diff --git a/cmd/tetragon-vmtests-run/conf.go b/cmd/tetragon-vmtests-run/conf.go
index e5b8ec05828..ca66788292b 100644
--- a/cmd/tetragon-vmtests-run/conf.go
+++ b/cmd/tetragon-vmtests-run/conf.go
@@ -12,24 +12,20 @@ import (
 
 // NB: we should use lvh's RunConf to avoid duplicating code
 type RunConf struct {
+	runner.RunConf
 	testImage             string
 	baseFname             string
-	kernelFname           string
 	dontRebuildImage      bool
 	useTetragonTesterInit bool
 	testerOut             string
 	qemuPrint             bool
 	justBoot              bool
 	justBuildImage        bool
-	disableKVM            bool
-	enableHVF             bool
 	btfFile               string
 	disableUnifiedCgroups bool
-	portForwards          runner.PortForwards
 	testerConf            vmtests.Conf
 	detailedResults       bool
 	keepAllLogs           bool
-	rootDev               string
 
 	filesystems []QemuFS
 }
diff --git a/cmd/tetragon-vmtests-run/main.go b/cmd/tetragon-vmtests-run/main.go
index b835ebc1330..cdc49c5ff89 100644
--- a/cmd/tetragon-vmtests-run/main.go
+++ b/cmd/tetragon-vmtests-run/main.go
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper/pkg/arch"
 	"github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper/pkg/runner"
 	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
@@ -30,7 +31,7 @@ func main() {
 			t0 := time.Now()
 
 			var err error
-			rcnf.portForwards, err = runner.ParsePortForward(ports)
+			rcnf.ForwardedPorts, err = runner.ParsePortForward(ports)
 			if err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("error parseing ports: %w", err)
 			}
@@ -84,10 +85,16 @@ func main() {
 				return err
 			}
 
-			qemuBin := "qemu-system-x86_64"
-			qemuArgs, err := buildQemuArgs(log, &rcnf)
+			rcnf.Image = rcnf.testImageFname()
+
+			qemuBin, err := arch.QemuBinary()
 			if err != nil {
-				return err
+				return fmt.Errorf("failed to get QEMU binary: %w", err)
+			}
+
+			qemuArgs, err := buildQemuArgs(log, rcnf)
+			if err != nil {
+				return fmt.Errorf("failed to build qemu args: %w", err)
 			}
 
 			if rcnf.qemuPrint {
@@ -104,6 +111,7 @@ func main() {
 				fmt.Printf("%s\n", sb.String())
 				return nil
 			}
+			fmt.Println(qemuArgs)
 
 			// if we don't need to run tests, just exec() so that user will be able to
 			// login to the VM.
@@ -144,12 +152,11 @@ func main() {
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&rcnf.baseFname, "base", "", "base image filename")
 	cmd.MarkFlagRequired("base")
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&rcnf.testImage, "name", "tetragon", "new vm (and basis for the image name). New vm image will be in the directory of the base image")
-	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&rcnf.kernelFname, "kernel", "", "kernel filename to boot with. (if empty no -kernel option will be passed to qemu)")
+	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&rcnf.KernelFname, "kernel", "", "kernel filename to boot with. (if empty no -kernel option will be passed to qemu)")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&rcnf.dontRebuildImage, "dont-rebuild-image", false, "dont rebuild image")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&rcnf.useTetragonTesterInit, "use-tetragon-init", false, "use tetragon-vmtests-init as init process in the VM")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&rcnf.qemuPrint, "qemu-cmd-print", false, "Do not run the qemu command, just print it")
-	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&rcnf.disableKVM, "qemu-disable-kvm", false, "Do not use KVM acceleration, even if /dev/kvm exists")
-	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&rcnf.enableHVF, "qemu-enable-hvf", false, "Use hvf acceleration")
+	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&rcnf.DisableKVM, "qemu-disable-kvm", false, "Do not use KVM acceleration, even if /dev/kvm exists")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&rcnf.justBoot, "just-boot", false, "Do not actually run any tests. Just setup everything and start the VM. User will be able to login to the VM.")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&rcnf.justBuildImage, "just-build-image", false, "Just build an image. Do not actually run any tests or boot the VM.")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&rcnf.testerConf.NoPowerOff, "no-poweroff", false, "Do not poweroff the VM at the end of the run")
@@ -161,9 +168,35 @@ func main() {
 	cmd.Flags().StringArrayVarP(&ports, "port", "p", nil, "Forward a port (hostport[:vmport[:tcp|udp]])")
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&rcnf.testerConf.KernelVer, "kernel-ver", "", "kenel version")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&rcnf.detailedResults, "enable-detailed-results", false, "produce detailed results")
-	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&rcnf.rootDev, "root-dev", "vda", "type of root device (hda or vda)")
+	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&rcnf.RootDev, "root-dev", "vda", "type of root device (hda or vda)")
 
