CVE-2025-68798

Local kernel crash via perf-event race

Published Jan 13, 2026 · Updated Jan 13, 2026

Null-pointer dereference in the Linux kernel on AMD systems allows local users to crash affected hosts through perf events. During NMI throttling, x86_pmu_stop() can clear cpuc->events[idx] while amd_pmu_enable_all() still passes that NULL slot to x86_pmu_enable_event(). The race requires local access to perf-event operations on an AMD x86 system; triggering it causes a general protection fault and system-level denial of service.

CVSS severity5.7
Medium
EPSS probability0.20%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Null-pointer dereference in the Linux kernel on AMD systems allows local users to crash affected hosts through perf events. During NMI throttling, x86_pmu_stop() can clear cpuc->events[idx] while amd_pmu_enable_all() still passes that NULL slot to x86_pmu_enable_event(). The race requires local access to perf-event operations on an AMD x86 system; triggering it causes a general protection fault and system-level denial of service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-68798
Published
Jan 13, 2026
Updated
Jan 13, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 13, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jan 13, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <43c2e5c2acaae50e99d1c20a5a46e367c442fb3b
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <49324a0c40f7e9bae1bd0362d23fc42232e14621
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <6e41d9ec8d7cc3f01b9ba785e05f0ebef8b3b37f
  4. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <866cf36bfee4fba6a492d2dcc5133f857e3446b0
  5. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <e1028fb38b328084bc683a4efb001c95d3108573

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <43c2e5c2acaae50e99d1c20a5a46e367c442fb3b; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <49324a0c40f7e9bae1bd0362d23fc42232e14621; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <6e41d9ec8d7cc3f01b9ba785e05f0ebef8b3b37f; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <866cf36bfee4fba6a492d2dcc5133f857e3446b0; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <e1028fb38b328084bc683a4efb001c95d3108573

Published CVSS scores

5.7SUSECVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo