CVE-2011-2918

Description

The Performance Events subsystem in the Linux kernel before 3.1 does not properly handle event overflows associated with PERF_COUNT_SW_CPU_CLOCK events, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (system hang) via a crafted application.

Fixed in Linux distributions

Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.

Debian

Security tracker ↗

Release	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
Debian 6.0	linux-2.6	2.6.32-35squeeze1	DSA-2303-1

Red Hat

Security tracker ↗

Release	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
RHEL 6	perf +14	2.6.32-131.17.1.el6	RHSA-2011:1350

Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)

Release	Package	Fixed in	Advisory
Red Hat MRG 2	kernel-rt +10	3.0.18-rt34.53.el6rt	RHSA-2012:0333

Public exploits

Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.

Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.

Exploit-DB 1

Linux Kernel 3.0.0 - 'perf_count_sw_cpu_clock' event Denial of Service EDB-17769 · dos · Sep 1, 2011

Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.

Advisories 3

RHSA-2012:0333 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel-rt security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
RHSA-2011:1350 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security, bug fix, and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
DSA-2303-1 linux-2.6 - several issues Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026

The Performance Events subsystem in the Linux kernel before 3.1 does not properly handle event overflows associated with PERF_COUNT_SW_CPU_…