High · published September 12, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tracing: Fix use-after-free with same-name named triggers
When two hist triggers on different events are registered with the same
name=, the second one reuses the first as named_data. Both are added to
tr->hist_vars by save_hist_vars() during event_hist_trigger_parse(),
because save_hist_vars() is called before event_trigger_register() while
the named reuse is only detected later, in hist_register_trigger().
In the named-data branch hist_register_trigger() then frees the second
histogram's hist_data via destroy_hist_data(), but never removes its
tr->hist_vars list entry, leaving a dangling pointer and leaking the
trace_array reference it holds.
A later hist trigger that references a variable makes find_var_file()
walk tr->hist_vars and dereference the freed hist_data. The bug is
reproducible from userspace by writing three hist triggers to tracefs:
cd /sys/kernel/tracing
echo 'hist:keys=common_pid:x=common_pid:name=mh' > events/sched/sched_switch/trigger
echo 'hist:keys=common_pid:x=common_pid:name=mh' > events/sched/sched_process_fork/trigger
echo 'hist:keys=common_pid:vals=$x' > events/sched/sched_process_exit/trigger
The third write panics the kernel:
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in find_var_file.part.0+0x272/0x290
Read of size 8 at addr ffff888001f8a0e0 by task sh/1
CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 1 Comm: sh Tainted: G D N
Call Trace:
find_var_file.part.0
find_event_var
parse_atom
parse_expr
__create_val_field
event_hist_trigger_parse
trigger_process_regex
event_trigger_write
vfs_write
ksys_write
do_syscall_64
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe
Allocated by task 1:
event_hist_trigger_parse
Freed by task 1:
hist_register_trigger+0x618/0xa30
event_hist_trigger_parse
The buggy address belongs to freed 2048-byte region
Oops: general protection fault ... RIP: find_var_file.part.0
Kernel panic - not syncing: Attempted to kill init! exitcode=0x0000000b
Fix by removing the hist_data from tr->hist_vars and releasing the
trace_array reference in the named-data branch of hist_register_trigger()
before freeing the hist_data.