# CVE-2025-38564: perf/core: Handle buffer mapping fail correctly in perf_mmap()

> A flaw in the Linux kernel's perf subsystem causes reference count leaks and accounting corruption upon mapping failure, potentially leading to denial of service or privilege escalation.

- **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:** 19 Aug 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-38564, GHSA-m482-hf2v-9c7j, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-38564

## What is CVE-2025-38564?

CVE-2025-38564 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Aug 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/core: Handle buffer mapping fail correctly in perf_mmap()

After successful allocation of a buffer or a successful attachment to an
existing buffer perf_mmap() tries to map the buffer read only into the page
table. If that fails, the already set up page table entries are zapped, but
the other perf specific side effects of that failure are not handled.  The
calling code just cleans up the VMA and does not invoke perf_mmap_close().

This leaks reference counts, corrupts user->vm accounting and also results
in an unbalanced invocation of event::event_mapped().

Cure this by moving the event::event_mapped() invocation before the
map_range() call so that on map_range() failure perf_mmap_close() can be
invoked without causing an unbalanced event::event_unmapped() call.

perf_mmap_close() undoes the reference counts and eventually frees buffers.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-38564?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-38564?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-38564 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-38564 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-2025-38564 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-38564 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Aug 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-2025-38564 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-2025-38564/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38564/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-38564
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-38564
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-38564

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-38564/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.