# CVE-2024-26796: drivers: perf: ctr_get_width function for legacy is not defined

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel RISC-V PMU driver causes a system crash when using perf with specific legacy configurations.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 4 Apr 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-26796, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-26796, GHSA-x4pp-356g-v2qr, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-26796

## What is CVE-2024-26796?

CVE-2024-26796 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Apr 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

drivers: perf: ctr_get_width function for legacy is not defined

With parameters CONFIG_RISCV_PMU_LEGACY=y and CONFIG_RISCV_PMU_SBI=n
linux kernel crashes when you try perf record:

$ perf record ls
[ 46.749286] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000000
[ 46.750199] Oops [#1]
[ 46.750342] Modules linked in:
[ 46.750608] CPU: 0 PID: 107 Comm: perf-exec Not tainted 6.6.0 #2
[ 46.750906] Hardware name: riscv-virtio,qemu (DT)
[ 46.751184] epc : 0x0
[ 46.751430] ra : arch_perf_update_userpage+0x54/0x13e
[ 46.751680] epc : 0000000000000000 ra : ffffffff8072ee52 sp : ff2000000022b8f0
[ 46.751958] gp : ffffffff81505988 tp : ff6000000290d400 t0 : ff2000000022b9c0
[ 46.752229] t1 : 0000000000000001 t2 : 0000000000000003 s0 : ff2000000022b930
[ 46.752451] s1 : ff600000028fb000 a0 : 0000000000000000 a1 : ff600000028fb000
[ 46.752673] a2 : 0000000ae2751268 a3 : 00000000004fb708 a4 : 0000000000000004
[ 46.752895] a5 : 0000000000000000 a6 : 000000000017ffe3 a7 : 00000000000000d2
[ 46.753117] s2 : ff600000028fb000 s3 : 0000000ae2751268 s4 : 0000000000000000
[ 46.753338] s5 : ffffffff8153e290 s6 : ff600000863b9000 s7 : ff60000002961078
[ 46.753562] s8 : ff60000002961048 s9 : ff60000002961058 s10: 0000000000000001
[ 46.753783] s11: 0000000000000018 t3 : ffffffffffffffff t4 : ffffffffffffffff
[ 46.754005] t5 : ff6000000292270c t6 : ff2000000022bb30
[ 46.754179] status: 0000000200000100 badaddr: 0000000000000000 cause: 000000000000000c
[ 46.754653] Code: Unable to access instruction at 0xffffffffffffffec.
[ 46.754939] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---
[ 46.755131] note: perf-exec[107] exited with irqs disabled
[ 46.755546] note: perf-exec[107] exited with preempt_count 4

This happens because in the legacy case the ctr_get_width function was not
defined, but it is used in arch_perf_update_userpage.

Also remove extra check in riscv_pmu_ctr_get_width_mask

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-26796?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-26796?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-26796 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-26796 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-26796 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-26796 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Apr 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-26796 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-26796/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-26796/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-26796
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-26796
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-26796

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-26796/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.