Run Linux on Android without AVF support

Good to Mention

The device used here is a Xiaomi Poco C65 phone running Android 15 (can work on android 14 linux 6.1)
Unlock bootloader
You need a rooted device
If you damage your device in any way, you are all responsible for it!

Result of command from Poco C65

su
getprop | grep hypervisor
[ro.boot.hypervisor.version]: [GenieZone]
[ro.boot.hypervisor.vm.supported]: [1]

Install dependencies

$ sudo apt install build-essential debootstrap qemu-user-static gcc-aarch64-linux-gnu atftpd nfs-kernel-server fdisk libcap-dev libgbm-dev pkg-config protobuf-compiler bc bison flex libssl-dev make libc6-dev libncurses5-dev crossbuild-essential-arm64

$ rm -rf /usr/local/go && tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.21.5.linux-amd64.tar.gz

Add this to your ~/.bashrc

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin

Build the kernel

Grab a kernel tarball from kernel.org.

$ tar -xvf linux-x.x.xx.tar.xz
$ cd linux-x.x.xx
$ make ARCH=arm64 defconfig

enable from this config

$ make menuconfig
$ CROSS_COMPILE=aarch64-linux-gnu- make ARCH=arm64 -j 8

Cross-compile gVisor Proxy for aarch64

git clone https://github.com/containers/gvisor-tap-vsock gvisor-tap-vsock-arm64

GOARCH=arm64 make

Cross-compile gVisor Proxy for Android

git clone https://github.com/containers/gvisor-tap-vsock gvisor-tap-vsock-android

GOOS=android GOARCH=arm64 make

Create rootfs

Debian

$ mkdir rootfs
$ dd if=/dev/zero of=debian.img bs=1M count=32000
$ sudo mkfs.ext4 debian.img
$ sudo mount debian.img rootfs/
$ sudo debootstrap --arch=arm64 buster rootfs/
$ sudo cp -r linux-6.16.12 ./rootfs
$ echo "vm" | sudo tee ./rootfs/etc/hostname
$ sudo mkdir -p ./rootfs/etc/systemd/resolved.conf.d/
$ sudo nvim ./rootfs/etc/systemd/resolved.conf.d/dns_servers.conf

Set the value to the following

[Resolve]

DNS=8.8.8.8 1.1.1.1

$ sudo chroot ./rootfs /bin/bash
$ apt install build-essential
$ cd /linux-6.16.12
$ make install
$ cd /
$ apt remove build-essential
$ rm -rf /linux-6.16.12
$ useradd -m -g sudo <username>
$ passwd <username>
$ chsh -s /bin/bash <username>
$ exit
$ cd linux-6.16.12
$ sudo make modules_install INSTALL_MOD_PATH=/home/rootfs
$ cd ../

Not required if using the network configuration method Network: Official method networking from Crosvm docs modified for Android

$ sudo mkdir -p ./rootfs/gvisor-tap-vsock/bin
$ sudo cp -r ./gvisor-tap-vsock-arm64/bin/* ./rootfs/gvisor-tap-vsock/bin

$ sudo umount ./rootfs

Arch Linux

$ curl -LO http://os.archlinuxarm.org/os/ArchLinuxARM-aarch64-latest.tar.gz
$ curl -LO http://os.archlinuxarm.org/os/ArchLinuxARM-aarch64-latest.tar.gz.md5
$ md5sum -c ArchLinuxARM-aarch64-latest.tar.gz.md5
$ sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=arch-rootfs.img bs=1M count=32000
$ sudo mkfs.ext4 arch-rootfs.img
$ sudo losetup --find --show arch-rootfs.img
$ mkdir rootfs
$ sudo mount /dev/loop0 rootfs
$ sudo tar -xvf ArchLinuxARM-aarch64-latest.tar.gz -C rootfs
$ sudo cp -r linux-6.16.12 ./rootfs
$ sudo arch-chroot rootfs /bin/bash
$ pacman-key --init
$ pacman-key --populate archlinuxarm
$ pacman -Rnd linux-aarch64
$ pacman -S base-devel --noconfirm
$ cd /linux-6.16.12
$ make install
$ cd /
$ rm -rf /linux-6.16.12
$ useradd -m -g wheel <username>
$ passwd <username>
$ chsh -s /bin/bash <username>
$ exit
$ cd linux-6.16.12
$ sudo make modules_install INSTALL_MOD_PATH=/home/rootfs
$ cd ../
$ echo "vm" | sudo tee ./rootfs/etc/hostname
$ sudo mkdir -p ./rootfs/etc/systemd/resolved.conf.d/
$ sudo nvim ./rootfs/etc/systemd/resolved.conf.d/dns_servers.conf

Set the value to the following

[Resolve]

DNS=8.8.8.8 1.1.1.1

$ sudo umount -l rootfs/
$ sudo losetup -d /dev/loop0

Create rootfs in Termux

# pkg install debootstrap

Prepare the files

tar -czvf gvisor-tap-vsock-android.tar.gz ./gvisor-tap-vsock-android/bin/*

Install Termux from F-Droid.

