# CVE-2026-80602: perf/x86/amd/lbr: Fix kernel address leakage

> Local attackers can leak kernel memory addresses via AMD LBR branch records, bypassing user-only sampling restrictions.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **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:** 28 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 28 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-80602, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-80602, GHSA-p9w6-rgxx-9xh3, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-80602

## What is CVE-2026-80602?

CVE-2026-80602 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 28 Aug 2026. 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/amd/lbr: Fix kernel address leakage

A user-only branch stack can contain branches that originate from
the kernel. As a result, kernel addresses are exposed to user space
even when PERF_SAMPLE_BRANCH_USER is requested. On AMD processors
supporting X86_FEATURE_AMD_LBR_V2, perf can still report SYSRET/ERET
entries for which the branch-from addresses are in the kernel.

E.g.

  $ perf record -e cycles -o - -j any,save_type,u -- \
        perf bench syscall basic --loop 1000 | \
        perf script -i - -F brstack|tr ' ' '\n'| \
        grep -E '0x[89a-f][0-9a-f]{15}'

  ...
  0xffffffff81001268/0x717a90a38f1a/M/-/-/0/ERET/NON_SPEC_CORRECT_PATH
  0xffffffff81001268/0x717a90a39157/M/-/-/0/ERET/NON_SPEC_CORRECT_PATH
  0xffffffff81001268/0x717a90a2c628/M/-/-/0/ERET/NON_SPEC_CORRECT_PATH
  0xffffffff81001268/0x717a90a41b60/M/-/-/0/ERET/NON_SPEC_CORRECT_PATH
  0xffffffff81001268/0x717a90a260db/M/-/-/0/ERET/NON_SPEC_CORRECT_PATH
  0xffffffff81001268/0x717a90a260db/M/-/-/0/ERET/NON_SPEC_CORRECT_PATH
  0xffffffff81001268/0x717a8bef1c30/M/-/-/0/ERET/NON_SPEC_CORRECT_PATH
  0xffffffff81001268/0x717a8e4d3c90/M/-/-/0/ERET/NON_SPEC_CORRECT_PATH
  ...

The reason is that the hardware filter only considers the privilege
level applicable to the branch target. Extend software filtering to
also validate the branch-from addresses against br_sel, so that any
branch record whose branch-from address is in the kernel is dropped
when PERF_SAMPLE_BRANCH_USER is requested.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-80602?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-80602?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-80602 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-80602 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-80602 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-80602 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 28 Aug 2026. 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-2026-80602 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: 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-2026-80602/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80602/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-80602
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80602
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-80602

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80602/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.