KVM requires your processor to support x86 virtualization extensions (Intel VT or AMD-V).

Intel VT and AMD-V are instruction set extensions that provide hardware assistance to virtual machine monitors. They enable full virtualization.

To quickly check if your processor can be used with KVM, try the following commands. You should see something if Intel VT or AMD-V extensions are enabled in your processor.

On Intel Processor:

cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep ^flags | grep vmx

On AMD Processor:

cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep ^flags | grep svm

If you are unsure, which processor is present in your system, you can try both the commands and you should see at least one command showing some information.