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Linux Kernel CVE-2026-64556

| EUVDEUVD-2026-50201 HIGH
2026-07-29 Linux GHSA-mpx2-cmqf-859j
7.8
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Linux
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Severity by source

Vendor (Linux) PRIMARY
7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI
7.8 HIGH

Local perf_event access is required (AV:L, PR:L) with no user interaction; kernel memory corruption yields high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, though reliable exploitation is harder than AC:L implies.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE
5.5 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Red Hat
7.0 HIGH
qualitative

Primary rating from Vendor (Linux).

CVSS VectorVendor: Linux

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

5
Analysis Generated
Jul 30, 2026 - 06:55 vuln.today
CVSS changed
Jul 30, 2026 - 06:37 NVD
7.8 (HIGH)
Patch available
Jul 29, 2026 - 09:01 EUVD
CVE Published
Jul 29, 2026 - 08:01 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)
CVE Published
Jul 29, 2026 - 08:01 cve.org
HIGH 7.8

DescriptionCVE.org

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

perf/core: Detach event groups during remove_on_exec

perf_event_remove_on_exec() removes events by calling perf_event_exit_event(). For top-level events, this removes the event from the context with DETACH_EXIT only.

This can leave inconsistent group state when a removed event is a group leader and the group contains siblings without remove_on_exec. If the group was active, the surviving siblings can remain active and attached to the removed leader's sibling list, but are no longer represented by a valid group leader on the PMU context active lists.

A later close of the removed leader uses DETACH_GROUP and can promote the still-active siblings from this stale group state. The next schedule-in can then add an already-linked active_list entry again, corrupting the PMU context active list.

With DEBUG_LIST enabled, this is caught as a list_add double-add in merge_sched_in().

Fix this by detaching group relationships when remove_on_exec removes an event. This preserves the existing task-exit and revoke behavior, while ensuring surviving siblings are ungrouped before the removed event leaves the context.

AnalysisAI

Local privilege escalation potential via memory corruption in the Linux kernel's perf/core subsystem, where perf_event_remove_on_exec() fails to detach group relationships when removing a group-leader event during exec. On affected kernels, a local user who can open perf events can corrupt the PMU context active list through a double list_add, undermining kernel memory integrity (CVSS 7.8, C:H/I:H/A:H). EPSS is low at 0.16% (5th percentile) with no public exploit identified at time of analysis and no CISA KEV listing.

Technical ContextAI

The flaw lives in the kernel's performance-monitoring core (kernel/events/core.c). When an event is marked remove_on_exec, perf_event_exit_event() removes a top-level event using DETACH_EXIT only, without dissolving its group. If that event is a group leader whose siblings lack remove_on_exec and the group was active, the siblings stay active and linked to the departed leader's sibling list even though no valid leader remains on the PMU active lists. A later close of the leader uses DETACH_GROUP, promoting stale active siblings; the next schedule-in then re-adds an already-linked active_list entry. The root cause is a state-management/list-integrity bug (a use-after/double-add of a list node, CWE-416/CWE-694-class linked-list corruption; the feed lists CWE as N/A), detectable as a list_add double-add in merge_sched_in() when DEBUG_LIST is enabled. Per the CPE (cpe:2.3:a:linux:linux) this affects the mainline/stable Linux kernel generally.

RemediationAI

Apply the vendor-released stable kernel updates: upgrade to at least 6.6.145, 6.12.96, or 6.18.39 (or your distribution's backported equivalent) as appropriate for your running series, then reboot; the corresponding upstream fixes are the kernel.org stable commits 4cdb1b3ab96e, 39358e856fb8, a2d5d3ee7b6e, 06ccef0434e9, and 037a3c43edfb. Where immediate patching is not possible, restrict access to perf_event_open() by setting kernel.perf_event_paranoid to 2 or higher (or 3 where supported) via sysctl to block unprivileged users from creating the perf events needed to reach the vulnerable path - the trade-off is that legitimate unprivileged profiling and observability tooling (e.g. perf, some eBPF/tracing workflows) will stop working. On multi-tenant or container hosts also ensure CAP_PERFMON/CAP_SYS_ADMIN are not granted to untrusted workloads. Track distribution advisories and NVD (nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-64556) for backport availability.

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Moderate
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.0 Affected

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CVE-2026-64556 vulnerability details – vuln.today

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