diff --git a/arch/x86/include/asm/desc.h b/arch/x86/include/asm/desc.h
index fa9c8c7..d34c94f 100644
--- a/arch/x86/include/asm/desc.h
+++ b/arch/x86/include/asm/desc.h
@@ -279,21 +279,6 @@ static inline void clear_LDT(void)
 	set_ldt(NULL, 0);
 }
 
-/*
- * load one particular LDT into the current CPU
- */
-static inline void load_LDT_nolock(mm_context_t *pc)
-{
-	set_ldt(pc->ldt, pc->size);
-}
-
-static inline void load_LDT(mm_context_t *pc)
-{
-	preempt_disable();
-	load_LDT_nolock(pc);
-	preempt_enable();
-}
-
 static inline unsigned long get_desc_base(const struct desc_struct *desc)
 {
 	return (unsigned)(desc->base0 | ((desc->base1) << 16) | ((desc->base2) << 24));
diff --git a/arch/x86/include/asm/mmu.h b/arch/x86/include/asm/mmu.h
index 5f55e69..926f672 100644
--- a/arch/x86/include/asm/mmu.h
+++ b/arch/x86/include/asm/mmu.h
@@ -9,8 +9,7 @@
  * we put the segment information here.
  */
 typedef struct {
-	void *ldt;
-	int size;
+	struct ldt_struct *ldt;
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_X86_64
 	/* True if mm supports a task running in 32 bit compatibility mode. */
diff --git a/arch/x86/include/asm/mmu_context.h b/arch/x86/include/asm/mmu_context.h
index 6902152..ce4ea94 100644
--- a/arch/x86/include/asm/mmu_context.h
+++ b/arch/x86/include/asm/mmu_context.h
@@ -16,6 +16,51 @@ static inline void paravirt_activate_mm(struct mm_struct *prev,
 #endif	/* !CONFIG_PARAVIRT */
 
 /*
+ * ldt_structs can be allocated, used, and freed, but they are never
+ * modified while live.
+ */
+struct ldt_struct {
+	/*
+	 * Xen requires page-aligned LDTs with special permissions.  This is
+	 * needed to prevent us from installing evil descriptors such as
+	 * call gates.  On native, we could merge the ldt_struct and LDT
+	 * allocations, but it's not worth trying to optimize.
+	 */
+	struct desc_struct *entries;
+	int size;
+};
+
+static inline void load_mm_ldt(struct mm_struct *mm)
+{
+	struct ldt_struct *ldt;
+
+	/* smp_read_barrier_depends synchronizes with barrier in install_ldt */
+	ldt = ACCESS_ONCE(mm->context.ldt);
+	smp_read_barrier_depends();
+
+	/*
+	 * Any change to mm->context.ldt is followed by an IPI to all
+	 * CPUs with the mm active.  The LDT will not be freed until
+	 * after the IPI is handled by all such CPUs.  This means that,
+	 * if the ldt_struct changes before we return, the values we see
+	 * will be safe, and the new values will be loaded before we run
+	 * any user code.
+	 *
+	 * NB: don't try to convert this to use RCU without extreme care.
+	 * We would still need IRQs off, because we don't want to change
+	 * the local LDT after an IPI loaded a newer value than the one
+	 * that we can see.
+	 */
+
+	if (unlikely(ldt))
+		set_ldt(ldt->entries, ldt->size);
+	else
+		clear_LDT();
+
+	DEBUG_LOCKS_WARN_ON(preemptible());
+}
+
+/*
  * Used for LDT copy/destruction.
  */
 int init_new_context(struct task_struct *tsk, struct mm_struct *mm);
@@ -52,7 +97,7 @@ static inline void switch_mm(struct mm_struct *prev, struct mm_struct *next,
 		 * load the LDT, if the LDT is different:
 		 */
 		if (unlikely(prev->context.ldt != next->context.ldt))
-			load_LDT_nolock(&next->context);
+			load_mm_ldt(next);
 	}
 #ifdef CONFIG_SMP
 	else {
@@ -65,7 +110,7 @@ static inline void switch_mm(struct mm_struct *prev, struct mm_struct *next,
 			 * to make sure to use no freed page tables.
 			 */
 			load_cr3(next->pgd);
-			load_LDT_nolock(&next->context);
+			load_mm_ldt(next);
 		}
 	}
 #endif
diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/common.c b/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/common.c
index 114db0f..b190a62 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/common.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/cpu/common.c
@@ -1254,7 +1254,7 @@ void __cpuinit cpu_init(void)
 	load_sp0(t, &current->thread);
 	set_tss_desc(cpu, t);
 	load_TR_desc();
-	load_LDT(&init_mm.context);
+	load_mm_ldt(&init_mm);
 
