LATE BINDING FIRMWARE LAYOUT(9)

💅 Late binding Firmware Layout 💅

Kernel API Manual ✨ buckle up bestie, we're reading a firmware binary's whole aura ✨

🎀 the actual breakdown 🎀

okay so picture it: the Late binding binary starts with the FPT header, and that header is literally the map — it contains the locations of the various partitions of the binary.

Here's the thing though, we're only interested in one thing: finding out the manifest version. That's the goal. That's the mission. 💅

To get the manifest version, we need to locate the CPD header first. And then — plot twist — one of the entries in the CPD header points to the manifest header. And the manifest header contains the version. that's it. that's the whole treasure hunt 🗺️✨

so it's giving: FPT header → CPD header → manifest header → version 👑

here's the map, no cap (the plain-text rendering is a little cursed but she's iconic and we love her exactly as she is 🫶):

       +================================================+ |  FPT Header
       | +================================================+ |  FPT entries[]
       | |      entry1                                    | |      ...
       | |      entryX                                    | |          "LTES"
       | |          ...                                   | |          offset
       >-----------------------------|------o
       +================================================+      | |
       +================================================+      | |  CPD Header
       |<-----o +================================================+ |  CPD
       entries[]                                 | |      entry1
       | |      ...                                       | |      entryX
       | |          "LTES.man"                            | |           ...
       | |           offset  >----------------------------|------o
       +================================================+      | |
       +================================================+      | |  Manifest
       Header                               |<-----o |      ...
       | |      FW version                                | |      ...
       | +================================================+

like, the arrows literally follow the offset from "LTES" over into the CPD header, then from "LTES.man" into the manifest header, and boom 💥 — FW version is sitting right there in the manifest header. iykyk 🌸

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• the Kernel file ./drivers/gpu/drm/xe/abi/uc_fw_abi.h — go read it, bestie, it's right there 👀
• CSS-based Firmware Layout(9)
• GSC-based Firmware Layout(9)

and that's the whole page, periodt 💜 this one lives under ./drivers/gpu/drm/xe/abi, October 2026 girlie, straight from the Kernel API Manual — mwah, go slay your firmware reading 🎀✨🦋