 	if err := cmd.Execute(); err != nil {
 		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 }
+
+// buildQemuArgs calls lvh's runner.BuildQemuArgs and handles custom
+// configuration from vmtests
+func buildQemuArgs(log *logrus.Logger, rcnf RunConf) ([]string, error) {
+	if rcnf.KernelFname != "" {
+		if rcnf.disableUnifiedCgroups {
+			rcnf.KernelAppendArgs = append(rcnf.KernelAppendArgs, "systemd.unified_cgroup_hierarchy=0")
+		}
+		if rcnf.useTetragonTesterInit {
+			rcnf.KernelAppendArgs = append(rcnf.KernelAppendArgs, fmt.Sprintf("init=%s", TetragonTesterBin))
+		}
+	}
+	rcnf.CPU = 2
+	rcnf.Mem = "4G"
+
+	qemuArgs, err := runner.BuildQemuArgs(log, &rcnf.RunConf)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	for _, fs := range rcnf.filesystems {
+		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs, fs.qemuArgs()...)
+	}
+
+	return qemuArgs, nil
+}
diff --git a/cmd/tetragon-vmtests-run/qemu.go b/cmd/tetragon-vmtests-run/qemu.go
deleted file mode 100644
index ebfb0a566d8..00000000000
--- a/cmd/tetragon-vmtests-run/qemu.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,85 +0,0 @@
-// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
-// Copyright Authors of Tetragon
-
-package main
-
-import (
-	"fmt"
-	"os"
-	"strings"
-
-	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
-)
-
-func buildQemuArgs(log *logrus.Logger, rcnf *RunConf) ([]string, error) {
-	qemuArgs := []string{
-		// no need for all the default devices
-		"-nodefaults",
-		// no need display (-nographics seems a bit slower)
-		"-display", "none",
-		// don't reboot, just exit
-		"-no-reboot",
-		// cpus, memory
-		"-smp", "2", "-m", "4G",
-	}
-
-	if rcnf.enableHVF {
-		log.Info("HVF enabled")
-		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs, "-accel", "hvf")
-	} else if !rcnf.disableKVM {
-		// quick-and-dirty kvm detection
-		if f, err := os.OpenFile("/dev/kvm", os.O_RDWR, 0755); err == nil {
-			qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs, "-enable-kvm", "-cpu", "kvm64")
-			f.Close()
-		} else {
-			log.Infof("KVM disabled (%v)", err)
-		}
-	}
-
-	var kernelRoot string
-	switch rcnf.rootDev {
-	case "hda":
-		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs, "-hda", rcnf.testImageFname())
-		kernelRoot = "/dev/sda"
-	case "vda":
-		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs, "-drive", fmt.Sprintf("file=%s,if=virtio,index=0,media=disk", rcnf.testImageFname()))
-		kernelRoot = "/dev/vda"
-	default:
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid root device: %s", rcnf.rootDev)
-	}
-
-	if rcnf.kernelFname != "" {
-		appendArgs := []string{
-			fmt.Sprintf("root=%s", kernelRoot),
-			"console=ttyS0",
-			"earlyprintk=ttyS0",
-			"panic=-1",
-		}
-		if rcnf.disableUnifiedCgroups {
-			appendArgs = append(appendArgs, "systemd.unified_cgroup_hierarchy=0")
-		}
-		if rcnf.useTetragonTesterInit {
-			appendArgs = append(appendArgs, fmt.Sprintf("init=%s", TetragonTesterBin))
-		}
-		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs,
-			"-kernel", rcnf.kernelFname,
-			"-append", strings.Join(appendArgs, " "),
-		)
-	}
-
-	// NB: not sure what the best option is here, this is from trial-and-error
-	qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs,
-		"-serial", "mon:stdio",
-		"-device", "virtio-serial-pci",
-	)
-
-	for _, fs := range rcnf.filesystems {
-		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs, fs.qemuArgs()...)
-	}
-
-	if len(rcnf.portForwards) > 0 {
-		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs, rcnf.portForwards.QemuArgs()...)
-	}
-
-	return qemuArgs, nil
-}
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 9e95cc6c832..7c0e16fb982 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/bombsimon/logrusr/v4 v4.1.0
 	github.com/cilium/cilium v1.15.3
 	github.com/cilium/ebpf v0.14.0
-	github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper v0.0.17
+	github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper v0.0.18-0.20240412153556-e8c483732639
 	github.com/cilium/lumberjack/v2 v2.3.0
 	github.com/cilium/tetragon/api v0.0.0-00010101000000-000000000000
