Bug 2536682 (CVE-2026-93181)

Summary: CVE-2026-93181 kernel: perf/x86/intel/uncore: Fix uncore_box ref/unref ordering
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: low Docs Contact:
Priority: low    
Version: unspecifiedCC: akhatavk, aos-team-art-private, asdas, dpaolell, jdelft, jupierce, lgarciaa, mbiarnes, ppalepu, ppostler, prdhamdh, rhel-process-autobot, sghai, sidsharm, suppawar, vlaad, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
Target Release: ---   
Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's uncore performance monitoring unit. An incorrect ordering of internal function calls during CPU online and offline operations can prevent the uncore box from being properly initialized or de-initialized. This mismanagement of resources could lead to system instability or a denial of service, where the system becomes unresponsive to legitimate requests.
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-09-17 19:05:14 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

perf/x86/intel/uncore: Fix uncore_box ref/unref ordering

In uncore_event_cpu_online(), uncore_box_ref() was called before
uncore_change_context().  uncore_box_ref() gates on box->cpu >= 0,
but box->cpu is still -1 at that point because uncore_change_context()
has not run yet.  As a result, the box is never initialized on the
first CPU to come online in a die, leaving it permanently
uninitialized in the single-CPU-per-die case.

Thus, box->refcnt is one count below the true value, and in the CPU
offline path, the box will be torn down on the second-to-last CPU.

In uncore_event_cpu_offline(), uncore_box_unref() was called after
uncore_change_context(), so box->cpu is already -1 when the collector
CPU goes offline, which prevents it from tearing down the box.

Fix by swapping the call order in both paths so that
uncore_box_{ref,unref}() runs at the point where box->cpu reflects
the correct context.

Move allocate_boxes() out of uncore_box_ref() to enable this
reordering.