Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
KVM: x86/pmu: Disable support for adaptive PEBS
Drop support for virtualizing adaptive PEBS, as KVM's implementation is
architecturally broken without an obvious/easy path forward, and because
exposing adaptive PEBS can leak host LBRs to the guest, i.e. can leak
host kernel addresses to the guest.
Bug #1 is that KVM doesn't account for the upper 32 bits of
IA32_FIXED_CTR_CTRL when (re)programming fixed counters, e.g
fixed_ctrl_field() drops the upper bits, reprogram_fixed_counters()
stores local variables as u8s and truncates the upper bits too, etc.
Bug #2 is that, because KVM _always_ sets precise_ip to a non-zero value
for PEBS events, perf will _always_ generate an adaptive record, even if
the guest requested a basic record. Note, KVM will also enable adaptive
PEBS in individual *counter*, even if adaptive PEBS isn't exposed to the
guest, but this is benign as MSR_PEBS_DATA_CFG is guaranteed to be zero,
i.e. the guest will only ever see Basic records.
Bug #3 is in perf. intel_pmu_disable_fixed() doesn't clear the upper
bits either, i.e. leaves ICL_FIXED_0_ADAPTIVE set, and
intel_pmu_enable_fixed() effectively doesn't clear ICL_FIXED_0_ADAPTIVE
either. I.e. perf _always_ enables ADAPTIVE counters, regardless of what
KVM requests.
Bug #4 is that adaptive PEBS *might* effectively bypass event filters set
by the host, as "Updated Memory Access Info Group" records information
that might be disallowed by userspace via KVM_SET_PMU_EVENT_FILTER.
Bug #5 is that KVM doesn't ensure LBR MSRs hold guest values (or at least
zeros) when entering a vCPU with adaptive PEBS, which allows the guest
to read host LBRs, i.e. host RIPs/addresses, by enabling "LBR Entries"
records.
Disable adaptive PEBS support as an immediate fix due to the severity of
the LBR leak in particular, and because fixing all of the bugs will be
non-trivial, e.g. not suitable for backporting to stable kernels.
Note! This will break live migration, but trying to make KVM play nice
with live migration would be quite complicated, wouldn't be guaranteed to
work (i.e. KVM might still kill/confuse the guest), and it's not clear
that there are any publicly available VMMs that support adaptive PEBS,
let alone live migrate VMs that support adaptive PEBS, e.g. QEMU doesn't
support PEBS in any capacity.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.0 | 6.1.88 |
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 | 6.8.9-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.8.9-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | 6.1.90-1 | DSA-5680-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux | 6.8.0-38.38 | USN-6893-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-aws | 6.8.0-1011.12 | USN-6893-3 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure | 6.8.0-1010.10 | USN-6893-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp | 6.8.0-1010.11 | USN-6893-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gke | 6.8.0-1006.9 | USN-6893-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-ibm +2 | 6.8.0-1008.8 | USN-6918-1, USN-6893-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-intel | 6.8.0-1007.14 | USN-6893-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia | 6.8.0-1009.9 | USN-6893-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi | 6.8.0-1007.7 | USN-6893-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +1 | 6.8.0-38.38.1 | USN-6893-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-aws-6.8 | 6.8.0-1011.12~22.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-azure-6.8 | 6.8.0-1010.10~22.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-6.8 | 6.8.0-1009.9~22.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-oracle-6.8 | 6.8.0-1008.8~22.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +26 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +13 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | 6.8.0-2006.6 | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime | 6.8.1-1004.4 | — |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 9 | bpftool | 7.4.0-503.11.1.el9_5 | RHSA-2024:9315 |
| RHEL 9 | rv +67 | 5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5 | RHSA-2024:9315 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-64kb +3 | 6.4.0-150600.23.7.3 | SUSE-SU-2024:2203-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-azure +1 | 6.4.0-150600.8.5.4 | SUSE-SU-2024:2135-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-150600.23.7.3.150600.12.2.7 | SUSE-SU-2024:2203-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-docs | 6.4.0-150600.23.7.4 | SUSE-SU-2024:2203-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-source | 6.4.0-150600.23.7.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2203-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-syms | 6.4.0-150600.23.7.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2203-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-syms-azure | 6.4.0-150600.8.5.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2135-1 |
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 | 6.4.0-150600.23.7.3 | SUSE-SU-2024:2203-1 |
| 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_1 | 1-150600.13.3.7 | SUSE-SU-2024:2203-1 |
| 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 +2 | 6.4.0-150600.23.7.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2203-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-64kb +5 | 6.4.0-150600.23.7.3 | SUSE-SU-2024:2203-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-azure +1 | 6.4.0-150600.8.5.4 | SUSE-SU-2024:2135-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-150600.23.7.3.150600.12.2.7 | SUSE-SU-2024:2203-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-docs | 6.4.0-150600.23.7.4 | SUSE-SU-2024:2203-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-rt +3 | 6.4.0-150600.10.5.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2973-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-source | 6.4.0-150600.23.7.2 | SUSE-SU-2024:2203-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-syms-azure | 6.4.0-150600.8.5.1 | SUSE-SU-2024:2135-1 |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | kernel-livepatch-6.1.90-99.173 | 1.0-0.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2024-695 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf +14 | 6.1.90-99.173.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2024-695 |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 9 | bpftool | 7.4.0-503.11.1.el9_5 | ELSA-2024-9315 |
| Oracle Linux 9 | rv +28 | 5.14.0-503.11.1.el9_5 | ELSA-2024-9315 |
Advisories 14
- USN-6893-1 linux, linux-azure, linux-gcp, linux-ibm, linux-intel, linux-lowlatency, linux-oem-6.8, linux-raspi vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 23, 2026
- USN-6893-2 linux-gke, linux-nvidia vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 23, 2026
- USN-6893-3 linux-aws vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 23, 2026
- USN-6918-1 linux-oracle vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 23, 2026
- RHSA-2024:9315 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 20, 2026
- WID-SEC-2024-1008 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen Denial of Service BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Oct 12, 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
- DSA-5680-1 linux - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2024:2973-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2024:2135-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- ALAS2023-2024-695 Important: kernel security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Jun 5, 2025
- SUSE-SU-2024:2203-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · May 2, 2025
- ELSA-2024-9315 Moderate: kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Nov 14, 2024