Kernel warning via perf exec race
Published Oct 18, 2026 · Updated Oct 18, 2026
A race in Linux perf allows local users to trigger a kernel warning when pending SIGTRAP handling overlaps program execution. In kernel/events/core.c, perf_sigtrap() checks PF_EXITING rather than whether perf_event_exit_task() has replaced the context task with TASK_TOMBSTONE, so exec processing leaves the guard ineffective. Reachability requires access to perf events and the pending-task race during begin_new_exec(); upstream documents a warning, not privilege escalation or a demonstrated service crash.
Summary
What happened
A race in Linux perf allows local users to trigger a kernel warning when pending SIGTRAP handling overlaps program execution. In kernel/events/core.c, perf_sigtrap() checks PF_EXITING rather than whether perf_event_exit_task() has replaced the context task with TASK_TOMBSTONE, so exec processing leaves the guard ineffective. Reachability requires access to perf events and the pending-task race during begin_new_exec(); upstream documents a warning, not privilege escalation or a demonstrated service crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98790
- Published
- Oct 18, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 18, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 18, 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=5.13
- Affected versionversion=97ba62b278674293762c3d91f724f1bb922f04e0 <524063fea29f8a841e49927ea7a8085194ad3ec2
- Affected versionversion=97ba62b278674293762c3d91f724f1bb922f04e0 <672b8a9ce8f51b991481dfde26fba5cc4340a91a
- Affected versionversion=97ba62b278674293762c3d91f724f1bb922f04e0 <81e61e3f8befa1bae3ec8e779d8ada5e5e362c21
- Affected versionversion=97ba62b278674293762c3d91f724f1bb922f04e0 <ffb684f2aa141eeb0caa6308422e7e05d1ded7c4
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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