diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/arch_timer.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/arch_timer.c
index f8b02597897b..a6a66b5b7ea9 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/arch_timer.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/arch_timer.c
@@ -141,28 +141,22 @@ static void test_run(struct kvm_vm *vm)
 {
 	pthread_t pt_vcpu_migration;
 	unsigned int i;
-	int ret;
 
 	pthread_mutex_init(&vcpu_done_map_lock, NULL);
 	vcpu_done_map = bitmap_zalloc(test_args.nr_vcpus);
 	TEST_ASSERT(vcpu_done_map, "Failed to allocate vcpu done bitmap");
 
-	for (i = 0; i < (unsigned long)test_args.nr_vcpus; i++) {
-		ret = pthread_create(&pt_vcpu_run[i], NULL, test_vcpu_run,
-				     (void *)(unsigned long)i);
-		TEST_ASSERT(!ret, "Failed to create vCPU-%d pthread", i);
-	}
+	for (i = 0; i < (unsigned long)test_args.nr_vcpus; i++)
+		kvm_pthread_create(&pt_vcpu_run[i], NULL, test_vcpu_run,
+				   (void *)(unsigned long)i);
 
 	/* Spawn a thread to control the vCPU migrations */
 	if (test_args.migration_freq_ms) {
 		srand(time(NULL));
 
-		ret = pthread_create(&pt_vcpu_migration, NULL,
-					test_vcpu_migration, NULL);
-		TEST_ASSERT(!ret, "Failed to create the migration pthread");
+		kvm_pthread_create(&pt_vcpu_migration, NULL, test_vcpu_migration, NULL);
 	}
 
-
 	for (i = 0; i < test_args.nr_vcpus; i++)
 		pthread_join(pt_vcpu_run[i], NULL);
 
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/arm64/vgic_irq.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/arm64/vgic_irq.c
index 5e231998617e..2d6f20d5c117 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/arm64/vgic_irq.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/arm64/vgic_irq.c
@@ -988,7 +988,7 @@ static void test_vgic_two_cpus(void *gcode)
 	struct test_args args = {};
 	struct kvm_vm *vm;
 	gva_t args_gva;
-	int gic_fd, ret;
+	int gic_fd;
 
 	vm = vm_create_with_vcpus(2, gcode, vcpus);
 
@@ -1004,12 +1004,8 @@ static void test_vgic_two_cpus(void *gcode)
 
 	gic_fd = vgic_v3_setup(vm, 2, 64);
 
-	ret = pthread_create(&thr[0], NULL, test_vcpu_run, vcpus[0]);
-	if (ret)
-		TEST_FAIL("Can't create thread for vcpu 0 (%d)\n", ret);
-	ret = pthread_create(&thr[1], NULL, test_vcpu_run, vcpus[1]);
-	if (ret)
-		TEST_FAIL("Can't create thread for vcpu 1 (%d)\n", ret);
+	kvm_pthread_create(&thr[0], NULL, test_vcpu_run, vcpus[0]);
+	kvm_pthread_create(&thr[1], NULL, test_vcpu_run, vcpus[1]);
 
 	pthread_join(thr[0], NULL);
 	pthread_join(thr[1], NULL);
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/arm64/vgic_lpi_stress.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/arm64/vgic_lpi_stress.c
index d64d434d3f06..549e0547d905 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/arm64/vgic_lpi_stress.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/arm64/vgic_lpi_stress.c
@@ -311,10 +311,10 @@ static void run_test(void)
 	pthread_barrier_init(&test_setup_barrier, NULL, nr_vcpus + nr_devices + 1);
 
 	for (i = 0; i < nr_vcpus; i++)
-		pthread_create(&vcpu_threads[i], NULL, vcpu_worker_thread, vcpus[i]);
+		kvm_pthread_create(&vcpu_threads[i], NULL, vcpu_worker_thread, vcpus[i]);
 
 	for (i = 0; i < nr_devices; i++)
-		pthread_create(&lpi_threads[i], NULL, lpi_worker_thread, (void *)i);
+		kvm_pthread_create(&lpi_threads[i], NULL, lpi_worker_thread, (void *)i);
 
 	pthread_barrier_wait(&test_setup_barrier);
 
