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
Affected product
LI
Linux
Linux
More from Linux
9.8
CVE-2025-39682
tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list
8.8
CVE-2026-53266
netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable
7.8
CVE-2026-53362
ipv6: account for fraggap on the paged allocation path
7.8
CVE-2026-46300
net: skbuff: preserve shared-frag marker during coalescing
7.8
CVE-2026-31431
crypto: algif_aead - Revert to operating out-of-place