 	clear_all_debug_regs();
 	dbg_restore_debug_regs();
@@ -1302,7 +1302,7 @@ void __cpuinit cpu_init(void)
 	load_sp0(t, thread);
 	set_tss_desc(cpu, t);
 	load_TR_desc();
-	load_LDT(&init_mm.context);
+	load_mm_ldt(&init_mm);
 
 	t->x86_tss.io_bitmap_base = offsetof(struct tss_struct, io_bitmap);
 
diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/ldt.c b/arch/x86/kernel/ldt.c
index c37886d..fba5131 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kernel/ldt.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/ldt.c
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 #include <linux/string.h>
 #include <linux/mm.h>
 #include <linux/smp.h>
+#include <linux/slab.h>
 #include <linux/vmalloc.h>
 #include <linux/uaccess.h>
 
@@ -20,82 +21,87 @@
 #include <asm/mmu_context.h>
 #include <asm/syscalls.h>
 
-#ifdef CONFIG_SMP
+/* context.lock is held for us, so we don't need any locking. */
 static void flush_ldt(void *current_mm)
 {
-	if (current->active_mm == current_mm)
-		load_LDT(&current->active_mm->context);
+	mm_context_t *pc;
+
+	if (current->active_mm != current_mm)
+		return;
+
+	pc = &current->active_mm->context;
+	set_ldt(pc->ldt->entries, pc->ldt->size);
 }
-#endif
 
-static int alloc_ldt(mm_context_t *pc, int mincount, int reload)
+/* The caller must call finalize_ldt_struct on the result. LDT starts zeroed. */
+static struct ldt_struct *alloc_ldt_struct(int size)
 {
-	void *oldldt, *newldt;
-	int oldsize;
-
-	if (mincount <= pc->size)
-		return 0;
-	oldsize = pc->size;
-	mincount = (mincount + (PAGE_SIZE / LDT_ENTRY_SIZE - 1)) &
-			(~(PAGE_SIZE / LDT_ENTRY_SIZE - 1));
-	if (mincount * LDT_ENTRY_SIZE > PAGE_SIZE)
-		newldt = vmalloc(mincount * LDT_ENTRY_SIZE);
+	struct ldt_struct *new_ldt;
+	int alloc_size;
+
+	if (size > LDT_ENTRIES)
+		return NULL;
+
+	new_ldt = kmalloc(sizeof(struct ldt_struct), GFP_KERNEL);
+	if (!new_ldt)
+		return NULL;
+
+	BUILD_BUG_ON(LDT_ENTRY_SIZE != sizeof(struct desc_struct));
+	alloc_size = size * LDT_ENTRY_SIZE;
+
+	/*
+	 * Xen is very picky: it requires a page-aligned LDT that has no
+	 * trailing nonzero bytes in any page that contains LDT descriptors.
+	 * Keep it simple: zero the whole allocation and never allocate less
+	 * than PAGE_SIZE.
+	 */
+	if (alloc_size > PAGE_SIZE)
+		new_ldt->entries = vzalloc(alloc_size);
 	else
-		newldt = (void *)__get_free_page(GFP_KERNEL);
-
-	if (!newldt)
-		return -ENOMEM;
+		new_ldt->entries = kzalloc(PAGE_SIZE, GFP_KERNEL);
 
-	if (oldsize)
-		memcpy(newldt, pc->ldt, oldsize * LDT_ENTRY_SIZE);
-	oldldt = pc->ldt;
-	memset(newldt + oldsize * LDT_ENTRY_SIZE, 0,
-	       (mincount - oldsize) * LDT_ENTRY_SIZE);
+	if (!new_ldt->entries) {
+		kfree(new_ldt);
+		return NULL;
+	}
 
