Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
perf: RISC-V: Remove PERF_HES_STOPPED flag checking in riscv_pmu_start()
Since commit 096b52fd2bb4 ("perf: RISC-V: throttle perf events") the
perf_sample_event_took() function was added to report time spent in
overflow interrupts. If the interrupt takes too long, the perf framework
will lower the sysctl_perf_event_sample_rate and max_samples_per_tick.
When hwc->interrupts is larger than max_samples_per_tick, the
hwc->interrupts will be set to MAX_INTERRUPTS, and events will be
throttled within the __perf_event_account_interrupt() function.
However, the RISC-V PMU driver doesn't call riscv_pmu_stop() to update the
PERF_HES_STOPPED flag after perf_event_overflow() in pmu_sbi_ovf_handler()
function to avoid throttling. When the perf framework unthrottled the event
in the timer interrupt handler, it triggers riscv_pmu_start() function
and causes a WARN_ON_ONCE() warning, as shown below:
------------[ cut here ]------------
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 240 at drivers/perf/riscv_pmu.c:184 riscv_pmu_start+0x7c/0x8e
Modules linked in:
CPU: 0 PID: 240 Comm: ls Not tainted 6.4-rc4-g19d0788e9ef2 #1
Hardware name: SiFive (DT)
epc : riscv_pmu_start+0x7c/0x8e
ra : riscv_pmu_start+0x28/0x8e
epc : ffffffff80aef864 ra : ffffffff80aef810 sp : ffff8f80004db6f0
gp : ffffffff81c83750 tp : ffffaf80069f9bc0 t0 : ffff8f80004db6c0
t1 : 0000000000000000 t2 : 000000000000001f s0 : ffff8f80004db720
s1 : ffffaf8008ca1068 a0 : 0000ffffffffffff a1 : 0000000000000000
a2 : 0000000000000001 a3 : 0000000000000870 a4 : 0000000000000000
a5 : 0000000000000000 a6 : 0000000000000840 a7 : 0000000000000030
s2 : 0000000000000000 s3 : ffffaf8005165800 s4 : ffffaf800424da00
s5 : ffffffffffffffff s6 : ffffffff81cc7590 s7 : 0000000000000000
s8 : 0000000000000006 s9 : 0000000000000001 s10: ffffaf807efbc340
s11: ffffaf807efbbf00 t3 : ffffaf8006a16028 t4 : 00000000dbfbb796
t5 : 0000000700000000 t6 : ffffaf8005269870
status: 0000000200000100 badaddr: 0000000000000000 cause: 0000000000000003
[<ffffffff80aef864>] riscv_pmu_start+0x7c/0x8e
[<ffffffff80185b56>] perf_adjust_freq_unthr_context+0x15e/0x174
[<ffffffff80188642>] perf_event_task_tick+0x88/0x9c
[<ffffffff800626a8>] scheduler_tick+0xfe/0x27c
[<ffffffff800b5640>] update_process_times+0x9a/0xba
[<ffffffff800c5bd4>] tick_sched_handle+0x32/0x66
[<ffffffff800c5e0c>] tick_sched_timer+0x64/0xb0
[<ffffffff800b5e50>] __hrtimer_run_queues+0x156/0x2f4
[<ffffffff800b6bdc>] hrtimer_interrupt+0xe2/0x1fe
[<ffffffff80acc9e8>] riscv_timer_interrupt+0x38/0x42
[<ffffffff80090a16>] handle_percpu_devid_irq+0x90/0x1d2
[<ffffffff8008a9f4>] generic_handle_domain_irq+0x28/0x36
After referring other PMU drivers like Arm, Loongarch, Csky, and Mips,
they don't call *_pmu_stop() to update with PERF_HES_STOPPED flag
after perf_event_overflow() function nor do they add PERF_HES_STOPPED
flag checking in *_pmu_start() which don't cause this warning.
Thus, it's recommended to remove this unnecessary check in
riscv_pmu_start() function to prevent this warning.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.1 | 6.1.40 |
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 | 6.4.11-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.4.11-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | 6.1.52-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-intel +9 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP7 | kernel-64kb +6 | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4057-1 |
| SLES 15 SP7 | kernel-azure +2 | 6.4.0-150700.20.18.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4132-1 |
| SLES 15 SP7 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1.150700.17.15.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4057-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-64kb +6 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4140-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-azure +2 | 6.4.0-150600.8.55.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4128-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1.150600.12.34.2 | SUSE-SU-2025:4140-1 |
Show 6 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLE Micro 6.1 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-36.1.21.13 | SUSE-SU-2025:21056-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.1 | kernel-rt +1 | 6.4.0-38.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:21064-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.1 | kernel-source +2 | 6.4.0-36.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:21056-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-36.1.21.13 | SUSE-SU-2025:21040-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | kernel-rt +1 | 6.4.0-38.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:21052-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | kernel-source +2 | 6.4.0-36.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:21040-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-default | 6.4.0-150700.53.22.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4057-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP7-RT_Update_6 | 1-150700.1.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4141-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP7_Update_6 | 1-150700.15.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4057-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4140-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6-RT_Update_17 | 1-150600.1.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4301-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6_Update_17 | 1-150600.13.5.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4140-1 |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP7 | kernel-rt +2 | 6.4.0-150700.7.22.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4141-1 |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-rt +3 | 6.4.0-150600.10.58.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4301-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | dtb-aarch64 +10 | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4140-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-azure +2 | 6.4.0-150600.8.55.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4128-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-150600.23.78.1.150600.12.34.2 | SUSE-SU-2025:4140-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-rt +3 | 6.4.0-150600.10.58.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4301-1 |
Advisories 11
- WID-SEC-2025-2194 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:4140-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21056-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:4141-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21040-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21052-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21064-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:4128-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:4132-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:4057-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:4301-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026