High severity · published Sep 11, 2026
CVE-2026-89521
sched/core: Handle pick_task() releasing the rq lock
7.3
CVSS
0.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
sched/core: Handle pick_task() releasing the rq lock
Core scheduling's pick_next_task() breaks when a ->pick_task()
implementation can release the rq lock. The selection state derived on entry
is only valid while the lock is held continuously. Once a pick can drop the
lock, an interleaving selection can invalidate all of it: the single-CPU
fast path can commit an uncookied pick although the core went cookied during
the release, and forceidle committed by the interleaving selection skews the
restarted pass's accounting.
Fix it by restarting the whole selection when a pick returns RETRY_TASK
after releasing the lock: a single restart point above the state derivation
replaces the per-loop restart labels, so a retry picks up state committed by
interleaving selections and accounts and resets forceidle like a fresh
selection would.
need_sync and fi_before latch across retries. Clock validity can't be
re-derived - there is no program-ordered way to tell whether the own and
core rq clocks are still updated after the lock was released, as other
lockers' pin cycles may or may not have invalidated them. When restarting,
clear core_clock_updated so that the sibling loop re-updates the core rq,
and update the own rq clock if invalidated.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:H
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
Low
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.2% · higher than 4% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
LI
Linux · Linux
4c95380701f58b8112f0b891de8d160e4199e19d before 88ed5a66467ca2a5148b9997af9c71d8c43060ad; 4c95380701f58b8112f0b891de8d160e4199e19d before c10b216a072ff5c57bc880a05f87eb519aecc529; 6.19 · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89521
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-89521
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/88ed5a66467ca2a5148b9997af9c71d8c43060ad
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c10b216a072ff5c57bc880a05f87eb519aecc529
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