All vulnerabilities
CVE-2026-97920

Linux: tracing: Keep the entry count when the histogram stats allocation fails

Linux LinuxOperating systems
CVSS
NoneNot scored
ExploitationNo known exploitationNot in CISA KEV, which does not prove it is unexploitedCISA KEV
Exploit odds (EPSS)0.21%Chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 10% of CVEs. Scored 23 Oct 2026FIRST EPSS
Fixed in89c978d67ad01ce28223944cc58e95feea177b35Also 9bd8321f5370295d1ae96dd17d43be3c9edd441b, 17e87ce55f877efff1b08fe509e8bf91378cbbc9 and 2 moreCVE List
Published25 Sep 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026CVE List

What fixes it

  • 89c978d67ad01ce28223944cc58e95feea177b35LinuxCVE List
  • 9bd8321f5370295d1ae96dd17d43be3c9edd441bLinuxCVE List
  • 17e87ce55f877efff1b08fe509e8bf91378cbbc9LinuxCVE List
  • 06f5634ec5584954177f9a22e36b3bfb398a971bLinuxCVE List
  • 6.1.189LinuxCVE List

A fixed version on one release line is not the upgrade target for every line. Check your exact version and any vendor backports.

Description

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

tracing: Keep the entry count when the histogram stats allocation fails

print_entries() uses n_entries both as the number of sort entries and as its own return value, so the -ENOMEM it stores when the stats allocation fails overwrites the count that the cleanup still needs:

n_entries = tracing_map_sort_entries(map, ...); if (n_entries < 0) return n_entries; ... if (!stats) { n_entries = -ENOMEM; goto out; } ... out: tracing_map_destroy_sort_entries(sort_entries, n_entries);

tracing_map_destroy_sort_entries() takes an unsigned int and loops up to it, so -ENOMEM arrives as 4294967284. It walks an array of at most map->max_elts pointers and calls destroy_sort_entry(), which dereferences and frees, on whatever lies past the end.

Reading the hist file of a trigger with a .percent value, with that allocation forced to fail:

BUG: KASAN: vmalloc-out-of-bounds in tracing_map_destroy_sort_entries+0xa0/0xb0 Read of size 8 at addr ffffc90000045000 by task init/1 tracing_map_destroy_sort_entries+0xa0/0xb0 hist_show+0x6f7/0x1df0 seq_read_iter+0x2b8/0x1190 vfs_read+0x176/0xa40 The buggy address belongs to a 4-page vmalloc region starting at ffffc90000041000 allocated at tracing_map_sort_entries+0x5c/0xd50

A few pages further the fault is fatal. The registers at the oops confirm the bound: the loop's end pointer less the array start, over the pointer size, is 4294967284.

Return the error in a separate variable and leave n_entries holding the count, the way tracing_map_sort_entries() does on its own error path.

The stats block is only entered for a value carrying .percent or .graph, which __create_val_field() has rejected since v6.3, so this cannot be reached in mainline as it stands. It becomes reachable again with "tracing: hist: let values keep the percent and graph modifiers", so it should be applied first.

Text from CVE List

Affected versions 15

  • Linuxaffected: 93454d1a306ea975294b861d32ffa1e44b20c733 before 89c978d67ad01ce28223944cc58e95feea177b35CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: abaa5258ce5e5887a9de049f50a85dc023391a1c before fe05eeed27128e17d38dbc0af02e4470bcecda89CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: abaa5258ce5e5887a9de049f50a85dc023391a1c before 9bd8321f5370295d1ae96dd17d43be3c9edd441bCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: abaa5258ce5e5887a9de049f50a85dc023391a1c before c80b2a8067d58ff7d268ceef781c68b37a16c321CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: abaa5258ce5e5887a9de049f50a85dc023391a1c before 17e87ce55f877efff1b08fe509e8bf91378cbbc9CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: abaa5258ce5e5887a9de049f50a85dc023391a1c before 06f5634ec5584954177f9a22e36b3bfb398a971bCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 6.1.23 before 6.1.189CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 6.2CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: all versions before 6.2CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.1.189 through 6.1.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.6.158 through 6.6.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.12.111 through 6.12.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.18.53 through 6.18.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 7.2.7 through 7.2.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 7.3CVE List

References 6