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/dirty_log_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/dirty_log_test.c
index e8419d7da1ea..ca22e5f09ac2 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/dirty_log_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/dirty_log_test.c
@@ -691,7 +691,7 @@ static void run_test(enum vm_guest_mode mode, void *arg)
 
 	TEST_ASSERT_EQ(vcpu_stop, false);
 
-	pthread_create(&vcpu_thread, NULL, vcpu_worker, vcpu);
+	kvm_pthread_create(&vcpu_thread, NULL, vcpu_worker, vcpu);
 
 	for (iteration = 1; iteration <= p->iterations; iteration++) {
 		unsigned long i, reap_i;
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/hardware_disable_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/hardware_disable_test.c
index de8e63da7b58..72bac346bdd9 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/hardware_disable_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/hardware_disable_test.c
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
  * return notifiers.
  */
 #include <fcntl.h>
-#include <pthread.h>
 #include <semaphore.h>
 #include <stdint.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
@@ -14,6 +13,7 @@
 
 #include <test_util.h>
 
+#include "kvm_syscalls.h"
 #include "kvm_util.h"
 #include "ucall_common.h"
 
@@ -62,15 +62,6 @@ static void *sleeping_thread(void *arg)
 	TEST_FAIL("%s: exited", __func__);
 }
 
-static inline void check_create_thread(pthread_t *thread, pthread_attr_t *attr,
-				       void *(*f)(void *), void *arg)
-{
-	int r;
-
-	r = pthread_create(thread, attr, f, arg);
-	TEST_ASSERT(r == 0, "%s: failed to create thread", __func__);
-}
-
 static void run_test(u32 run)
 {
 	struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu;
@@ -90,11 +81,10 @@ static void run_test(u32 run)
 	for (i = 0; i < VCPU_NUM; ++i) {
 		vcpu = vm_vcpu_add(vm, i, guest_code);
 
-		check_create_thread(&thread, &attr, run_vcpu, vcpu);
+		kvm_pthread_create(&thread, &attr, run_vcpu, vcpu);
 
 		for (j = 0; j < SLEEPING_THREAD_NUM; ++j)
-			check_create_thread(&thread, &attr, sleeping_thread,
-					    (void *)NULL);
+			kvm_pthread_create(&thread, &attr, sleeping_thread, (void *)NULL);
 	}
 	pr_debug("%s: [%d] all threads launched\n", __func__, run);
 	sem_post(sem);
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/include/kvm_syscalls.h b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/include/kvm_syscalls.h
index 01dca99009c2..e75be8378779 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/include/kvm_syscalls.h
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/include/kvm_syscalls.h
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 #include <sys/mman.h>
 #include <sys/syscall.h>
 
+#include <pthread.h>
 #include <sched.h>
 #include <test_util.h>
 
@@ -97,6 +98,10 @@ __KVM_SYSCALL_DEFINE(madvise, 3, void *, addr, size_t, length, int, advice);
 __KVM_SYSCALL_DEFINE(sched_getaffinity, 3, pid_t, pid, size_t, cpusetsize, cpu_set_t *, mask);
 __KVM_SYSCALL_DEFINE(sched_setaffinity, 3, pid_t, pid, size_t, cpusetsize, cpu_set_t *, mask);
 
+typedef void *(*pthread_fn_t)(void *);
+__KVM_SYSCALL_DEFINE(pthread_create, 4, pthread_t *, thread,
+		     const pthread_attr_t *, attr, pthread_fn_t, fn, void *, arg);
+
 #define kvm_free_fd(fd)		\
 do {				\
 	kvm_close(fd);		\
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/irq_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/irq_test.c
index 240f6f0fdbe4..7da5f8d75e85 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/irq_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/irq_test.c
@@ -296,7 +296,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 		kvm_sched_getaffinity(0, sizeof(available_cpus), &available_cpus);
 
 	for (i = 0; i < nr_vcpus; i++)
-		pthread_create(&vcpu_threads[i], NULL, vcpu_thread_main, vcpus[i]);
+		kvm_pthread_create(&vcpu_threads[i], NULL, vcpu_thread_main, vcpus[i]);
 
 	for (i = 0; i < nr_vcpus; i++) {
 		struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu = vcpus[i];
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/irqfd_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/irqfd_test.c
index 5d7590d01868..8b39144a2834 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/irqfd_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/irqfd_test.c
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
 	close(__eventfd);
 
-	pthread_create(&racing_thread, NULL, secondary_irqfd_juggler, vm2);
+	kvm_pthread_create(&racing_thread, NULL, secondary_irqfd_juggler, vm2);
 
 	for (i = 0; i < 10000; i++) {
 		WRITE_ONCE(__eventfd, kvm_new_eventfd());
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/kvm_page_table_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/kvm_page_table_test.c
index a910e3abb8c7..8222bdb63e49 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/kvm_page_table_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/kvm_page_table_test.c
@@ -364,8 +364,8 @@ static void run_test(enum vm_guest_mode mode, void *arg)
 	*current_stage = KVM_BEFORE_MAPPINGS;
 
 	for (i = 0; i < nr_vcpus; i++)
-		pthread_create(&vcpu_threads[i], NULL, vcpu_worker,
-			       test_args.vcpus[i]);
+		kvm_pthread_create(&vcpu_threads[i], NULL, vcpu_worker,
+				   test_args.vcpus[i]);
 
 	vcpus_complete_new_stage(*current_stage);
 	pr_info("Started all vCPUs successfully\n");
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/lib/memstress.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/lib/memstress.c
index 3599b75d97c9..0bfa623ce9b5 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/lib/memstress.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/lib/memstress.c
@@ -294,7 +294,7 @@ void memstress_start_vcpu_threads(int nr_vcpus,
 		vcpu->vcpu_idx = i;
 		WRITE_ONCE(vcpu->running, false);
 
-		pthread_create(&vcpu->thread, NULL, vcpu_thread_main, vcpu);
+		kvm_pthread_create(&vcpu->thread, NULL, vcpu_thread_main, vcpu);
 	}
 
 	for (i = 0; i < nr_vcpus; i++) {
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/lib/userfaultfd_util.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/lib/userfaultfd_util.c
index ef8d76f71f83..4b3e3158ed87 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/lib/userfaultfd_util.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/lib/userfaultfd_util.c
@@ -167,8 +167,8 @@ struct uffd_desc *uffd_setup_demand_paging(int uffd_mode, useconds_t delay,
 		uffd_desc->reader_args[i].handler = handler;
 		uffd_desc->reader_args[i].pipe = pipes[0];
 
-		pthread_create(&uffd_desc->readers[i], NULL, uffd_handler_thread_fn,
-			       &uffd_desc->reader_args[i]);
+		kvm_pthread_create(&uffd_desc->readers[i], NULL, uffd_handler_thread_fn,
+				   &uffd_desc->reader_args[i]);
 
 		PER_VCPU_DEBUG("Created uffd thread %i for HVA range [%p, %p)\n",
 			       i, hva, hva + len);
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/memslot_perf_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/memslot_perf_test.c
index 4d9ad6104a6e..eb49305db404 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/memslot_perf_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/memslot_perf_test.c
@@ -366,7 +366,7 @@ static void launch_vm(struct vm_data *data)
 {
 	pr_info_v("Launching the test VM\n");
 
-	pthread_create(&data->vcpu_thread, NULL, vcpu_worker, data);
+	kvm_pthread_create(&data->vcpu_thread, NULL, vcpu_worker, data);
 
 	/* Ensure the guest thread is spun up. */
 	wait_for_vcpu();
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/mmu_stress_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/mmu_stress_test.c
index 3d5f33a63b2b..9448498849ff 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/mmu_stress_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/mmu_stress_test.c
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ static pthread_t *spawn_workers(struct kvm_vm *vm, struct kvm_vcpu **vcpus,
 		info[i].vcpu = vcpus[i];
 		info[i].start_gpa = gpa;
 		info[i].end_gpa = gpa + nr_bytes;
-		pthread_create(&threads[i], NULL, vcpu_worker, &info[i]);
+		kvm_pthread_create(&threads[i], NULL, vcpu_worker, &info[i]);
 	}
 	return threads;
 }
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/pre_fault_memory_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/pre_fault_memory_test.c
index a0fcae3cb7a8..88287ccb9093 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/pre_fault_memory_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/pre_fault_memory_test.c
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ static void pre_fault_memory(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, u64 base_gpa, u64 offset,
 	 * Concurrently delete (and recreate) the slot to test KVM's handling
 	 * of a racing memslot deletion with prefaulting.
 	 */
-	pthread_create(&slot_worker, NULL, delete_slot_worker, &data);
+	kvm_pthread_create(&slot_worker, NULL, delete_slot_worker, &data);
 
 	while (!READ_ONCE(data.worker_ready))
 		cpu_relax();
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/rseq_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/rseq_test.c
index edcaf0fbe20c..0921b8d90d4a 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/rseq_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/rseq_test.c
@@ -239,8 +239,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	 */
 	vm = vm_create_with_one_vcpu(&vcpu, guest_code);
 
-	pthread_create(&migration_thread, NULL, migration_worker,
-		       (void *)(unsigned long)kvm_gettid());
+	kvm_pthread_create(&migration_thread, NULL, migration_worker,
+			   (void *)(unsigned long)kvm_gettid());
 
 	if (latency >= 0) {
 		/*
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/s390/memop.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/s390/memop.c
index 0244848621b3..96b32bd74009 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/s390/memop.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/s390/memop.c
@@ -678,7 +678,7 @@ static void test_cmpxchg_key_concurrent(void)
 	HOST_SYNC(t.vcpu, STAGE_SKEYS_SET);
 	prepare_mem12();
 	MOP(t.vcpu, LOGICAL, WRITE, mem1, max_block, GADDR_V(mem2));
-	pthread_create(&thread, NULL, run_guest, &t.vcpu);
+	kvm_pthread_create(&thread, NULL, run_guest, &t.vcpu);
 
 	for (int i = 0; i < cmpxchg_iter_outer; i++) {
 		do {
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/set_memory_region_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/set_memory_region_test.c
index a152ab65c657..12f5022bb164 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/set_memory_region_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/set_memory_region_test.c
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ static struct kvm_vm *spawn_vm(struct kvm_vcpu **vcpu, pthread_t *vcpu_thread,
 	hva = addr_gpa2hva(vm, MEM_REGION_GPA);
 	memset(hva, 0, 2 * 4096);
 
-	pthread_create(vcpu_thread, NULL, vcpu_worker, *vcpu);
+	kvm_pthread_create(vcpu_thread, NULL, vcpu_worker, *vcpu);
 
 	/* Ensure the guest thread is spun up. */
 	wait_for_vcpu();
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/steal_time.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/steal_time.c
index 2de87549fcc0..e8dd524a41a2 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/steal_time.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/steal_time.c
@@ -553,7 +553,7 @@ int main(int ac, char **av)
 
 		/* Steal time from the VCPU. The steal time thread has the same CPU affinity as the VCPUs. */
 		run_delay = get_run_delay();
-		pthread_create(&thread, &attr, do_steal_time, NULL);
+		kvm_pthread_create(&thread, &attr, do_steal_time, NULL);
 		do
 			sched_yield();
 		while (get_run_delay() - run_delay < MIN_RUN_DELAY_NS);
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/hyperv_ipi.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/hyperv_ipi.c
index 771535f9aad3..3cf451f3153e 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/hyperv_ipi.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/hyperv_ipi.c
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu[3];
 	gva_t hcall_page;
 	pthread_t threads[2];
-	int stage = 1, r;
+	int stage = 1;
 	struct ucall uc;
 
 	TEST_REQUIRE(kvm_has_cap(KVM_CAP_HYPERV_SEND_IPI));
@@ -272,11 +272,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	vcpu_args_set(vcpu[0], 2, hcall_page, addr_gva2gpa(vm, hcall_page));
 	vcpu_set_hv_cpuid(vcpu[0]);
 
-	r = pthread_create(&threads[0], NULL, vcpu_thread, vcpu[1]);
-	TEST_ASSERT(!r, "pthread_create failed errno=%d", r);
-
-	r = pthread_create(&threads[1], NULL, vcpu_thread, vcpu[2]);
-	TEST_ASSERT(!r, "pthread_create failed errno=%d", errno);
+	kvm_pthread_create(&threads[0], NULL, vcpu_thread, vcpu[1]);
+	kvm_pthread_create(&threads[1], NULL, vcpu_thread, vcpu[2]);
 
 	while (true) {
 		vcpu_run(vcpu[0]);
@@ -306,5 +303,5 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	cancel_join_vcpu_thread(threads[1], vcpu[2]);
 	kvm_vm_free(vm);
 
