fix(discovery): derive the below-4G split robustly from fragmented mtree

host_probe derived the guest's below-4G split (vmie `low`) by taking the first
GPA-0 RAM run in `info mtree -f`. When low RAM is fragmented by overlay pages
(Hyper-V SynIC) and blackhole holes (smbase/tseg), that first run is a tiny
fragment, so the split came out far too small and host_bootstrap could never
recover the System DTB — the memctx context was never published.

Extract a pure parser, mtree_low_split(): anchor on the system flatview, take
`low` from the @file-offset of the high-RAM region at GPA >= 4 GiB (which equals
the split by construction), cross-validate against the PCI-hole base, and fail
closed when it can't be derived. QMP-reply un-escaping moves to the transport
boundary so the parser works on plain text. Unit-tested against a synthetic
fragmented flatview including a decoy non-system address space.

postinst also hints to restart the daemon after an upgrade (a running instance
keeps the old build until restarted).

Bump 0.3.6.

CMakeLists.txt

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.16)
 # Single source of truth for the version: CI passes -DVMSIG_VERSION=${TAG#v}, so the project
 # version (-> libvgpu-perception SONAME/.so version) and the .deb version come from one tag.
-set(VMSIG_VERSION "0.3.5" CACHE STRING "Release version (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH); CI passes the tag")
+set(VMSIG_VERSION "0.3.6" CACHE STRING "Release version (MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH); CI passes the tag")
 project(vmsig VERSION ${VMSIG_VERSION} LANGUAGES C)
 
 set(CMAKE_C_STANDARD 17)
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ add_library(vmsig SHARED
         src/control/socket.c
         src/discovery/slot.c
         src/discovery/linux/host_probe.c
+        src/discovery/linux/mtree.c
         src/discovery/discovery.c
         # SI input driver (vmctl), absorbed in-tree (host-only: QMP + uinput)
         src/si/input/open.c
@@ -216,6 +217,15 @@ target_include_directories(vmsig_discoverytest PRIVATE
 target_compile_options(vmsig_discoverytest PRIVATE -Wall -Wextra)
 add_test(NAME discovery COMMAND vmsig_discoverytest)
 
+add_executable(vmsig_mtreetest src/test/test_mtree.c)
+target_link_libraries(vmsig_mtreetest PRIVATE vmsig)
+target_include_directories(vmsig_mtreetest PRIVATE
+        ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/discovery/include)
+target_compile_definitions(vmsig_mtreetest PRIVATE
+        FIXTURE_DIR="${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/test/fixtures")
+target_compile_options(vmsig_mtreetest PRIVATE -Wall -Wextra)
+add_test(NAME mtree COMMAND vmsig_mtreetest)
+
 add_executable(vmsig_daemoncfgtest
         src/test/test_daemoncfg.c
         src/daemon/config.c

packaging/deb/vmsig/postinst

@@ -11,7 +11,17 @@ configure)
         systemd-tmpfiles --create /usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/vmsig.conf || true
         systemctl enable vmsigd.service || true              # enable, but do NOT start
     fi
-    echo "vmsig: review the [grant] policy in /etc/vmsig/vmsigd.conf, then: systemctl start vmsigd" >&2
+    if [ -z "$2" ]; then
+        # fresh install ($2 empty): enabled but NOT started — the operator reviews the
+        # grant policy before the first start.
+        echo "vmsig: review the [grant] policy in /etc/vmsig/vmsigd.conf, then: systemctl start vmsigd" >&2
+    else
+        # upgrade ($2 = old version): a running daemon keeps the OLD in-memory image until
+        # restarted — the new build is not applied automatically. Not auto-restarted here:
+        # the start is gated on the grant policy, so the operator owns the moment. try-restart
+        # touches the daemon only if it is currently running (leaves a stopped one alone).
+        echo "vmsig: upgraded from $2 — a running daemon still runs the old build; apply with: systemctl try-restart vmsigd" >&2
+    fi
     ;;
 abort-upgrade|abort-remove|abort-deconfigure)
     ;;

