Executive brief
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's performance monitoring component can cause a complete system crash (hard lockup) on certain Intel processors, such as Raptor Lake. This occurs when the system incorrectly attempts to use advanced performance metrics on processor cores that do not support them. An attacker with local access could exploit this to disrupt operations and cause a denial of service.
Technical details
A regression was introduced in the Linux kernel's perf/x86/intel component where the function is_topdown_event() was mistakenly used instead of is_topdown_count(). This causes the kernel to invoke icl_update_topdown_event() on E-core CPUs (such as those in Raptor Lake architectures) that do not support the perf metrics feature. When the kernel attempts to read the Performance Monitoring Counter (PMC) on these unsupported cores via native_read_pmc(), it triggers a general protection fault and a hard lockup. The vulnerability is reachable via local performance monitoring tools and has been patched in multiple stable kernel branches.
Affected products
- Linux Linux Kernel 6.1.134 to 6.1.149, 6.6.87 to 6.6.101, 6.12.23 to 6.12.49, 6.13.11 to 6.14, 6.14.2 to 6.15.4, 6.16-rc1, 6.16-rc2
Timeline
- 2025-06-12: disclosed: Initial report and patch submission
- 2025-06-27: patched: Patch committed to stable tree
- 2025-07-10: advisory: CVE published
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/702ea6028032d6c1fe96c2d4762a3575e3654819
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/79e2dd573116d3338507c311460da9669095c94d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a85cc69acdcb05f8cd226b8ea0778b8e2e887e6f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b0823d5fbacb1c551d793cbfe7af24e0d1fa45ed
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e97c45c770f5e56c784a46c2a96ab968d26b97d9
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-032379.html