CVE-2026-23248

perf/core: Fix refcount bug and potential UAF in perf_mmap

CVE-2026-23248 is fixed in 36 products on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23248, released March 18, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.

High
CVSS
7.8
Moderate
Exploitation
None reported
No vendor assessment
CISA KEV
Not listed
Not in the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
EPSS
0.0013
2nd percentile

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: perf/core: Fix refcount bug and potential UAF in perf_mmap Syzkaller reported a refcount_t: addition on 0; use-after-free warning in perf_mmap. The issue is caused by a race condition between a failing mmap() setup and a concurrent mmap() on a dependent event (e.g., using output redirection). In perf_mmap(), the ring_buffer (rb) is allocated and assigned to event->rb with the mmap_mutex held. The mutex is then released to perform map_range(). If map_range() fails, perf_mmap_close() is called to clean up. However, since the mutex was dropped, another thread attaching to this event (via inherited events or output redirection) can acquire the mutex, observe the valid event->rb pointer, and attempt to increment its reference count. If the cleanup path has already dropped the reference count to zero, this results in a use-after-free or refcount saturation warning. Fix this by extending the scope of mmap_mutex to cover the map_range() call. This ensures that the ring buffer initialization and mapping (or cleanup on failure) happens atomically effectively, preventing other threads from accessing a half-initialized or dying ring buffer.

Where it's fixed

ProductFixed inFixReleased
Linux
bpftool6.18 · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
bpftool6.18-debuginfo · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
dtb-aarch64 · opensuse-leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21388-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-64kb · opensuse-leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21388-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-64kb · sles 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 SUSE-SU-2026:22835-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-azure · opensuse-leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21388-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-azure · sles 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 SUSE-SU-2026:22835-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-default · opensuse-leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21388-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-default · sles 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 SUSE-SU-2026:22835-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-default-base · opensuse-leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1.160000.2.17 OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21388-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-default-base · sles 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1.160000.2.17 SUSE-SU-2026:22835-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-docs · opensuse-leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21388-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-docs · sles 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 SUSE-SU-2026:22835-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-kvmsmall · opensuse-leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21388-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-kvmsmall · sles 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 SUSE-SU-2026:22835-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-livepatch-6.18.20-20.229 · amzn 2023 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
kernel-obs-build · opensuse-leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21388-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-obs-qa · opensuse-leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21388-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-obs-qa · sles 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 SUSE-SU-2026:22835-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-rt · opensuse-leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21388-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-source · opensuse-leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21388-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-source · sles 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 SUSE-SU-2026:22835-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-syms · opensuse-leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21388-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-syms · sles 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 SUSE-SU-2026:22835-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-zfcpdump · opensuse-leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21388-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel-zfcpdump · sles 16.0 6.12.0-160000.36.1 SUSE-SU-2026:22835-1 Jul 21, 2026
kernel6.18 · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
kernel6.18-debuginfo · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
kernel6.18-debuginfo-common-aarch64 · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
kernel6.18-debuginfo-common-x86_64 · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
kernel6.18-devel · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
kernel6.18-headers · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
kernel6.18-libbpf · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
kernel6.18-libbpf-debuginfo · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
kernel6.18-libbpf-devel · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
kernel6.18-libbpf-static · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
kernel6.18-modules-extra · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
kernel6.18-modules-extra-common · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
kernel6.18-tools · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
kernel6.18-tools-debuginfo · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
kernel6.18-tools-devel · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
linux · Debian 14 6.19.8-1 DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23248 Mar 18, 2026
perf6.18 · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
perf6.18-debuginfo · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
python3-perf6.18 · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026
python3-perf6.18-debuginfo · amzn 2023 1:6.18.20-20.229.amzn2023 ALAS2023-2026-1596 Apr 27, 2026

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