src/discovery/include/mtree.h

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+#ifndef VMSIG_MTREE_H
+#define VMSIG_MTREE_H
+
+#include <stdint.h>
+
+/* Derive the below-4G split (== vmie `low`: low-RAM GPA bound AND high-RAM file offset)
+ * from `info mtree -f` text. Operates on the system flatview only. FAIL-CLOSED: 0 if the
+ * split cannot be derived with confidence. `text` is plain UTF-8 with real '\n'
+ * (the caller un-escapes the QMP JSON string first). */
+uint64_t mtree_low_split(const char* text);
+
+#endif /* VMSIG_MTREE_H */

src/discovery/linux/host_probe.c

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
  * leaves ok=0 (the VM is not brought up rather than guessed). */
 #define _GNU_SOURCE
 #include "host_probe.h"
+#include "mtree.h"                /* mtree_low_split */
 #include "vmsig_event.h"          /* VMSIG_VM_* */
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
@@ -174,29 +175,39 @@ static int qmp_status_word(const char* buf) {
     return VMSIG_VM_UNKNOWN;
 }
 
-/* Derive the below-4G split from `info mtree` text: the size of the RAM region whose guest
- * physical range starts at address 0. Standard QEMU split-RAM layout puts low RAM at
- * [0, low) and high RAM above 4G at file offset @low. FAIL-CLOSED: 0 if not found.
- * NOTE: parses HMP text (not a stable QMP schema) — verify against real `info mtree` output. */
-static uint64_t mtree_low(const char* ret) {
-    /* The return is a JSON string; lines inside are escaped "\n". Scan for the GPA-0 ram run:
-     *   "    0000000000000000-<end16> (prio N, ram): ..." */
-    const char* p = ret;
-    while ((p = strstr(p, "0000000000000000-")) != NULL) {
-        const char* end_hex = p + 17;          /* 16 zeros + '-' */
-        char* stop = NULL;
-        unsigned long long end = strtoull(end_hex, &stop, 16);
-        /* the descriptor after the range must mark it RAM (not the i/o "system" root) */
-        const char* tail = stop ? stop : end_hex;
-        const char* nl = strstr(tail, "\\n");
-        const char* lim = nl ? nl : (tail + 64);
-        int is_ram = 0;
-        for (const char* q = tail; q < lim && *q; q++)
-            if (!strncmp(q, "ram)", 4)) { is_ram = 1; break; }
-        if (is_ram && end > 0 && end != ~0ull) return end + 1ull;   /* [0, end] => low=end+1 */
-        p = end_hex;
+/* Extract the JSON string value of "return" from an HMP-over-QMP reply and decode its
+ * transport escapes (\n \t \" \\) in place into a NUL-terminated plain-text buffer. The
+ * `info mtree -f` output is one JSON string with embedded escaped newlines; un-escaping is
+ * a transport detail of HMP-over-QMP and belongs here (next to the QMP code), so the split
+ * parser (mtree_low_split) can work on human-readable text with real '\n'. The decode never
+ * grows the buffer (every escape shortens it), so it writes into `out` (>= strlen(buf)+1).
+ * Returns 1 on success, 0 if no "return" string is present. */
+static int qmp_return_plain(const char* buf, char* out, size_t cap) {
+    const char* r = strstr(buf, "\"return\"");
+    if (!r) return 0;
+    r = strchr(r, ':');  if (!r) return 0;
+    r = strchr(r, '"');  if (!r) return 0;   /* opening quote of the string value */
+    r++;
+    size_t o = 0;
+    for (; *r && o + 1 < cap; r++) {
+        char c = *r;
+        if (c == '"') break;                 /* closing quote */
+        if (c == '\\' && r[1]) {
+            r++;
+            switch (*r) {
+                case 'n': c = '\n'; break;
+                case 't': c = '\t'; break;
+                case 'r': c = '\r'; break;
+                case '"': c = '"';  break;
+                case '\\': c = '\\'; break;
+                case '/': c = '/';  break;
+                default: c = *r;    break;   /* unknown escape: take it literally */
+            }
+        }
+        out[o++] = c;
     }
-    return 0;
+    out[o] = 0;
+    return 1;
 }
 