 	github.com/cilium/tetragon/pkg/k8s v0.0.0-00010101000000-000000000000
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 170a6080570..723e4b24f38 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -61,6 +61,10 @@ github.com/cilium/ebpf v0.14.0 h1:0PsxAjO6EjI1rcT+rkp6WcCnE0ZvfkXBYiMedJtrSUs=
 github.com/cilium/ebpf v0.14.0/go.mod h1:DHp1WyrLeiBh19Cf/tfiSMhqheEiK8fXFZ4No0P1Hso=
 github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper v0.0.17 h1:uKS/wQSPeFqgZk6fFRhnreGvhuQCnWsZvqhkF/PS/OM=
 github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper v0.0.17/go.mod h1:2q3DGb/ptNd+jnenMpx0l++PX6r85FzvaTvZG31pGAQ=
+github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper v0.0.18-0.20240412094937-f1c38b8ed8c0 h1:i84xd6IBX9I6gvVj61SvuCmg5T3cOxK3dt8uNNjfroE=
+github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper v0.0.18-0.20240412094937-f1c38b8ed8c0/go.mod h1:2q3DGb/ptNd+jnenMpx0l++PX6r85FzvaTvZG31pGAQ=
+github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper v0.0.18-0.20240412153556-e8c483732639 h1:m5weN2xOecWVYsEBFbY4He+h9IfS5yC5Bddt74+ecyM=
+github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper v0.0.18-0.20240412153556-e8c483732639/go.mod h1:2q3DGb/ptNd+jnenMpx0l++PX6r85FzvaTvZG31pGAQ=
 github.com/cilium/lumberjack/v2 v2.3.0 h1:IhVJMvPpqDYmQzC0KDhAoy7KlaRsyOsZnT97Nsa3u0o=
 github.com/cilium/lumberjack/v2 v2.3.0/go.mod h1:yfbtPGmg4i//5oEqzaMxDqSWqgfZFmMoV70Mc2k6v0A=
 github.com/cilium/proxy v0.0.0-20231031145409-f19708f3d018 h1:R/QlThqx099hS6req1k2Q87fvLSRgCEicQGate9vxO4=
diff --git a/vendor/github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper/pkg/runner/conf.go b/vendor/github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper/pkg/runner/conf.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f444bab4859
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vendor/github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper/pkg/runner/conf.go
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+// Copyright Authors of Cilium
+
+package runner
+
+import (
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+)
+
+type RunConf struct {
+	// Image filename
+	Image string
+	// kernel filename to boot with. (if empty no -kernel option will be passed to qemu)
+	KernelFname string
+	// kernel append args to add when a kernel is passed to qemu
+	KernelAppendArgs []string
+	// Do not run the qemu command, just print it
+	QemuPrint bool
+	// Do not use KVM acceleration, even if /dev/kvm exists
+	DisableKVM bool
+	// Daemonize QEMU after initializing
+	Daemonize bool
+	// Log file for virtual console output
+	ConsoleLogFile string
+
+	// Print qemu command before running it
+	Verbose bool
+
+	// Disable the network connection to the VM
+	DisableNetwork bool
+	ForwardedPorts PortForwards
+
+	Logger *logrus.Logger
+
+	HostMount string
+
+	SerialPort int
+
+	CPU int
+	Mem string
+	// Kind of CPU to use (e.g. host or kvm64)
+	CPUKind string
+
+	// RootDev is the type of device used for the root fs. Can be "hda" or "vda"
+	RootDev string
+
+	QemuMonitorPort int
+}
+
+func (rc *RunConf) testImageFname() string {
+	return rc.Image
+}
diff --git a/vendor/github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper/pkg/runner/qemu.go b/vendor/github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper/pkg/runner/qemu.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..90c4b0af775
--- /dev/null
+++ b/vendor/github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper/pkg/runner/qemu.go
@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+// Copyright Authors of Cilium
+
+package runner
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper/pkg/arch"
+	"github.com/sirupsen/logrus"
+	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
+)
+
+func BuildQemuArgs(log *logrus.Logger, rcnf *RunConf) ([]string, error) {
+	qemuArgs := []string{
+		// no need for all the default devices
+		"-nodefaults",
+		// no need display (-nographics seems a bit slower)
+		"-display", "none",
+		// don't reboot, just exit
+		"-no-reboot",
+		// cpus, memory
+		"-smp", fmt.Sprintf("%d", rcnf.CPU), "-m", rcnf.Mem,
+	}
+
