Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tracing: Have trace_event_file have ref counters
The following can crash the kernel:
# cd /sys/kernel/tracing
# echo 'p:sched schedule' > kprobe_events
# exec 5>>events/kprobes/sched/enable
# > kprobe_events
# exec 5>&-
The above commands:
1. Change directory to the tracefs directory
2. Create a kprobe event (doesn't matter what one)
3. Open bash file descriptor 5 on the enable file of the kprobe event
4. Delete the kprobe event (removes the files too)
5. Close the bash file descriptor 5
The above causes a crash!
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000028
#PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode
#PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page
PGD 0 P4D 0
Oops: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP PTI
CPU: 6 PID: 877 Comm: bash Not tainted 6.5.0-rc4-test-00008-g2c6b6b1029d4-dirty #186
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.2-debian-1.16.2-1 04/01/2014
RIP: 0010:tracing_release_file_tr+0xc/0x50
What happens here is that the kprobe event creates a trace_event_file
"file" descriptor that represents the file in tracefs to the event. It
maintains state of the event (is it enabled for the given instance?).
Opening the "enable" file gets a reference to the event "file" descriptor
via the open file descriptor. When the kprobe event is deleted, the file is
also deleted from the tracefs system which also frees the event "file"
descriptor.
But as the tracefs file is still opened by user space, it will not be
totally removed until the final dput() is called on it. But this is not
true with the event "file" descriptor that is already freed. If the user
does a write to or simply closes the file descriptor it will reference the
event "file" descriptor that was just freed, causing a use-after-free bug.
To solve this, add a ref count to the event "file" descriptor as well as a
new flag called "FREED". The "file" will not be freed until the last
reference is released. But the FREE flag will be set when the event is
removed to prevent any more modifications to that event from happening,
even if there's still a reference to the event "file" descriptor.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.4.258 – < 5.4.262, 5.10.198 – < 5.10.202, 5.15.134 – < 5.15.140, 6.1.55 – < 6.1.64, 6.5.5 – < 6.5.13, 6.6 | 5.4.262 |
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 14 | linux | 6.6.8-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.6.8-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | 6.1.64-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Nvidia-BlueField 24.04 LTS | linux-bluefield | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Nvidia-BlueField 22.04 LTS | linux-bluefield | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.10 | linux +8 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | linux +8 | No fix yet | — |
Show 12 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux +53 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux +59 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +13 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 22.04 LTS | linux-realtime +2 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 22.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 20.04 LTS | linux-fips +3 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | linux +21 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | linux-aws-5.4 +6 | No fix yet | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-64kb | 6.4.0-150600.23.14.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2571-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-azure +1 | 6.4.0-150600.8.8.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2896-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-150600.23.14.2.150600.12.4.3 | SUSE-SU-2024:2571-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-docs +5 | 6.4.0-150600.23.14.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2571-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-syms-azure | 6.4.0-150600.8.8.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2896-1 |
Show 3 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLE Micro 6.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-17.1.1.51 | SUSE-SU-2025:20008-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | kernel-rt +1 | 6.4.0-9.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:20028-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | kernel-source +2 | 6.4.0-18.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:20008-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 6.4.0-150600.23.14.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2571-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6-RT_Update_1 | 1-150600.1.5.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2973-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6_Update_2 | 1-150600.13.3.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2571-1 |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-rt +3 | 6.4.0-150600.10.5.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2973-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | dtb-aarch64 +1 | 6.4.0-150600.23.14.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2571-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-azure +1 | 6.4.0-150600.8.8.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2896-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-150600.23.14.2.150600.12.4.3 | SUSE-SU-2024:2571-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-docs +8 | 6.4.0-150600.23.14.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2571-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-rt +3 | 6.4.0-150600.10.5.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2973-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-syms-azure | 6.4.0-150600.8.8.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2896-1 |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | kernel-livepatch-6.1.66-91.160 | 1.0-0.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2023-461 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf +13 | 6.1.66-91.160.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2023-461 |
Advisories 9
- WID-SEC-2024-1197 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen Denial of Service und unspezifische Angriffe BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 9, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:20008-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:20028-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- ICSA-25-226-15 Siemens SINEC OS CISA ICS & IT advisories · Feb 25, 2026
- SSA-613116 SSA-613116: Multiple Vulnerabilities in Third-Party Components in SINEC OS before V3.1 Siemens ProductCERT · Feb 24, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2024:2973-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2024:2896-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- ALAS2023-2023-461 Important: kernel security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Oct 18, 2025
- SUSE-SU-2024:2571-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 2, 2025
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/961c4511c7578d6b8f39118be919016ec3db1c1e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a98172e36e5f1b3d29ad71fade2d611cfcc2fe6f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cbc7c29dff0fa18162f2a3889d82eeefd67305e0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2fa74d29fc1899c237d51bf9a6e132ea5c488976
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2c9de867ca285c397cd71af703763fe416265706
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9034c87d61be8cff989017740a91701ac8195a1d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bb32500fb9b78215e4ef6ee8b4345c5f5d7eafb4