In Termux:

# termux-setup-storage
# mkdir kvm

Copy packages to the phone in /data/data/com.termux/files/home/kvm

debian.img

gvisor-tap-vsock-android.tar.gz

network.sh

./linux-x.x.xx/arch/arm64/boot/Image

# cd /data/data/com.termux/files/home/kvm
# tar -xvf gvisor-tap-vsock-android.tar.gz

Network

Network instruction

VM

Start VM

In a new session termux

# su
# cd /apex/com.android.virt/bin
# ./crosvm run --disable-sandbox --net tap-name=crosvm_tap -s /data/data/com.termux/files/home/kvm/crosvm.sock --shared-dir "/data/data/com.termux/files/home/host_shared_dir:my_shared_tag:type=fs" -p 'init=/sbin/init' --rwroot /data/data/com.termux/files/home/kvm/debian.img /data/data/com.termux/files/home/kvm/Image --vsock 3 --mem 2048 --cpus 8

Stop VM

In a new session termux

# su
# cd /apex/com.android.virt/bin
# ./crosvm stop /data/data/com.termux/files/home/kvm/crosvm.sock

GUI via VNC, Xserver XSDL

In the guest

$ sudo apt install tightvncserver xfce4 xfce4-terminal xfce4-goodies dbus-x11

For VNC

In a new session termux

# ssh -L 5901:127.0.0.1:5901 -C -N -l <username> 192.168.10.2

In the guest

$ vncserver

Setting vncserver

Install vncviewer app on your phone

Open vncviewer app

localhost

5901

vncserver's password

For Xserver XSDL

Install Xserver XSDL app

Run commands from screen app

Shared dir

In termux

# mkdir host_shared_dir
# su
# cd /apex/com.android.virt/bin
# ./crosvm run --disable-sandbox --shared-dir "/data/data/com.termux/files/home/host_shared_dir:my_shared_tag:type=fs" -p 'init=/sbin/init' --rwroot /data/data/com.termux/files/home/kvm/debian.img /data/data/com.termux/files/home/kvm/Image

In the guest

$ sudo su
$ mkdir /tmp/guest_shared_dir
$ mount -t virtiofs my_shared_tag /tmp/guest_shared_dir

Use /tmp/guest_shared_dir and /data/data/com.termux/files/home/host_shared_dir

GPU acceleration

Note

MediaTek Hypervisor Support: Crosvm from Android 16 features native support for the MediaTek Geniezone hypervisor. It communicates directly with the /dev/gzvm driver out of the box, bypasssing the need for any additional Android Virtualization Framework (AVF) patches or wrappers for basic CPU and memory mapping.

Android 15 requires using Crosvm from Android 16 (available in Releases).
Provides Debian and Ubuntu GUI acceleration via KasmVNC.

Prerequisites

Build your guest kernel with the following options and run make modules_install:
```
CONFIG_DRM=m
CONFIG_DRM_VIRTIO_GPU=y
```
Inside the guest OS, initialize the VNC server pointing to the virtual GPU node:
```
vncserver -hw3d -drinode /dev/dri/renderD128
```

Launching Crosvm with GPU

Execute the following command as root inside Termux:

# su
# chmod +x crosvm16
# LD_PRELOAD=./libbinder_ndk.so:./libbinder.so ./crosvm16 --log-level debug run --disable-sandbox --gpu backend=virglrenderer,surfaceless=true,egl=true,gles=true,context-types=virgl2

Expected Debug Output

When running with --log-level debug, you should verify that Crosvm successfully catches the MediaTek hypervisor device and initializes the host GPU driver (mali_kbase):

[2026-08-20T13:44:59.108618039+00:00 DEBUG crosvm::crosvm::sys::linux] creating hypervisor: Geniezone { device: Some("/dev/gzvm") }
[2026-08-20T13:44:59.111563270+00:00 INFO  crosvm::crosvm::sys::linux::device_helpers] Trying to attach block device: /data/data/com.termux/files/home/arch/arch-rootfs.img
[2026-08-20T13:44:59.111870962+00:00 INFO  disk] disk size 10737418240
Could not open module param file '/sys/module/mali_kbase/parameters/large_page_conf'
[2026-08-20T13:44:59.422502423+00:00 INFO  rutabaga_gfx::virgl_renderer] gl_version 32 - es profile enabled