 static int hp_live(const struct vmsig_host_probe* p, vmsig_host_facts* io) {
@@ -221,7 +232,9 @@ static int hp_live(const struct vmsig_host_probe* p, vmsig_host_facts* io) {
         if (qmp_cmd(fd,
             "{\"execute\":\"human-monitor-command\","
             "\"arguments\":{\"command-line\":\"info mtree -f\"}}\n", buf, 256 * 1024) == 1) {
-            io->low = mtree_low(buf);
+            /* un-escape the HMP string in place (it only shrinks), then parse the split */
+            if (qmp_return_plain(buf, buf, 256 * 1024))
+                io->low = mtree_low_split(buf);
         }
     }
 

src/discovery/linux/mtree.c

@@ -0,0 +1,177 @@
+/* mtree.c — derive the below-4G split (vmie `low`) from `info mtree -f` text.
+ *
+ * `low` is one number with two meanings (see vmie low_segs): the GPA bound of low-RAM
+ * ([0,low) maps 1:1 to file[0,low)) AND the file offset at which RAM resumes above 4 GiB
+ * (GPA 4GiB -> file[low]). The robust signal for it is therefore the `@<file_off>` suffix
+ * of the high-RAM ram region (GPA >= 4 GiB): that offset IS `low` by construction.
+ *
+ * Low-RAM below 4 GiB is fragmented (Hyper-V synic overlays, smbase/tseg blackhole i/o
+ * holes, rom holes), so "end of the first contiguous ram run" is NOT a reliable split.
+ * We never trust it. Primary signal: high-RAM `@offset`. Cross-validator / fallback:
+ * the start GPA of the first non-ram region at or above the standard PCI-hole base
+ * (0x80000000) — the bottom of the 4 GiB PCI hole, which equals `low` for the classic
+ * single-`low` layout. The two must agree when both are present; otherwise fail-closed.
+ *
+ * Pure text, line by line, no allocation beyond the input, no I/O. FAIL-CLOSED: any
+ * unexpected/incomplete input yields 0 ("not found"); 0 is reserved for that. */
+#include "mtree.h"
+#include <string.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+
+/* Standard QEMU/i440fx/q35 PCI-hole base (bottom of the 4 GiB hole). Used ONLY as the
+ * lower cutoff for the cross-validator/fallback, never hardcoded as the answer. */
+#define PCI_HOLE_BASE 0x80000000ull
+/* 4 GiB: high-RAM (the ram region carrying `@low`) starts at or above this GPA. */
+#define RAM_HIGH_BASE 0x100000000ull
+
+/* Parse exactly `n` hex digits at p into *out. Returns the char past the last digit, or
+ * NULL if there are not n hex digits (no partial consume). */
+static const char* parse_hexn(const char* p, int n, uint64_t* out) {
+    uint64_t v = 0;
+    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
+        char c = p[i];
+        unsigned d;
+        if      (c >= '0' && c <= '9') d = (unsigned)(c - '0');
+        else if (c >= 'a' && c <= 'f') d = (unsigned)(c - 'a' + 10);
+        else if (c >= 'A' && c <= 'F') d = (unsigned)(c - 'A' + 10);
+        else return NULL;
+        v = (v << 4) | d;
+    }
+    *out = v;
+    return p + n;
+}
+
+/* One region line of a flatview body, e.g.
+ *   "  0000000100000000-000000027fffffff (prio 0, ram): ram0 @0000000080000000 KVM"
+ * Two leading spaces, 16-hex start, '-', 16-hex end, " (prio <N>, <flag>): <rest>".
+ * Fills *start_gpa, *is_ram and, when present in <rest>, *file_off (with *has_off=1).
+ * Returns 1 on a well-formed region line, 0 otherwise (not a region line for us). */
+typedef struct {
+    uint64_t start_gpa;
+    int      is_ram;     /* flag is exactly "ram" (not ramd/romd/rom/i/o/container) */
+    int      has_off;    /* a "@<hex>" suffix was present in the descriptor          */
+    uint64_t file_off;   /* value of that suffix                                     */
+} region_line;
+
+static int parse_region_line(const char* line, const char* nl, region_line* out) {
+    /* leading "  " then 16 hex, '-', 16 hex */
+    if (line[0] != ' ' || line[1] != ' ') return 0;
+    const char* p = line + 2;
+    uint64_t start, end;
+    p = parse_hexn(p, 16, &start);
+    if (!p || *p != '-') return 0;
+    p++;
+    p = parse_hexn(p, 16, &end);
+    if (!p) return 0;
+
+    /* " (prio <N>, <flag>):" — find the flag between ", " and ")". */
+    if (strncmp(p, " (prio ", 7) != 0) return 0;
+    const char* comma = memchr(p, ',', (size_t)(nl - p));
+    if (!comma) return 0;
+    const char* flag = comma + 1;
+    while (flag < nl && *flag == ' ') flag++;
+    const char* rparen = memchr(flag, ')', (size_t)(nl - flag));
