High severity · published Sep 11, 2026
CVE-2026-89520
sched/core: Make core-sched flips wait for in-flight selections
7.8
CVSS
0.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched/core: Make core-sched flips wait for in-flight selections Core scheduling's pick_next_task() operates on all sibling rqs under one acquisition of the shared core-wide lock. A ->pick_task() that releases the rq lock leaves every sibling __lock momentarily free, letting __sched_core_flip(false) complete mid-selection and rebind rq_lockp() under it. The selection resumes on the split locks, touching sibling state it no longer protects, and __schedule() finally releases a lock that was never taken while leaking the one that was. Count in-flight core-wide selections in the leader's rq->core_pick_in_flight and make __sched_core_flip() wait for the count to drain. The count only changes under the shared lock, which the flip holds while sampling, so no other ordering is needed. The wait can repeat while selections overlap, but the flip backs off between samples and flips are rare cookie-lifetime events. sched_core_cpu_deactivate() moves the count to the new leader - a stale copy left behind would bias it forever if that CPU later returns as its own leader.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.2% · higher than 6% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
LI
Linux · Linux
539f65125d20aacab54d02d77f10a839f45b09dc before a2a16896ed53046f275f56a6cd8ca3fb6f12c4f3; 539f65125d20aacab54d02d77f10a839f45b09dc before 3e2511bffa93a639774a99e392181e21d28677e2; 539f65125d20aacab54d02d77f10a839f45b09dc before 9d69422ddaa13526c2223444e237d948d6e44728; 539f65125d20aacab54d02d77f10a839f45b09dc before 23eda24f325a6e6d686d30ec75f2e9d6745e2015; 539f65125d20aacab54d02d77f10a839f45b09dc before f3629c63a4af3e491381780bc6c123cb498c4c40; 5.14 · source: vendor