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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 6 Oct 2022.
Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2013-2094

HIGH · 8.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2013-05-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.0.75 / 3.2.45 or later.
See remediation →
99/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Public exploit No privileges Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9 uses an incorrect integer data type, which allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted perf_event_open system call.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

This is a privilege escalation vulnerability in the Linux kernel's performance monitoring (perf) subsystem. The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c uses an incorrect integer data type (likely a signed/unsigned mismatch or integer truncation), allowing a local attacker to trigger an out-of-bounds memory access via a specially crafted perf_event_open system call to escalate privileges to root.

MitigationUpgrade the Linux kernel to version 3.8.9 or later, or apply the relevant distribution-specific security patches. For systems that cannot be immediately patched, consider disabling the perf_event_open syscall via sysctl (kernel.perf_event_open=0) as a temporary workaround.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:< 3.0.75>= 3.1, < 3.2.45>= 3.3, < 3.4.42>= 3.5, < 3.8.9

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine the running kernel version
    Run `uname -r` or `cat /proc/version` to obtain the exact kernel version string
    Affected if The kernel version falls outside the safe versions: 3.0.75 or higher, 3.2.45 or higher, 3.4.42 or higher, 3.8.9 or higher (or any 3.0.x below 3.0.75, 3.2.x below 3.2.45, 3.4.x below 3.4.42, or 3.5-3.8.x below 3.8.9)
  2. Verify the perf_event subsystem is accessible
    Check if the perf_event_open system call is available by reviewing syscall availability or testing access to /proc/sys/kernel/perf_event_paranoid if it exists
    Affected if The perf_event_open syscall is present and not explicitly disabled via kernel parameters such as kernel.perf_event_open=0
  3. Confirm perf_event configuration status
    Inspect kernel boot parameters in /proc/cmdline for 'perf_event' or 'noperf' settings that may have disabled the subsystem
    Affected if No boot-time parameter explicitly disables perf_event_open, meaning the vulnerable code path is exposed

The system is affected if it runs a Linux kernel version within the affected ranges AND has the perf_event subsystem enabled and accessible to local users.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.0.75 / 3.2.45 / 3.4.42 or later
Fixed in 3.0.753.2.453.4.42
Vendor patch twitter.com →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade the Linux kernel to version 3.8.9 or later, or apply the relevant distribution-specific security patches. For systems that cannot be immediately patched, consider disabling the perf_event_open syscall via sysctl (kernel.perf_event_open=0) as a temporary workaround.

Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 3.8.9 or later, or distribution-provided patched kernel (e.g., CentOS/RHEL kernel-2.6.32-358.el6 or later)

  1. 1. Identify the current kernel version by running: uname -r
  2. 2. Check if the current version is vulnerable based on the affected version ranges: < 3.0.75, >= 3.1 and < 3.2.45, >= 3.3 and < 3.4.42, >= 3.5 and < 3.8.9
  3. 3. For upstream Linux: upgrade to kernel version 3.8.9 or later (e.g., 3.8.9, 3.9, or newer stable release)
  4. 4. For Red Hat/CentOS systems: apply vendor-supplied kernel updates (CESA-2013:0832 or later) via: yum update kernel
  5. 5. For openSUSE systems: apply vendor-supplied kernel updates via: zypper patch or zypper update
  6. 6. After kernel upgrade, reboot the system to load the fixed kernel: reboot
  7. 7. Verify the fix by checking the kernel version after reboot: uname -r (should show version >= 3.8.9 or a patched vendor version)
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require matching drivers/modules; ensure critical hardware support exists in the target version before production deployment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Linux Kernel Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-2094 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data