# CVE-2025-38322: perf/x86/intel: Fix crash in icl_update_topdown_event()

> A local attacker can trigger a kernel crash on Intel RaptorLake systems by using perf tools on E-cores, causing a denial of service.

- **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:** 10 Jul 2025
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-38322, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-38322, GHSA-43x8-vph3-w4wc, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2025-38322, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-38322, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-38322, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38322

## What is CVE-2025-38322?

CVE-2025-38322 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 10 Jul 2025. 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:

perf/x86/intel: Fix crash in icl_update_topdown_event()

The perf_fuzzer found a hard-lockup crash on a RaptorLake machine:

  Oops: general protection fault, maybe for address 0xffff89aeceab400: 0000
  CPU: 23 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/23
  Tainted: [W]=WARN
  Hardware name: Dell Inc. Precision 9660/0VJ762
  RIP: 0010:native_read_pmc+0x7/0x40
  Code: cc e8 8d a9 01 00 48 89 03 5b cd cc cc cc cc 0f 1f ...
  RSP: 000:fffb03100273de8 EFLAGS: 00010046
  ....
  Call Trace:
    <TASK>
    icl_update_topdown_event+0x165/0x190
    ? ktime_get+0x38/0xd0
    intel_pmu_read_event+0xf9/0x210
    __perf_event_read+0xf9/0x210

CPUs 16-23 are E-core CPUs that don't support the perf metrics feature.
The icl_update_topdown_event() should not be invoked on these CPUs.

It's a regression of commit:

  f9bdf1f95339 ("perf/x86/intel: Avoid disable PMU if !cpuc->enabled in sample read")

The bug introduced by that commit is that the is_topdown_event() function
is mistakenly used to replace the is_topdown_count() call to check if the
topdown functions for the perf metrics feature should be invoked.

Fix it.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38322?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38322?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38322 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38322 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
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- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-38322 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38322 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 10 Jul 2025. 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-2025-38322 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. 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-2025-38322/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38322/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38322
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38322
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38322

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38322/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.