perf/core: Handle buffer mapping fail correctly in perf_mmap()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: perf/core: Handle buffer mapping fail correctly in perf_mmap() After successful allocation of a buffer or a successful attachment to an existing buffer perf_mmap() tries to map the buffer read only into the page table. If that fails, the already set up page table entries are zapped, but the other perf specific side effects of that failure are not handled. The calling code just cleans up the VMA and does not invoke perf_mmap_close(). This leaks reference counts, corrupts user->vm accounting and also results in an unbalanced invocation of event::event_mapped(). Cure this by moving the event::event_mapped() invocation before the map_range() call so that on map_range() failure perf_mmap_close() can be invoked without causing an unbalanced event::event_unmapped() call. perf_mmap_close() undoes the reference counts and eventually frees buffers.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.15.10, 6.16.1, 6.17
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-38564
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-m482-hf2v-9c7j
References
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
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Sources
- CVE-2025-38564 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-38564 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-m482-hf2v-9c7j · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-38564 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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