CVE-2026-98552
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: perf/core: Fix a refcount leak in attach_perf_ctx_data() The attach_perf_ctx_data() can race on global and !global cases. The global case is protected by global_ctx_data_rwsem and shares a single reference count using perf_ctx_data.global field. But when it races with !global case, it may miss to set the global field and result in a reference count leak. CPU1 CPU2 ---------------------------------------------------------------- attach_task_ctx_data(.global=1) attach_task_ctx_data(.global=0) cd1 = alloc_perf_ctx_data(); cd2 = alloc_perf_ctx_data(); // { .global = 0, .refcount = 1 }; try_cmpxchg(); // success, // task->perf_ctx_data = cd2 try_cmpxhg(); // fail; old = cd2 refcount_inc_not_zero(&old->refcount); // success // old.refcount = 2 free_perf_ctx_data(cd1); Then later detach_global_ctx_data() will see the data but it's not marked as global, so it won't call detach_task_ctx_data().
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
6.15
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.18.55,
7.2.9,
7.3
and their respective stable series.
References
3 totalFrequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-98552?
CVE-2026-98552 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.15 onward and has been patched in 6.18.55, 7.2.9 and 7.3. CVE-2026-98552 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-98552?
Yes. CVE-2026-98552 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.55, 7.2.9 and 7.3. If you are running Linux kernel 6.15 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-98552 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-98552 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.