What is CVE-2021-38200?

CVE-2021-38200 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2021-08-08.

How severe is CVE-2021-38200?

Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.

NULL pointer dereference in Linux Kernel

CVE-2021-38200

arch/powerpc/perf/core-book3s.c in the Linux kernel before 5.12.13, on systems with perf_event_paranoid=-1 and no specific PMU driver support registered, allows local users to cause a denial of service (perf_instruction_pointer NULL pointer dereference and OOPS) via a "perf record" command.

Published 2021-08-08 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.003 (15.5th percentile), scored 2026-10-01.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 15th percentile — 15.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.003 · newest: 0.003 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Linux Kernel

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-476 — NULL Pointer Dereference

References

github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/60b7ed54a41b550d50caf7f2418db4a7e75b5bdc (Patch, Third Party Advisory)
cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v5.x/ChangeLog-5.12.13 (Patch, Mailing List, Vendor Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-38200?: CVE-2021-38200 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Kernel, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 5.5/10. Published 2021-08-08.
How severe is CVE-2021-38200?: Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.5 out of 10.