modules for microcode, but does _NOT_
clear a bit if it finds one (reasonable, as it can find that
prepended in a "real" initrd anyway, which needs to be used).
The first module still gets passed to Linux as initrd. Bad.

Fixes: e86f6aafb8 (grub-mkconfig/20_linux_xen: Support multiple early initrd images)

Signed-off-by: Mauricio Faria de Oliveira <mfo@canonical.com>
Acked-by: Juergen Gross <jgross@suse.com>
Reviewed-by: Daniel Kiper <daniel.kiper@oracle.com>
2022-08-19 22:14:19 +02:00
Mauricio Faria de Oliveira b4b4acaf4e templates/linux_xen: Properly load multiple initrd files
The linux_xen template can put multiple initrd files in the
same multiboot[2] module[2] command, which is against specs.

This causes ONLY the _first_ initrd file to be loaded; other
files just have filenames in a "cmdline" string of the first
initrd file and are NOT loaded.

Fix this by inserting a module[2] command per initrd file.

Before:

    # touch /boot/xen /boot/microcode.cpio
    # grub-mkconfig 2>/dev/null | grep -P '^\t(multiboot|module)'
            multiboot       /boot/xen ...
            module  /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-122-generic ...
            module  --nounzip   /boot/microcode.cpio /boot/initrd.img-5.4.0-122-generic

After:

    # touch /boot/xen /boot/microcode.cpio
    # grub-mkconfig 2>/dev/null | grep -P '^\t(multiboot|module)'
            multiboot      /boot/xen ...
            module  /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-122-generic ...
            module  --nounzip   /boot/microcode.cpio
            module  --nounzip   /boot/initrd.img-5.4.0-122-generic

Cause:

The code was copied from the linux template, which is *apparently*
equivalent.. but its initrd command grub_cmd_initrd() *supports*
multiple files (see grub_initrd_init()), while module/module2 in
grub_cmd_module() *does not* (see grub_multiboot[2]_add_module()).

See commit e86f6aafb8 (grub-mkconfig/20_linux_xen: Support multiple early initrd images):
    'This is basically a copy of a698240d "grub-mkconfig/10_linux:
     Support multiple early initrd images" ...'

Specs:

Both multiboot and multiboot2 specifications mention support for
'multiple boot modules' (struct/tag used for kernel/initrd files):

    "Boot loaders don’t have to support multiple boot modules,
     but they are strongly encouraged to" [1,2]

However, there is a 1:1 relationship between boot modules and files,
more or less clearly; note the usage of singular/plural "module(s)".
(Multiboot2, clearly: "One tag appears per module".)

  Multiboot [1]:

    "the ‘mods’ fields indicate ... what boot modules
     were loaded ..., and where they can be found.
     ‘mods_count’ contains the number of modules loaded"

    "The first two fields contain the start and end addresses
     of the boot module itself."

  Multiboot2 [2]:

    "This tag indicates ... what boot module was loaded ...,
     and where it can be found."

    "The ‘mod_start’ and ‘mod_end’ contain the start and end
     physical addresses of the boot module itself."

    "One tag appears per module.
     This tag type may appear multiple times."

And both clearly mention the 'string' field of a boot module,
which is to be used by the operating system, not boot loader:

     "The ‘string’ field provides an arbitrary string to be
      associated with that particular boot module ...
      its exact use is specific to the operating system."

Links:

[1] https://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/multiboot/multiboot.html
    3.3 Boot information format

[2] https://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/multiboot2/multiboot.html
    3.6.6 Modules

Fixes: e86f6aafb8 (grub-mkconfig/20_linux_xen: Support multiple early initrd images)

Signed-off-by: Mauricio Faria de Oliveira <mfo@canonical.com>
Acked-by: Juergen Gross <jgross@suse.com>
Reviewed-by: Daniel Kiper <daniel.kiper@oracle.com>
2022-08-19 22:08:39 +02:00