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Linux Kernel EUVDEUVD-2026-86205

| CVE-2026-93817 HIGH
2026-09-24 Linux GHSA-r45r-rr2w-7hc6
7.8
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Linux
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Gain local unprivileged shell with perf access
  2. Delivery
    Open perf event with address filters
  3. Exploit
    Race event free against RCU reader
  4. Execution
    Trigger use-after-free of addr_filter_ranges
  5. Impact
    Kernel memory corruption / crash (DoS)

Vulnerability Assessment

Exploitation Conditions

Requires local access and the ability to create perf events with address filter ranges via perf_event_open (the addr_filter_ranges structure is only allocated/used when hardware/address-filter tracing is configured). Exploitation is gated by CAP_PERFMON and the kernel.perf_event_paranoid sysctl, which on many hardened systems and container runtimes blocks unprivileged perf access entirely. Because the bug is a UAF race between event teardown and an RCU reader, triggering it reliably needs precise timing, and impact beyond a kernel crash requires additional heap manipulation not present by default.

Impact

This is a use-after-free (functionally CWE-416; NVD lists CWE as N/A) in the Linux kernel perf events core, where event::addr_filter_ranges was accessed under RCU but freed without an RCU grace period. The NVD CVSS of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) treats this as a full local privilege-escalation-class memory-corruption bug with easy exploitation, but that likely overstates real-world risk. It is a lifetime/race condition rather than an attacker-directed write primitive, and reaching addr_filter_ranges requires the ability to create perf events with address filters (perf_event_open, gated by CAP_PERFMON and the perf_event_paranoid sysctl, which is restricted in many hardened/container environments). No EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit are present in the provided data, so exploitation status is 'no public exploit identified at time of analysis.' Realistically this is crash-dominant (DoS via UAF) with a theoretical path to info leak or corruption; I assess it closer to ~5.3 (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/C:L/I:N/A:H). It is a legitimate bug to patch on kernels exposing perf to unprivileged users, but not an urgent high-priority remote threat. Note the AC:L in the NVD vector conflicts with the race-based nature of the flaw, which favors AC:H - verify against the commit.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local user with permission to call perf_event_open and configure address filters (e.g., where perf_event_paranoid is permissive) races event teardown against an RCU reader of addr_filter_ranges, dereferencing freed memory. In practice this most reliably yields a kernel crash (DoS); leveraging the UAF into information disclosure or privilege escalation would require significant additional heap-grooming and is not demonstrated. No public proof-of-concept is referenced.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 25, 2026

A use-after-free in the Linux kernel perf events core lets a local user who can create perf events with address filter ranges trigger a race between event teardown and an RCU reader, resulting in memory corruption that is most reliably observed as a kernel crash or denial of service. The bug affects the kernel up through the stable branches fixed in 6.12.111 and 6.18.53 and the mainline fix released as 7.2; systems running those or later versions are not affected. Exploitation requires local access, the ability to open perf events subject to CAP_PERFMON and the kernel.perf_event_paranoid sysctl, and precise timing because the window is a narrow UAF race, so an unprivileged attacker on a default or hardened configuration is unlikely to reach it; no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis and there is no indication of active exploitation. The NVD vector rates this 7.8, but the assessed vector (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H, roughly 5.3) is more conservative because of the high attack complexity, the privileged precondition, and the limited realistic confidentiality impact.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: upgrade to Linux 6.12.111, Linux 6.18.53, or Linux 7.2 (whichever matches your branch), or apply the corresponding backported upstream fixes identified by commits cd8dab11046c03ab07899ce3fe2aa7d1a9702cf1, 6f1853b2b9f38f1343790bae8c0601b3f7554754 and e62d4192e593630f355094adc467058a05bdc935, detailed at https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cd8dab11046c03ab07899ce3fe2aa7d1a9702cf1 and https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-93817; because most production systems run distribution kernels, confirm with the distribution vendor that the fix has been backported before considering the host remediated. If patching must be deferred, the most effective compensating control is to remove unprivileged access to the perf subsystem by setting kernel.perf_event_paranoid to 3 (or the strictest value the platform supports) and to drop CAP_PERFMON from workloads that do not need profiling - the trade-off is that all perf-based profiling, tracing and observability tooling stops working for unprivileged users, and the setting may be reset by host provisioning or cluster configuration management. In container environments, additionally deny the perf_event_open syscall via the container runtime's seccomp profile or block the perf_event_open family entirely, which prevents the vulnerable address-filter allocation path from ever being reached at the cost of breaking profiling inside those containers. Note that restricting perf_event_open is a mitigation for reachability only, not a fix: on kernels where the sysctl is permissive or the attacker holds CAP_PERFMON (for example in privileged or host-PID containers), the use-after-free remains reachable until the RCU-safe free is applied, and because the window is a tight teardown race, no reliable runtime detection signature should be assumed.

