CVE-2025-38322: perf/x86/intel: Fix crash in icl_update_topdown_event()

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2025-07-10 · updated 2026-10-15

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: perf/x86/intel: Fix crash in icl_update_topdown_event() The perf_fuzzer found a hard-lockup crash on a RaptorLake machine: Oops: general protection fault, maybe for address 0xffff89aeceab400: 0000 CPU: 23 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/23 Tainted: [W]=WARN Hardware name: Dell Inc. Precision 9660/0VJ762 RIP: 0010:native_read_pmc+0x7/0x40 Code: cc e8 8d a9 01 00 48 89 03 5b cd cc cc cc cc 0f 1f ... RSP: 000:fffb03100273de8 EFLAGS: 00010046 .... Call Trace: <TASK> icl_update_topdown_event+0x165/0x190 ? ktime_get+0x38/0xd0 intel_pmu_read_event+0xf9/0x210 __perf_event_read+0xf9/0x210 CPUs 16-23 are E-core CPUs that don't support the perf metrics feature. The icl_update_topdown_event() should not be invoked on these CPUs. It's a regression of commit: f9bdf1f95339 ("perf/x86/intel: Avoid disable PMU if !cpuc->enabled in sample read") The bug introduced by that commit is that the is_topdown_event() function is mistakenly used to replace the is_topdown_count() call to check if the topdown functions for the perf metrics feature should be invoked. Fix it.

Affected products

Debian Linux: 11.0
Linux kernel: from 6.1.134 before 6.1.149; from 6.6.87 before 6.6.101; from 6.12.23 before 6.12.49; from 6.13.11 before 6.14; from 6.14.2 before 6.15.4; 6.16-rc1, 6.16-rc2 — fixed in 6.1.149, 6.12.49, 6.14, 6.15.4, 6.6.101

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.1.149, 6.12.49, 6.14, 6.15.4. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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