Local kernel panic via spurious perf warning
Published Jun 18, 2025 · Updated May 23, 2026
Improper perf-event handling in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to trigger a spurious kernel warning. In power_pmu_disable, any_pmc_overflown checks only active counters, so a pending interrupt from an inactive counter incorrectly reaches WARN_ON(pmi_irq_pending()). PowerPC perf activity is required; the default records a warning, while panic_on_warn converts it into a kernel panic and service interruption.
Summary
What happened
Improper perf-event handling in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to trigger a spurious kernel warning. In power_pmu_disable, any_pmc_overflown checks only active counters, so a pending interrupt from an inactive counter incorrectly reaches WARN_ON(pmi_irq_pending()). PowerPC perf activity is required; the default records a warning, while panic_on_warn converts it into a kernel panic and service interruption.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-50118
- Published
- Jun 18, 2025
- Updated
- May 23, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-674, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jun 18, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 23, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=215a90ce3754fe509efbce6b73a4bb643c7e7528
- Affected versionversion=2c9ac51b850d84ee496b0a5d832ce66d411ae552 <0a24ea26c3278216642a43291df7976a73a0a7ee
- Affected versionversion=2c9ac51b850d84ee496b0a5d832ce66d411ae552 <7e83af3dd4a3afca8f83ffde518cafd52f45b830
- Affected versionversion=2c9ac51b850d84ee496b0a5d832ce66d411ae552 <890005a7d98f7452cfe86dcfb2aeeb7df01132ce
- Affected versionversion=5.10.94 <5.10.137
- Affected versionversion=5.15.17 <5.15.61
- Affected versionversion=5.16.3 <5.17
- Affected versionversion=5.17
- Affected versionversion=ef798cd035f316a537fee8ed170c127f12407085 <875b2bf469d094754ac2ba9af91dcd529eb12bf6
- Affected versionversion=fadcafa3959281ce2d96feedece8c75c3f95f8a5 <87b1a9175f08313f40fcb6d6dc536dbe451090eb
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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