+	qemuArgs = arch.AppendArchSpecificQemuArgs(qemuArgs)
+
+	// quick-and-dirty kvm detection
+	kvmEnabled := false
+	if !rcnf.DisableKVM {
+		if f, err := os.OpenFile("/dev/kvm", os.O_RDWR, 0755); err == nil {
+			qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs, "-enable-kvm")
+			f.Close()
+			kvmEnabled = true
+		} else {
+			log.Info("KVM disabled")
+		}
+	}
+
+	qemuArgs = arch.AppendCPUKind(qemuArgs, kvmEnabled, rcnf.CPUKind)
+
+	if rcnf.SerialPort != 0 {
+		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs,
+			"-serial",
+			fmt.Sprintf("telnet:localhost:%d,server,nowait", rcnf.SerialPort))
+	}
+
+	if rcnf.ConsoleLogFile != "" {
+		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs,
+			"-serial",
+			fmt.Sprintf("file:%s", rcnf.ConsoleLogFile))
+	}
+
+	var kernelRoot string
+	switch rcnf.RootDev {
+	case "hda":
+		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs, "-hda", rcnf.testImageFname())
+		kernelRoot = "/dev/sda"
+	case "vda":
+		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs, "-drive", fmt.Sprintf("file=%s,if=virtio,index=0,media=disk", rcnf.testImageFname()))
+		kernelRoot = "/dev/vda"
+	default:
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid root device: %s", rcnf.RootDev)
+	}
+
+	if rcnf.KernelFname != "" {
+		console, err := arch.Console()
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed retrieving console name: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		appendArgs := []string{
+			fmt.Sprintf("root=%s", kernelRoot),
+			fmt.Sprintf("console=%s", console),
+			"earlyprintk=ttyS0",
+			"panic=-1",
+		}
+		appendArgs = append(appendArgs, rcnf.KernelAppendArgs...)
+		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs,
+			"-kernel", rcnf.KernelFname,
+			"-append", strings.Join(appendArgs, " "),
+		)
+	}
+
+	if !rcnf.DisableNetwork {
+		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs, rcnf.ForwardedPorts.QemuArgs()...)
+	}
+
+	if !rcnf.Daemonize {
+		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs,
+			"-serial", "mon:stdio",
+			"-device", "virtio-serial-pci",
+		)
+	} else {
+		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs, "-daemonize")
+	}
+
+	if rcnf.QemuMonitorPort != 0 {
+		arg := fmt.Sprintf("tcp:localhost:%d,server,nowait", rcnf.QemuMonitorPort)
+		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs, "-monitor", arg)
+	}
+
+	if len(rcnf.HostMount) > 0 {
+		qemuArgs = append(qemuArgs,
+			"-fsdev", fmt.Sprintf("local,id=host_id,path=%s,security_model=none", rcnf.HostMount),
+			"-device", "virtio-9p-pci,fsdev=host_id,mount_tag=host_mount",
+		)
+	}
+
+	return qemuArgs, nil
+}
+
+func StartQemu(rcnf RunConf) error {
+	qemuBin, err := arch.QemuBinary()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to retrieve Qemu binary: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	qemuArgs, err := BuildQemuArgs(rcnf.Logger, &rcnf)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	if rcnf.QemuPrint || rcnf.Verbose {
+		var sb strings.Builder
+		sb.WriteString(qemuBin)
+		for _, arg := range qemuArgs {
+			sb.WriteString(" ")
+			if len(arg) > 0 && arg[0] == '-' {
+				sb.WriteString("\\\n\t")
+			}
+			sb.WriteString(arg)
+		}
+
+		fmt.Printf("%s\n", sb.String())
+		// We don't want to return early if running in verbose mode
+		if rcnf.QemuPrint {
+			return nil
+		}
+	}
+
+	qemuPath, err := exec.LookPath(qemuBin)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	return unix.Exec(qemuPath, append([]string{qemuBin}, qemuArgs...), nil)
+}
diff --git a/vendor/modules.txt b/vendor/modules.txt
index 7099c018d30..c8c0603f029 100644
--- a/vendor/modules.txt
+++ b/vendor/modules.txt
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@ github.com/cilium/ebpf/internal/unix
 github.com/cilium/ebpf/link
 github.com/cilium/ebpf/perf
 github.com/cilium/ebpf/rlimit
-# github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper v0.0.17
+# github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper v0.0.18-0.20240412153556-e8c483732639
 ## explicit; go 1.21.0
 github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper/pkg/arch
 github.com/cilium/little-vm-helper/pkg/images