Affected VersionsENISA

Linux 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <6f1853b2b9f38f1343790bae8c0601b3f7554754
Linux patch: 6.12.111
Linux 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <e62d4192e593630f355094adc467058a05bdc935
Linux 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <cd8dab11046c03ab07899ce3fe2aa7d1a9702cf1
Linux patch: 7.2
Linux 0 <6.12.111
Linux patch: 6.18.53
Linux 0 <6.18.53

Affected Packages

euvd linux fix: 6.12.111, 6.18.53

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

The vulnerability lives in the Linux kernel perf events subsystem, specifically in the handling of event::addr_filter_ranges, the structure that holds the address ranges used by address-filter based hardware tracing (for example Intel PT and similar PMU features that accept per-event physical/virtual address filters). Address filter ranges are installed and read while the perf event is live, and readers can hold an RCU read-side critical section while dereferencing the structure; the flaw is that the structure was released with a plain free rather than an RCU-safe free, so a concurrent reader could still be traversing it after the memory was returned to the allocator. The root cause is therefore use-after-free (functionally CWE-416, although the CVE record lists CWE as N/A), with event teardown racing against an RCU reader. The correct fix is to defer reclamation until an RCU grace period has elapsed (for example via kfree_rcu / call_rcu or equivalent), which the upstream commits referenced for this CVE implement. Reaching the vulnerable code path is gated by perf_event_open with address-filter tracing configured, which in turn depends on CAP_PERFMON and the kernel.perf_event_paranoid setting; the narrow timing window and the allocator grooming needed to turn a UAF into controlled memory corruption make reliable exploitation substantially harder than the raw CVSS of the CVE suggests.

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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 5.3 MEDIUM

Local perf access needed (AV:L/PR:L), success depends on winning an RCU teardown race (AC:H); primary realistic impact is a kernel crash (A:H) with only speculative leak potential (C:L).

3.1 AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE 7.0 HIGH
AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Red Hat 7.8 HIGH

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

4
CVSS changed
Sep 25, 2026 - 05:23 NVD
7.8 (HIGH)
Patch available
Sep 24, 2026 - 17:03 EUVD
CVE Published
Sep 24, 2026 - 16:02 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)
CVE Published
Sep 24, 2026 - 16:02 cve.org
HIGH 7.8

DescriptionCVE.org

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

perf: Fix addr_filter_ranges lifetime

Lee Jia Jie reported that since event::addr_filter_ranges is used under RCU, it should be RCU freed.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A use-after-free flaw in the Linux kernel's performance-events core (CVE-2026-93817) allows a local user to corrupt kernel memory and crash the system, and it affects Linux hosts running kernel branches prior to 6.12.111 and 6.18.53 (mainline fixed in 7.2). Because exploitation requires local access, elevated performance-monitoring privileges, and precise timing, the realistic business exposure is service disruption rather than data theft, and it is concentrated on multi-tenant, shared-access, or container-hosting systems where untrusted users can run local code. Leadership should care primarily about availability risk on these hosts and about the operational cost of fleet-wide kernel upgrades, not about a broad remote compromise campaign- no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis.

Business Impact: Medium
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch. Until every host is upgraded to kernel 6.12.111, 6.18.53, or 7.2+, restrict local perf-event creation by raising kernel.perf_event_paranoid and revoking CAP_PERFMON from non-essential local users and workloads.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 98% exploitable
Prevalence
Ubiquitous
Linux kernel perf subsystem present in effectively all Linux deployments
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.1%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact
Medium

Priority Score

39
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +39
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Important
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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