CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Lifecycle Timeline
4Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: perf/core: Fix refcount bug and potential UAF in perf_mmap Syzkaller reported a refcount_t: addition on 0; use-after-free warning in perf_mmap. The issue is caused by a race condition between a failing mmap() setup and a concurrent mmap() on a dependent event (e.g., using output redirection). In perf_mmap(), the ring_buffer (rb) is allocated and assigned to event->rb with the mmap_mutex held. The mutex is then released to perform map_range(). If map_range() fails, perf_mmap_close() is called to clean up. However, since the mutex was dropped, another thread attaching to this event (via inherited events or output redirection) can acquire the mutex, observe the valid event->rb pointer, and attempt to increment its reference count. If the cleanup path has already dropped the reference count to zero, this results in a use-after-free or refcount saturation warning. Fix this by extending the scope of mmap_mutex to cover the map_range() call. This ensures that the ring buffer initialization and mapping (or cleanup on failure) happens atomically effectively, preventing other threads from accessing a half-initialized or dying ring buffer.
Analysis
A race condition in the Linux kernel's perf_mmap() function creates a use-after-free vulnerability when concurrent threads attempt to access a ring buffer during failed memory mapping operations. The vulnerability affects Linux kernel versions across 6.18.17, 6.19.7, and 7.0-rc2, allowing a local attacker with standard user privileges to trigger refcount saturation warnings and potential kernel crashes via denial of service. …
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Priority Score
Vendor Status
Debian
| Release | Status | Fixed Version | Urgency |
|---|---|---|---|
| bullseye | not-affected | - | - |
| bullseye (security) | fixed | 5.10.251-1 | - |
| bookworm | not-affected | - | - |
| bookworm (security) | fixed | 6.1.164-1 | - |
| trixie | not-affected | - | - |
| trixie (security) | fixed | 6.12.74-2 | - |
| forky | vulnerable | 6.19.6-2 | - |
| sid | fixed | 6.19.8-1 | - |
| (unstable) | fixed | 6.19.8-1 | - |
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External POC / Exploit Code
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EUVD-2026-12811