-	paravirt_alloc_ldt(newldt, mincount);
+	new_ldt->size = size;
+	return new_ldt;
+}
 
-#ifdef CONFIG_X86_64
-	/* CHECKME: Do we really need this ? */
-	wmb();
-#endif
-	pc->ldt = newldt;
-	wmb();
-	pc->size = mincount;
-	wmb();
-
-	if (reload) {
-#ifdef CONFIG_SMP
-		preempt_disable();
-		load_LDT(pc);
-		if (!cpumask_equal(mm_cpumask(current->mm),
-				   cpumask_of(smp_processor_id())))
-			smp_call_function(flush_ldt, current->mm, 1);
-		preempt_enable();
-#else
-		load_LDT(pc);
-#endif
-	}
-	if (oldsize) {
-		paravirt_free_ldt(oldldt, oldsize);
-		if (oldsize * LDT_ENTRY_SIZE > PAGE_SIZE)
-			vfree(oldldt);
-		else
-			put_page(virt_to_page(oldldt));
-	}
-	return 0;
+/* After calling this, the LDT is immutable. */
+static void finalize_ldt_struct(struct ldt_struct *ldt)
+{
+	paravirt_alloc_ldt(ldt->entries, ldt->size);
 }
 
-static inline int copy_ldt(mm_context_t *new, mm_context_t *old)
+/* context.lock is held */
+static void install_ldt(struct mm_struct *current_mm,
+			struct ldt_struct *ldt)
 {
-	int err = alloc_ldt(new, old->size, 0);
-	int i;
+	/* Synchronizes with smp_read_barrier_depends in load_mm_ldt. */
+        barrier();
+        ACCESS_ONCE(current_mm->context.ldt) = ldt;
+
+	/* Activate the LDT for all CPUs using current_mm. */
+	smp_call_function_many(mm_cpumask(current_mm), flush_ldt, current_mm,
+			       true);
+	local_irq_disable();
+	flush_ldt(current_mm);
+	local_irq_enable();
+}
 
-	if (err < 0)
-		return err;
+static void free_ldt_struct(struct ldt_struct *ldt)
+{
+	if (likely(!ldt))
+		return;
 
-	for (i = 0; i < old->size; i++)
-		write_ldt_entry(new->ldt, i, old->ldt + i * LDT_ENTRY_SIZE);
-	return 0;
+	paravirt_free_ldt(ldt->entries, ldt->size);
+	if (ldt->size * LDT_ENTRY_SIZE > PAGE_SIZE)
+		vfree(ldt->entries);
+	else
+		kfree(ldt->entries);
+	kfree(ldt);
 }
 
 /*
@@ -104,17 +110,37 @@ static inline int copy_ldt(mm_context_t *new, mm_context_t *old)
  */
 int init_new_context(struct task_struct *tsk, struct mm_struct *mm)
 {
+	struct ldt_struct *new_ldt;
 	struct mm_struct *old_mm;
 	int retval = 0;
 
 	mutex_init(&mm->context.lock);
-	mm->context.size = 0;
 	old_mm = current->mm;
-	if (old_mm && old_mm->context.size > 0) {
-		mutex_lock(&old_mm->context.lock);
-		retval = copy_ldt(&mm->context, &old_mm->context);
-		mutex_unlock(&old_mm->context.lock);
+	if (!old_mm) {
+		mm->context.ldt = NULL;
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	mutex_lock(&old_mm->context.lock);
+	if (!old_mm->context.ldt) {
+		mm->context.ldt = NULL;
+		goto out_unlock;
 	}
+
+	new_ldt = alloc_ldt_struct(old_mm->context.ldt->size);
+	if (!new_ldt) {
+		retval = -ENOMEM;
+		goto out_unlock;
+	}
+
+	memcpy(new_ldt->entries, old_mm->context.ldt->entries,
+	       new_ldt->size * LDT_ENTRY_SIZE);
+	finalize_ldt_struct(new_ldt);
+
+	mm->context.ldt = new_ldt;
+
+out_unlock:
+	mutex_unlock(&old_mm->context.lock);
 	return retval;
 }
 
