---
id: CVE-2026-98552
title: >-
  kernel: perf/core: Fix a refcount leak in attach_perf_ctx_data()
  (CVE-2026-98552)
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Performance Counters for Linux (perf)
  subsystem. A race condition during the attachment of performance monitoring
  context data can cause the kernel to fail to update tracking flags, resulting
  in a ref…
severity: low
cvss: 2.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-911
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
  - enterprise_linux 6
published: '2026-10-18'
updated: '2026-10-20'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-20T01:30:09+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98552.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98552.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98552'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2555022'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98552'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98552'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98552.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/23250517cd475367653f1e99396967f54c6f1b7c'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5286d4eb5cd7e10d7d93c3cc596e18bc8ad80f72'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cca4980630b3c7a85f53cb43c6018184ce5d4e37'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00198
epssPercentile: 0.09499
ingestedAt: '2026-10-18T15:45:12.264Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Performance Counters for Linux (perf) subsystem. A race condition during the attachment of performance monitoring context data can cause the kernel to fail to update tracking flags, resulting in a reference count leak. A local attacker could exploit this vulnerability to prevent allocated kernel memory from being released, potentially leading to memory exhaustion and a denial of service (DoS).

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Low · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 · updated 2026-10-20 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98552.json)

**kernel: perf/core: Fix a refcount leak in attach_perf_ctx_data()** — rated Low by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-20.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

## Remediation

Out of support scope