CVE-2026-74637: Linux kernel · perf/core: Fix group leader use-after-free after sibling detach
Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High : upgrade to 6.8.0-1036.39 soon.
Data as of 28 Oct 2026, 01:00 UTC
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 6.8.0-1036.39
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 22 Aug 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
Upgrade the Ubuntu linux-nvidia-tegra package to 6.8.0-1036.39.
Patches and advisories
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fdepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcppkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gkepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gke?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: perf/core: Fix group leader use-after-free after sibling detach perf_group_detach() handles leader and sibling detach differently. When the group leader is detached, all siblings are promoted to singleton events and their group_leader pointer is reset to themselves. When a sibling is detached, it is removed from the leader's sibling_list, but its group_leader pointer is left pointing at the old leader. That is harmless when the sibling is being closed and freed immediately, as in the DETACH_DEAD path. It is not safe when the sibling is detached but kept alive, such as during CPU hotplug with DETACH_GROUP. In that case the sibling is removed from the context, while its file descriptor can still keep it alive. A typical failing sequence is: - A group contains leader L and sibling S. - CPU hot-unplug detaches S with DETACH_GROUP, removing it from L->sibling_list but leaving S->group_leader == L. - L is later closed and freed. - A PERF_IOC_FLAG_GROUP ioctl on S follows S->group_leader and dereferences the freed leader. This was reproduced by running the perf event fuzzer, CPU hotplug, and a stress workload concurrently: Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address 006b6b6b6b6b6cdb CPU: 2 PID: 12489 Comm: perf_fuzzer 6.18.7 PREEMPT pc : perf_ioctl+0x34c/0xc68 x20: ffffff89a3fa2c70 x8 : 6b6b6b6b6b6b6b6b Code: 943c4a0e 340047a0 f9404a94 f9411e88 (f940b908) Call trace: perf_ioctl+0x34c/0xc68 (P) __arm64_sys_ioctl+0xa0/0xf4 invoke_syscall+0x58/0xe4 el0_svc_common+0xa8/0xdc do_el0_svc+0x1c/0x28 el0_svc+0x40/0xc0 el0t_64_sync_handler+0x68/0xdc el0t_64_sync+0x1c4/0x1c8 The fault happened in perf_ioctl(), where perf_event_for_each() follows the stale group_leader pointer and perf_event_for_each_child() then dereferences the freed leader's context. Fix the use-after-free by promoting the detached sibling to a singleton. Also fix __event_disable() cgroup accounting and event state change.
References
- ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-74637 (opens in a new tab)
- cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74637 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/80c6054a4c40a0ffad82acef9f9a0dee108d152a (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/f8a07021679aadfb6d63b209207ccc41f26982d1 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/42c5ca1f0a288a52878bd72a5595b08261057438 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e92e03984364d93e0d5b0acd81c95eca773f034 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/a979a642402d0b1f856c7a729b4cb2d92de4cf2f (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/1e7abfeb23c12bf46f6457e4a3e1a1a300d50619 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b42948f9e0d1ea4dbd5742ce1dfc7688de5d4a35 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/8f867c0e8da4c2303d91adf45acb6b1820966c27 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8886-1 (opens in a new tab)