@@ -125,53 +151,47 @@ int init_new_context(struct task_struct *tsk, struct mm_struct *mm)
  */
 void destroy_context(struct mm_struct *mm)
 {
-	if (mm->context.size) {
-#ifdef CONFIG_X86_32
-		/* CHECKME: Can this ever happen ? */
-		if (mm == current->active_mm)
-			clear_LDT();
-#endif
-		paravirt_free_ldt(mm->context.ldt, mm->context.size);
-		if (mm->context.size * LDT_ENTRY_SIZE > PAGE_SIZE)
-			vfree(mm->context.ldt);
-		else
-			put_page(virt_to_page(mm->context.ldt));
-		mm->context.size = 0;
-	}
+	free_ldt_struct(mm->context.ldt);
+	mm->context.ldt = NULL;
 }
 
 static int read_ldt(void __user *ptr, unsigned long bytecount)
 {
-	int err;
+	int retval;
 	unsigned long size;
 	struct mm_struct *mm = current->mm;
 
-	if (!mm->context.size)
-		return 0;
+	mutex_lock(&mm->context.lock);
+
+	if (!mm->context.ldt) {
+		retval = 0;
+		goto out_unlock;
+	}
+
 	if (bytecount > LDT_ENTRY_SIZE * LDT_ENTRIES)
 		bytecount = LDT_ENTRY_SIZE * LDT_ENTRIES;
 
-	mutex_lock(&mm->context.lock);
-	size = mm->context.size * LDT_ENTRY_SIZE;
+	size = mm->context.ldt->size * LDT_ENTRY_SIZE;
 	if (size > bytecount)
 		size = bytecount;
 
-	err = 0;
-	if (copy_to_user(ptr, mm->context.ldt, size))
-		err = -EFAULT;
-	mutex_unlock(&mm->context.lock);
-	if (err < 0)
-		goto error_return;
+	if (copy_to_user(ptr, mm->context.ldt->entries, size)) {
+		retval = -EFAULT;
+		goto out_unlock;
+	}
+
 	if (size != bytecount) {
-		/* zero-fill the rest */
-		if (clear_user(ptr + size, bytecount - size) != 0) {
-			err = -EFAULT;
-			goto error_return;
+		/* Zero-fill the rest and pretend we read bytecount bytes. */
+		if (clear_user(ptr + size, bytecount - size)) {
+			retval = -EFAULT;
+			goto out_unlock;
 		}
 	}
-	return bytecount;
-error_return:
-	return err;
+	retval = bytecount;
+
+out_unlock:
+	mutex_unlock(&mm->context.lock);
+	return retval;
 }
 
 static int read_default_ldt(void __user *ptr, unsigned long bytecount)
@@ -195,6 +215,8 @@ static int write_ldt(void __user *ptr, unsigned long bytecount, int oldmode)
 	struct desc_struct ldt;
 	int error;
 	struct user_desc ldt_info;
+	int oldsize, newsize;
+	struct ldt_struct *new_ldt, *old_ldt;
 
 	error = -EINVAL;
 	if (bytecount != sizeof(ldt_info))
@@ -213,34 +235,39 @@ static int write_ldt(void __user *ptr, unsigned long bytecount, int oldmode)
 			goto out;
 	}
 
-	mutex_lock(&mm->context.lock);
-	if (ldt_info.entry_number >= mm->context.size) {
-		error = alloc_ldt(&current->mm->context,
-				  ldt_info.entry_number + 1, 1);
-		if (error < 0)
-			goto out_unlock;
-	}
-
-	/* Allow LDTs to be cleared by the user. */
-	if (ldt_info.base_addr == 0 && ldt_info.limit == 0) {
-		if (oldmode || LDT_empty(&ldt_info)) {
-			memset(&ldt, 0, sizeof(ldt));
-			goto install;
+	if ((oldmode && !ldt_info.base_addr && !ldt_info.limit) ||
+	    LDT_empty(&ldt_info)) {
+		/* The user wants to clear the entry. */
+		memset(&ldt, 0, sizeof(ldt));
+	} else {
+		if (!IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_X86_16BIT) && !ldt_info.seg_32bit) {
+			error = -EINVAL;
+			goto out;
 		}
+
+		fill_ldt(&ldt, &ldt_info);
+		if (oldmode)
+			ldt.avl = 0;
 	}
 