-	return r;
+	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/hyperv_tlb_flush.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/hyperv_tlb_flush.c
index b4be9a175379..87fac1968a47 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/hyperv_tlb_flush.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/hyperv_tlb_flush.c
@@ -575,7 +575,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	u64 *pte;
 	struct test_data *data;
 	struct ucall uc;
-	int stage = 1, r, i;
+	int stage = 1, i;
 
 	TEST_REQUIRE(kvm_has_cap(KVM_CAP_HYPERV_TLBFLUSH));
 
@@ -632,11 +632,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	vcpu_set_msr(vcpu[2], HV_X64_MSR_VP_INDEX, WORKER_VCPU_ID_2);
 	vcpu_set_hv_cpuid(vcpu[2]);
 
-	r = pthread_create(&threads[0], NULL, vcpu_thread, vcpu[1]);
-	TEST_ASSERT(!r, "pthread_create() failed");
-
-	r = pthread_create(&threads[1], NULL, vcpu_thread, vcpu[2]);
-	TEST_ASSERT(!r, "pthread_create() failed");
+	kvm_pthread_create(&threads[0], NULL, vcpu_thread, vcpu[1]);
+	kvm_pthread_create(&threads[1], NULL, vcpu_thread, vcpu[2]);
 
 	while (true) {
 		vcpu_run(vcpu[0]);
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/private_mem_conversions_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/private_mem_conversions_test.c
index 1d2f5d4fd45d..e419b08f1fa6 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/private_mem_conversions_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/private_mem_conversions_test.c
@@ -412,7 +412,7 @@ static void test_mem_conversions(enum vm_mem_backing_src_type src_type, u32 nr_v
 		 */
 		virt_map(vm, gpa, gpa, PER_CPU_DATA_SIZE / vm->page_size);
 
-		pthread_create(&threads[i], NULL, __test_mem_conversions, vcpus[i]);
+		kvm_pthread_create(&threads[i], NULL, __test_mem_conversions, vcpus[i]);
 	}
 
 	WRITE_ONCE(run_vcpus, true);
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/private_mem_kvm_exits_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/private_mem_kvm_exits_test.c
index 10db9fe6d906..e26524fb4b50 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/private_mem_kvm_exits_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/private_mem_kvm_exits_test.c
@@ -65,9 +65,8 @@ static void test_private_access_memslot_deleted(void)
 	/* Request to access page privately */
 	vm_mem_set_private(vm, EXITS_TEST_GPA, EXITS_TEST_SIZE);
 
-	pthread_create(&vm_thread, NULL,
-		       (void *(*)(void *))run_vcpu_get_exit_reason,
-		       (void *)vcpu);
+	kvm_pthread_create(&vm_thread, NULL,
+			   (pthread_fn_t)run_vcpu_get_exit_reason, (void *)vcpu);
 
 	vm_mem_region_delete(vm, EXITS_TEST_SLOT);
 
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/recalc_apic_map_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/recalc_apic_map_test.c
index cbc92a862ea9..13abb65620d5 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/recalc_apic_map_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/recalc_apic_map_test.c
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ int main(void)
 	for (i = 0; i < KVM_MAX_VCPUS; i++)
 		vcpu_set_msr(vcpus[i], MSR_IA32_APICBASE, LAPIC_X2APIC);
 
