Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
perf/core: Fix WARN_ON(!ctx) in __free_event() for partial init
Move the get_ctx(child_ctx) call and the child_event->ctx assignment to
occur immediately after the child event is allocated. Ensure that
child_event->ctx is non-NULL before any subsequent error path within
inherit_event calls free_event(), satisfying the assumptions of the
cleanup code.
Details:
There's no clear Fixes tag, because this bug is a side-effect of
multiple interacting commits over time (up to 15 years old), not
a single regression.
The code initially incremented refcount then assigned context
immediately after the child_event was created. Later, an early
validity check for child_event was added before the
refcount/assignment. Even later, a WARN_ON_ONCE() cleanup check was
added, assuming event->ctx is valid if the pmu_ctx is valid.
The problem is that the WARN_ON_ONCE() could trigger after the initial
check passed but before child_event->ctx was assigned, violating its
precondition. The solution is to assign child_event->ctx right after
its initial validation. This ensures the context exists for any
subsequent checks or cleanup routines, resolving the WARN_ON_ONCE().
To resolve it, defer the refcount update and child_event->ctx assignment
directly after child_event->pmu_ctx is set but before checking if the
parent event is orphaned. The cleanup routine depends on
event->pmu_ctx being non-NULL before it verifies event->ctx is
non-NULL. This also maintains the author's original intent of passing
in child_ctx to find_get_pmu_context before its refcount/assignment.
[ mingo: Expanded the changelog from another email by Gabriel Shahrouzi. ]
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.13.12 – < 6.14, 6.12.24 – < 6.12.26, 6.14.3 – < 6.14.5 | 6.14 |
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 | 6.12.27-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.12.27-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 25.10 | linux-azure-fde | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 25.04 | linux | 6.14.0-22.22 | USN-7594-1 |
| Ubuntu 25.04 | linux-aws +3 | 6.14.0-1007.7 | USN-7594-3, USN-7594-2, USN-7594-1 |
| Ubuntu 25.04 | linux-gcp | 6.14.0-1008.8 | USN-7594-1 |
| Ubuntu 25.04 | linux-realtime | 6.14.0-1004.4 | USN-7594-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux | 6.8.0-100.100 | USN-8028-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-aws +1 | 6.8.0-1046.49 | USN-8028-5 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure | 6.8.0-1046.52 | USN-8074-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp | 6.8.0-1047.50 | USN-8031-3 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp-6.14 | 6.14.0-1011.11~24.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gke | 6.8.0-1043.48 | USN-8031-3 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gkeop | 6.8.0-1030.33 | USN-8028-5 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-ibm | 6.8.0-1044.44 | USN-8028-8 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-intel +10 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-lowlatency | 6.8.0-100.100.1 | USN-8052-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-lowlatency | 6.8.0-1046.49.1 | USN-8028-7 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oracle | 6.8.0-1043.44 | USN-8028-5 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi | 6.8.0-1047.51 | USN-8028-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-xilinx | 6.8.0-1023.24 | USN-8052-2 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-aws-6.8 +1 | 6.8.0-1046.49~22.04.1 | USN-8028-5 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-azure-6.8 | 6.8.0-1051.57~22.04.1 | USN-8126-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-gcp-6.8 | 6.8.0-1047.50~22.04.2 | USN-8031-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-hwe-6.8 | 6.8.0-100.100~22.04.1 | USN-8028-6 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-ibm-6.8 | 6.8.0-1044.44~22.04.1 | USN-8028-8 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 | 6.8.0-100.100.1~22.04.1 | USN-8028-6 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-oracle-6.8 | 6.8.0-1043.44~22.04.1 | USN-8028-5 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
Show 5 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | 6.8.0-2037.38 | USN-8028-3 |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime | 6.8.1-1041.42 | USN-8028-3 |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.14 | 6.14.0-1010.10~24.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 22.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.8 | 6.8.1-1041.42~22.04.1 | USN-8028-2 |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-aws-fips | 6.8.0-1046.49+fips1 | USN-8028-4 |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-fips | 6.8.0-1046.52+fips1 | USN-8074-2 |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-fips | 6.8.0-100.100+fips1 | USN-8028-4 |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp-fips | 6.8.0-1047.50+fips1 | USN-8031-2 |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | bpftool +14 | 6.12.29-33.102.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2025-994 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | kernel-livepatch-6.12.29-33.102 | 1.0-0.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2025-994 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 2 (CBL-Mariner) | kernel | No fix yet | — |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 9 | kernel-uek +34 | 6.12.0-101.33.4.3.el10uek | ELSA-2025-20530, ELSA-2025-20480 |
Advisories 23
- USN-8028-5 linux-aws, linux-aws-6.8, linux-gkeop, linux-nvidia, linux-nvidia-6.8, linux-oracle, linux-oracle-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8126-1 linux-azure-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8028-8 linux-ibm, linux-ibm-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8028-6 linux-hwe-6.8, linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8052-1 linux-lowlatency vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8052-2 linux-xilinx vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8074-1 linux-azure vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8074-2 linux-azure-fips vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8031-3 linux-gcp, linux-gke vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8028-4 linux-aws-fips, linux-fips vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8028-1 linux, linux-raspi vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8028-3 linux-realtime, linux-raspi-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8028-7 linux-nvidia-lowlatency vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8028-2 linux-realtime-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8031-2 linux-gcp-fips vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8031-1 linux-gcp-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- WID-SEC-2025-0991 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Sep 17, 2026
- USN-7594-2 linux-azure vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Feb 4, 2026
- USN-7594-1 linux, linux-gcp, linux-raspi, linux-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Feb 4, 2026
- USN-7594-3 linux-aws, linux-oracle vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Feb 4, 2026
- ALAS2023-2025-994 Important: kernel6.12 security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Aug 26, 2025
- ELSA-2025-20530 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Aug 18, 2025
- ELSA-2025-20480 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Jul 17, 2025