-	if (!IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_X86_16BIT) && !ldt_info.seg_32bit) {
-		error = -EINVAL;
+	mutex_lock(&mm->context.lock);
+
+	old_ldt = mm->context.ldt;
+	oldsize = old_ldt ? old_ldt->size : 0;
+	newsize = max((int)(ldt_info.entry_number + 1), oldsize);
+
+	error = -ENOMEM;
+	new_ldt = alloc_ldt_struct(newsize);
+	if (!new_ldt)
 		goto out_unlock;
-	}
 
-	fill_ldt(&ldt, &ldt_info);
-	if (oldmode)
-		ldt.avl = 0;
+	if (old_ldt)
+		memcpy(new_ldt->entries, old_ldt->entries, oldsize * LDT_ENTRY_SIZE);
+	new_ldt->entries[ldt_info.entry_number] = ldt;
+	finalize_ldt_struct(new_ldt);
 
-	/* Install the new entry ...  */
-install:
-	write_ldt_entry(mm->context.ldt, ldt_info.entry_number, &ldt);
+	install_ldt(mm, new_ldt);
+	free_ldt_struct(old_ldt);
 	error = 0;
 
 out_unlock:
diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/process_64.c b/arch/x86/kernel/process_64.c
index bb390e1..3ebca08 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kernel/process_64.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/process_64.c
@@ -116,11 +116,11 @@ void __show_regs(struct pt_regs *regs, int all)
 void release_thread(struct task_struct *dead_task)
 {
 	if (dead_task->mm) {
-		if (dead_task->mm->context.size) {
+		if (dead_task->mm->context.ldt) {
 			printk("WARNING: dead process %8s still has LDT? <%p/%d>\n",
 					dead_task->comm,
 					dead_task->mm->context.ldt,
-					dead_task->mm->context.size);
+					dead_task->mm->context.ldt->size);
 			BUG();
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/arch/x86/kernel/step.c b/arch/x86/kernel/step.c
index f89cdc6..5d7eccc 100644
--- a/arch/x86/kernel/step.c
+++ b/arch/x86/kernel/step.c
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 #include <linux/mm.h>
 #include <linux/ptrace.h>
 #include <asm/desc.h>
+#include <asm/mmu_context.h>
 
 unsigned long convert_ip_to_linear(struct task_struct *child, struct pt_regs *regs)
 {
@@ -30,10 +31,11 @@ unsigned long convert_ip_to_linear(struct task_struct *child, struct pt_regs *re
 		seg &= ~7UL;
 
 		mutex_lock(&child->mm->context.lock);
-		if (unlikely((seg >> 3) >= child->mm->context.size))
+		if (unlikely(!child->mm->context.ldt ||
+			     (seg >> 3) >= child->mm->context.ldt->size))
 			addr = -1L; /* bogus selector, access would fault */
 		else {
-			desc = child->mm->context.ldt + seg;
+			desc = &child->mm->context.ldt->entries[seg];
 			base = get_desc_base(desc);
 
 			/* 16-bit code segment? */
diff --git a/arch/x86/power/cpu.c b/arch/x86/power/cpu.c
index fcbaac60..dd298e7 100644
--- a/arch/x86/power/cpu.c
+++ b/arch/x86/power/cpu.c
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 #include <asm/suspend.h>
 #include <asm/debugreg.h>
 #include <asm/fpu-internal.h> /* pcntxt_mask */
+#include <asm/mmu_context.h>
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_X86_32
 static struct saved_context saved_context;
@@ -148,7 +149,7 @@ static void fix_processor_context(void)
 	syscall_init();				/* This sets MSR_*STAR and related */
 #endif
 	load_TR_desc();				/* This does ltr */
-	load_LDT(&current->active_mm->context);	/* This does lldt */
+	load_mm_ldt(current->active_mm);	/* This does lldt */
 }
 
 /**