+    if (!rparen) return 0;
+    size_t flen = (size_t)(rparen - flag);
+
+    out->start_gpa = start;
+    out->is_ram = (flen == 3 && strncmp(flag, "ram", 3) == 0) ? 1 : 0;
+
+    /* optional "@<hex>" anywhere in the descriptor tail (after "): "). */
+    out->has_off = 0;
+    out->file_off = 0;
+    const char* at = memchr(rparen, '@', (size_t)(nl - rparen));
+    if (at) {
+        char* stop = NULL;
+        unsigned long long v = strtoull(at + 1, &stop, 16);
+        if (stop && stop != at + 1) { out->has_off = 1; out->file_off = (uint64_t)v; }
+    }
+    return 1;
+}
+
+/* Locate the system flatview body: the lines AFTER " Root memory region: system" up to
+ * the next "FlatView #" (or EOF). Returns the body start, sets *body_end; NULL if absent. */
+static const char* find_system_flatview(const char* text, const char** body_end) {
+    const char* anchor = "Root memory region: system";
+    const char* p = text;
+    while ((p = strstr(p, anchor)) != NULL) {
+        /* The root name must end the token (newline/EOF) — reject "system.flash0" etc.,
+         * and reject roots that merely contain the word elsewhere. */
+        const char* after = p + strlen(anchor);
+        if (*after == '\n' || *after == '\0' || *after == ' ') {
+            const char* body = strchr(p, '\n');
+            if (!body) return NULL;
+            body++;                                  /* first region line                */
+            const char* fv = strstr(body, "\nFlatView #");
+            *body_end = fv ? fv + 1 : (body + strlen(body));
+            return body;
+        }
+        p = after;
+    }
+    return NULL;
+}
+
+/* Primary signal: file offset (`@hex`) of the first ram region whose start GPA >= 4 GiB.
+ * Returns 1 and sets *off when found, 0 otherwise. */
+static int high_ram_offset(const char* body, const char* end, uint64_t* off) {
+    const char* p = body;
+    while (p < end) {
+        const char* nl = memchr(p, '\n', (size_t)(end - p));
+        const char* line_end = nl ? nl : end;
+        region_line r;
+        if (parse_region_line(p, line_end, &r) &&
+            r.is_ram && r.start_gpa >= RAM_HIGH_BASE && r.has_off) {
+            *off = r.file_off;
+            return 1;
+        }
+        if (!nl) break;
+        p = nl + 1;
+    }
+    return 0;
+}
+
+/* Cross-validator / fallback: start GPA of the first non-ram region at or above the
+ * PCI-hole base (the bottom of the 4 GiB hole == low for the classic layout). Returns 1
+ * and sets *base when found, 0 otherwise. Blackhole holes below 0x80000000 are skipped
+ * by the lower cutoff. */
+static int pci_hole_start(const char* body, const char* end, uint64_t* base) {
+    const char* p = body;
+    while (p < end) {
+        const char* nl = memchr(p, '\n', (size_t)(end - p));
+        const char* line_end = nl ? nl : end;
+        region_line r;
+        if (parse_region_line(p, line_end, &r) &&
+            !r.is_ram && r.start_gpa >= PCI_HOLE_BASE && r.start_gpa < RAM_HIGH_BASE) {
+            *base = r.start_gpa;
+            return 1;
+        }
+        if (!nl) break;
+        p = nl + 1;
+    }
+    return 0;
+}
+
+uint64_t mtree_low_split(const char* text) {
+    if (!text) return 0;
+
+    const char* body_end = NULL;
+    const char* body = find_system_flatview(text, &body_end);
+    if (!body) return 0;                              /* no system AS => fail-closed   */
+
+    uint64_t off = 0, base = 0;
+    int have_off  = high_ram_offset(body, body_end, &off);
+    int have_base = pci_hole_start(body, body_end, &base);
+
+    if (have_off) {
+        if (off == 0 || off == ~0ull) return 0;       /* degenerate offset             */
+        /* cross-validate against the PCI-hole base when we have one */
+        if (have_base && base != off) return 0;       /* layout anomaly => fail-closed */
+        return off;                                   /* primary signal                */
+    }
+
+    /* No high-RAM (guest RAM all below 4 GiB): fall back to the PCI-hole base, but only
+     * at or above the standard base so blackhole holes can never be mistaken for it. */
+    if (have_base && base >= PCI_HOLE_BASE) return base;
+
+    return 0;                                          /* nothing trustworthy           */
+}

