CVE-2026-23127: perf: Fix refcount warning on event->mmap_count increment

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-02-14 · updated 2026-06-17

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: perf: Fix refcount warning on event->mmap_count increment When calling refcount_inc(&event->mmap_count) inside perf_mmap_rb(), the following warning is triggered: refcount_t: addition on 0; use-after-free. WARNING: lib/refcount.c:25 PoC: struct perf_event_attr attr = {0}; int fd = syscall(__NR_perf_event_open, &attr, 0, -1, -1, 0); mmap(NULL, 0x3000, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE, MAP_SHARED, fd, 0); int victim = syscall(__NR_perf_event_open, &attr, 0, -1, fd, PERF_FLAG_FD_OUTPUT); mmap(NULL, 0x3000, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE, MAP_SHARED, victim, 0); This occurs when creating a group member event with the flag PERF_FLAG_FD_OUTPUT. The group leader should be mmap-ed and then mmap-ing the event triggers the warning. Since the event has copied the output_event in perf_event_set_output(), event->rb is set. As a result, perf_mmap_rb() calls refcount_inc(&event->mmap_count) when event->mmap_count = 0. Disallow the case when event->mmap_count = 0. This also prevents two events from updating the same user_page.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 6.18 before 6.18.8; 6.19-rc1, 6.19-rc2, 6.19-rc3, 6.19-rc4, 6.19-rc5, 6.19-rc6 — fixed in 6.18.8

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.18.8. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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