CVE-2026-98937 perf/core: Check kernel access when kernel callchains are requested
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-98937?
CVE-2026-98937 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 23 Oct 2026.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
perf/core: Check kernel access when kernel callchains are requested
perf_event_open() currently gates perf_allow_kernel() only on !attr.exclude_kernel.
However, users can still request kernel callchain collection with attr.exclude_callchain_kernel == 0 even when attr.exclude_kernel == 1. That still requires kernel profiling privilege, but the existing check does not enforce it.
Update the permission check to call perf_allow_kernel() when either kernel sampling is requested or kernel callchains are requested.
This keeps permission checks aligned with requested data and prevents unprivileged use of kernel callchain capture.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98937?
How do I fix CVE-2026-98937?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Is CVE-2026-98937 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98937 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-110729, BELL-CVE-2026-98937, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98937, GHSA-5cg4-h7ff-5xr5, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98937.