{"cve":"CVE-2025-37878","nvd":{"published":"2025-05-09T07:16:09.020","modified":"2026-06-17T09:15:37.220","status":"Modified","description":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nperf/core: Fix WARN_ON(!ctx) in __free_event() for partial init\n\nMove the get_ctx(child_ctx) call and the child_event->ctx assignment to\noccur immediately after the child event is allocated. Ensure that\nchild_event->ctx is non-NULL before any subsequent error path within\ninherit_event calls free_event(), satisfying the assumptions of the\ncleanup code.\n\nDetails:\n\nThere's no clear Fixes tag, because this bug is a side-effect of\nmultiple interacting commits over time (up to 15 years old), not\na single regression.\n\nThe code initially incremented refcount then assigned context\nimmediately after the child_event was created. Later, an early\nvalidity check for child_event was added before the\nrefcount/assignment. Even later, a WARN_ON_ONCE() cleanup check was\nadded, assuming event->ctx is valid if the pmu_ctx is valid.\nThe problem is that the WARN_ON_ONCE() could trigger after the initial\ncheck passed but before child_event->ctx was assigned, violating its\nprecondition. The solution is to assign child_event->ctx right after\nits initial validation. This ensures the context exists for any\nsubsequent checks or cleanup routines, resolving the WARN_ON_ONCE().\n\nTo resolve it, defer the refcount update and child_event->ctx assignment\ndirectly after child_event->pmu_ctx is set but before checking if the\nparent event is orphaned. The cleanup routine depends on\nevent->pmu_ctx being non-NULL before it verifies event->ctx is\nnon-NULL. This also maintains the author's original intent of passing\nin child_ctx to find_get_pmu_context before its refcount/assignment.\n\n[ mingo: Expanded the changelog from another email by Gabriel Shahrouzi. ]","cvss_v4":null,"cvss_v3":{"version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","score":5.5},"cwes":["CWE-617"],"references":["https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0ba3a4ab76fd3367b9cb680cad70182c896c795c","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/90dc6c1e3b200812da8d0aa030e1b7fda8226d0e","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cb56cd11feabf99e08bc18960700a53322ffcea7"],"products":["linux:linux_kernel"],"source":"nvd","synced_at":"2026-10-19T22:01:22.920403922+00:00"},"epss":{"cve":"CVE-2025-37878","score":0.00276,"percentile":0.20034,"date":"2026-10-31"},"kev":null,"osv":[],"attribution":["This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.","EPSS scores: FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System, https://www.first.org/epss","Known exploited vulnerabilities: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","Package advisories: OSV (https://osv.dev), from the GitHub Advisory Database, PyPA, Go, RustSec and other ecosystem databases, under CC-BY 4.0 or CC0","CVE records: the CVE Program's CVE List (https://www.cve.org), under its terms of use (https://www.cve.org/Legal/TermsOfUse). CVE is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation; this product is not affiliated with the CVE Program."]}