src/test/fixtures/mtree_split_fragmented.txt

@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+FlatView #0
+ AS "cpu-smm-0", root: mem-container-smram
+ Root memory region: mem-container-smram
+  0000000000000000-0000000000017fff (prio 0, ram): ram0
+  0000000000018000-0000000000018fff (prio 0, ram): synic-0-msg-page
+  000000000001c000-000000007fffffff (prio 0, ram): ram0 @000000000001c000
+  0000000080000000-0000000081ffffff (prio 0, i/o): vfio-pci-bar3
+  0000000100000000-000000017fffffff (prio 0, ram): ram0 @0000000040000000
+
+FlatView #1
+ AS "I/O", root: io
+ Root memory region: io
+  0000000000000000-0000000000000007 (prio 0, i/o): dma-chan
+  0000000000000060-0000000000000060 (prio 0, i/o): i8042-data
+  0000000000000064-0000000000000064 (prio 0, i/o): i8042-cmd
+
+FlatView #2
+ AS "memory", root: system
+ AS "cpu-memory-0", root: system
+ Root memory region: system
+  0000000000000000-0000000000017fff (prio 0, ram): ram0
+  0000000000018000-0000000000018fff (prio 0, ram): synic-0-msg-page
+  0000000000019000-0000000000019fff (prio 0, ram): synic-1-msg-page
+  000000000001a000-000000000001afff (prio 0, ram): synic-2-msg-page
+  000000000001b000-000000000001bfff (prio 0, ram): synic-3-msg-page
+  000000000001c000-000000000002ffff (prio 0, ram): ram0 @000000000001c000
+  0000000000030000-000000000004ffff (prio 1, i/o): smbase-blackhole
+  0000000000050000-00000000000bffff (prio 0, ram): ram0 @0000000000050000
+  00000000000c0000-00000000000dffff (prio 1, rom): pc.rom
+  00000000000e0000-00000000000fffff (prio 0, rom): system.flash0 @000000000035c000
+  0000000000100000-000000007bffffff (prio 0, ram): ram0 @0000000000100000
+  000000007c000000-000000007fffffff (prio 1, i/o): tseg-blackhole
+  0000000080000000-0000000081ffffff (prio 0, i/o): vfio-pci-bar3
+  0000000082000000-0000000082087fff (prio 0, i/o): vfio-pci-bar0
+  00000000e0000000-00000000efffffff (prio 0, i/o): pcie-mmcfg-mmio
+  00000000fec00000-00000000fec00fff (prio 0, i/o): kvm-ioapic
+  00000000ffc00000-00000000ffc83fff (prio 0, romd): system.flash1
+  0000000100000000-000000027fffffff (prio 0, ram): ram0 @0000000080000000
+
+FlatView #3
+ AS "pci_bridge_io", root: pci_bridge_io
+ Root memory region: pci_bridge_io