[2026-08-20T13:44:59.460083577+00:00 ERROR devices::virtio::gpu] failed to open display: unsupported by the implementation
[2026-08-20T13:44:59.906966962+00:00 DEBUG devices::usb::xhci] xhci_controller: halt device
[2026-08-20T13:44:59.907191039+00:00 DEBUG devices::usb::xhci] xhci_controller: interrupter enable?: false
[    0.000000] Booting Linux on physical CPU 0x0000000000 [0x411fd050]

Verified Guest Graphics Info

Once booted, running diagnostic tools inside the guest OS will confirm that the rendering pipeline maps directly to your hardware (e.g., Mali GPU):

   OpenGL ES 2.x information:
      version: "OpenGL ES 3.1 Mesa 22.3.6"
      shading language version: "OpenGL ES GLSL ES 3.10"
      vendor: "Mesa/X.org"
      renderer: "virgl (Mali-G52 MC2)"

Troubleshooting

ping 8.8.8.8 work but network cant

Solution: enable hotspot on android and correct date

ping 8.8.8.8 Network is unreachable

Solution: again in the guest sudo chmod +x gvforwarder and correct date

read from remote host 192.168.10.2: software caused connection abort client_loop: send disconnect: broken pipe

Solution: VPN off

ERRO[0000] gvproxy exiting: cannot listen: listen unix /data/data/com.termux/files/home/kvm/network.sock: bind: address already in use

Solution: delete network.sock

ERRO[0000] gvproxy exiting: cannot add network services: listen tcp 127.0.0.1:2222: bind: address already in use

Solution: reboot phone

ERROR crosvm exiting with error 1: failed to create control server Caused by: Address already in use (os error 98)

Solution: delete crosvm.sock

ERRO[0000] socket: address family not supported by protocol

Solution: enable CONFIG_VSOCKETS=y

Connection closed by {ip_address} or error: kex_exchange_identification: Connection closed by remote host

Solution: install openssh-server or make linux distro with openssh-server

ERRO[0000] dhcp not found

Solution: make linux distro with dhclient

One of the kernel panic errors occurs because adb transfer may corrupts files

Solution: try copy or scp

Download rootfs and Image

Debian, Arch Linux rootfs, Image from Releases

Increase size rootfs

Additional features

Run Windows

sudo qemu-system-x86_64 \
  -m 768 \
  -smp 1 \
  -boot c \
  -drive file=/home/droid/7.vhd,if=ide,format=vpc \
  -vnc 0.0.0.0:0 \
  -device virtio-gpu-pci

Run multiple virtual machines from other directories with new Crosvm, Linux Distro, Image and etc.

In termux

# su
# chmod +x crosvm
# ./crosvm run --disable-sandbox --block /data/data/com.termux/files/home/ubuntu.img,root -p 'root=/dev/vda' /data/data/com.termux/files/home/Image

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
README.md		README.md
bench.txt		bench.txt
common.config		common.config
network.md		network.md

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Run Linux on Android without AVF support

Good to Mention

Result of command from Poco C65

Install dependencies

Build the kernel

Cross-compile gVisor Proxy for aarch64

Cross-compile gVisor Proxy for Android

Create rootfs

Debian

Arch Linux

Create rootfs in Termux

Prepare the files

Install Termux from F-Droid.

Network

VM

GUI via VNC, Xserver XSDL

Shared dir

GPU acceleration

Prerequisites

Launching Crosvm with GPU

Expected Debug Output

Verified Guest Graphics Info

Troubleshooting

Download rootfs and Image

Additional features

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Contributors

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Repository files navigation

Run Linux on Android without AVF support

Good to Mention

Result of command from Poco C65

Install dependencies

Build the kernel

Cross-compile gVisor Proxy for aarch64

Cross-compile gVisor Proxy for Android

Create rootfs

Debian

Arch Linux

Create rootfs in Termux

Prepare the files

Install Termux from F-Droid.

Network

VM

GUI via VNC, Xserver XSDL

Shared dir

GPU acceleration

Prerequisites

Launching Crosvm with GPU

Expected Debug Output

Verified Guest Graphics Info

Troubleshooting

Download rootfs and Image

Additional features

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