-	TEST_ASSERT_EQ(pthread_create(&thread, NULL, race, vcpus[0]), 0);
+	kvm_pthread_create(&thread, NULL, race, vcpus[0]);
 
 	vcpuN = vcpus[KVM_MAX_VCPUS - 1];
 	for (t = time(NULL) + TIMEOUT; time(NULL) < t;) {
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/sev_migrate_tests.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/sev_migrate_tests.c
index 42bc023d5193..16b7d830e686 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/sev_migrate_tests.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/sev_migrate_tests.c
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ static void test_sev_migrate_locking(void)
 		       sizeof(input[i].source_vms));
 
 	for (i = 0; i < NR_LOCK_TESTING_THREADS; ++i)
-		pthread_create(&pt[i], NULL, locking_test_thread, &input[i]);
+		kvm_pthread_create(&pt[i], NULL, locking_test_thread, &input[i]);
 
 	for (i = 0; i < NR_LOCK_TESTING_THREADS; ++i)
 		pthread_join(pt[i], NULL);
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/sync_regs_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/sync_regs_test.c
index 5b0c2359bbb4..f7228af7d594 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/sync_regs_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/sync_regs_test.c
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ static void race_sync_regs(struct kvm_vcpu *vcpu, void *racer)
 		    !!(run->s.regs.sregs.cr4 & X86_CR4_PAE),
 		    !!(run->s.regs.sregs.efer & EFER_LME));
 
-	TEST_ASSERT_EQ(pthread_create(&thread, NULL, racer, (void *)run), 0);
+	kvm_pthread_create(&thread, NULL, racer, (void *)run);
 
 	for (t = time(NULL) + TIMEOUT; time(NULL) < t;) {
 		/*
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/tsc_scaling_sync.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/tsc_scaling_sync.c
index 59da8d4da607..54b4b8d06d3b 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/tsc_scaling_sync.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/tsc_scaling_sync.c
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	pthread_t cpu_threads[NR_TEST_VCPUS];
 	unsigned long cpu;
 	for (cpu = 0; cpu < NR_TEST_VCPUS; cpu++)
-		pthread_create(&cpu_threads[cpu], NULL, run_vcpu, (void *)cpu);
+		kvm_pthread_create(&cpu_threads[cpu], NULL, run_vcpu, (void *)cpu);
 
 	unsigned long failures = 0;
 	for (cpu = 0; cpu < NR_TEST_VCPUS; cpu++) {
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/xapic_ipi_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/xapic_ipi_test.c
index 39ce9a9369f5..744df39e2c93 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/xapic_ipi_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/xapic_ipi_test.c
@@ -387,7 +387,6 @@ void get_cmdline_args(int argc, char *argv[], int *run_secs,
 
 int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 {
-	int r;
 	int wait_secs;
 	const int max_halter_wait = 10;
 	int run_secs = 0;
@@ -428,9 +427,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	params[1].pipis_rcvd = pipis_rcvd;
 
 	/* Start halter vCPU thread and wait for it to execute first HLT. */
-	r = pthread_create(&threads[0], NULL, vcpu_thread, &params[0]);
-	TEST_ASSERT(r == 0,
-		    "pthread_create halter failed errno=%d", errno);
+	kvm_pthread_create(&threads[0], NULL, vcpu_thread, &params[0]);
 	fprintf(stderr, "Halter vCPU thread started\n");
 
 	wait_secs = 0;
@@ -447,8 +444,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 		"Halter vCPU thread reported its APIC ID: %u after %d seconds.\n",
 		data->halter_apic_id, wait_secs);
 
-	r = pthread_create(&threads[1], NULL, vcpu_thread, &params[1]);
-	TEST_ASSERT(r == 0, "pthread_create sender failed errno=%d", errno);
+	kvm_pthread_create(&threads[1], NULL, vcpu_thread, &params[1]);
 
 	fprintf(stderr,
 		"IPI sender vCPU thread started. Letting vCPUs run for %d seconds.\n",
diff --git a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/xen_shinfo_test.c b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/xen_shinfo_test.c
index 5076f6a75455..20f518fe2450 100644
--- a/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/xen_shinfo_test.c
+++ b/tools/testing/selftests/kvm/x86/xen_shinfo_test.c
@@ -894,8 +894,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 				if (verbose)
 					printf("Testing shinfo lock corruption (KVM_XEN_HVM_EVTCHN_SEND)\n");
 
-				ret = pthread_create(&thread, NULL, &juggle_shinfo_state, (void *)vm);
-				TEST_ASSERT(ret == 0, "pthread_create() failed: %s", strerror(ret));
+				kvm_pthread_create(&thread, NULL, &juggle_shinfo_state, (void *)vm);
 
 				struct kvm_irq_routing_xen_evtchn uxe = {
 					.port = 1,