src/test/test_mtree.c

@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+/* test_mtree.c — unit tests for mtree_low_split (the below-4G split parser). Pure text in,
+ * number out; no QMP/transport. The fragmented fixture reproduces the structural traps the
+ * old heuristic tripped on (Hyper-V synic overlays, smbase/tseg blackhole holes, rom holes)
+ * plus a decoy non-system flatview that carries its OWN GPA-0 stub and a DIFFERENT @offset,
+ * proving the system address space is selected (not "first match in the text"). */
+#define _GNU_SOURCE
+#include "mtree.h"
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+#ifndef FIXTURE_DIR
+#define FIXTURE_DIR "."
+#endif
+
+static int g_fail = 0;
+#define CHECK(cond, msg) do { if (!(cond)) { printf("  FAIL: %s\n", (msg)); g_fail = 1; } } while (0)
+
+/* Slurp a whole text file into a heap buffer (NUL-terminated). NULL on error. */
+static char* slurp(const char* path) {
+    FILE* f = fopen(path, "rb");
+    if (!f) return NULL;
+    if (fseek(f, 0, SEEK_END) != 0) { fclose(f); return NULL; }
+    long sz = ftell(f);
+    if (sz < 0) { fclose(f); return NULL; }
+    rewind(f);
+    char* buf = malloc((size_t)sz + 1);
+    if (!buf) { fclose(f); return NULL; }
+    size_t got = fread(buf, 1, (size_t)sz, f);
+    fclose(f);
+    buf[got] = 0;
+    return buf;
+}
+
+/* Case B: a minimal, NON-fragmented system flatview — one big GPA-0 ram run plus high-RAM
+ * carrying @<low>. Must not be broken by the new parser. */
+static const char* k_happy =
+    "FlatView #0\n"
+    " AS \"memory\", root: system\n"
+    " Root memory region: system\n"
+    "  0000000000000000-000000007fffffff (prio 0, ram): ram0\n"
+    "  0000000080000000-0000000081ffffff (prio 0, i/o): vfio-pci-bar3\n"
+    "  0000000100000000-000000017fffffff (prio 0, ram): ram0 @0000000080000000\n";
+
+/* Case C: text without any system flatview => fail-closed. */
+static const char* k_no_system =
+    "FlatView #0\n"
+    " AS \"I/O\", root: io\n"
+    " Root memory region: io\n"
+    "  0000000000000000-0000000000000007 (prio 0, i/o): dma-chan\n";
+
+int main(void) {
+    printf("test_mtree\n");
+
+    /* Cases A and E: the fragmented fixture (decoy first, system second). */
+    char path[1024];
+    snprintf(path, sizeof path, "%s/mtree_split_fragmented.txt", FIXTURE_DIR);
+    char* frag = slurp(path);
+    CHECK(frag != NULL, "fragmented fixture loaded");
+    if (frag) {
+        uint64_t low = mtree_low_split(frag);
+        /* A: fragmented low-RAM must NOT yield the GPA-0 stub end (0x18000) — the bug. */
+        CHECK(low == 0x80000000ull, "A: fragmented split == 0x80000000");
+        CHECK(low != 0x18000ull,    "A: not the GPA-0 stub end (0x18000)");
+        /* E: the decoy (non-system) flatview comes FIRST and carries @0x40000000; the
+         * function must select the SYSTEM flatview (@0x80000000), not the decoy. */
+        CHECK(low != 0x40000000ull, "E: decoy flatview @offset rejected (system AS chosen)");
+        free(frag);
+    }
+
+    /* Case B: happy path (non-fragmented) still resolves to the high-RAM @offset. */
+    CHECK(mtree_low_split(k_happy) == 0x80000000ull, "B: non-fragmented happy path == 0x80000000");
+
+    /* Case C: no system flatview => 0. */
+    CHECK(mtree_low_split(k_no_system) == 0, "C: no system flatview => fail-closed 0");
+
+    /* Case D: garbage / empty => 0. */
+    CHECK(mtree_low_split("") == 0,                 "D: empty text => 0");
+    CHECK(mtree_low_split("not an mtree at all\n") == 0, "D: junk text => 0");
+
+    printf("mtree tests: %s\n", g_fail ? "FAIL" : "PASS");
+    return g_fail ? 1 : 0;
+}