Bug 2532339 (CVE-2026-89519)

Summary: CVE-2026-89519 kernel: sched_ext: Replace SCX_RQ_BAL_KEEP with a dispatch verdict return
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: medium Docs Contact:
Priority: medium    
Version: unspecifiedCC: akhatavk, aos-team-art-private, asdas, dpaolell, jdelft, jupierce, lgarciaa, mbiarnes, ppalepu, ppostler, prdhamdh, rhel-process-autobot, sghai, sidsharm, suppawar, vlaad, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
Target Release: ---   
Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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Doc Text:
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's `sched_ext` component. Due to a logical error where a stale flag (`SCX_RQ_BAL_KEEP`) could be consumed, the scheduler might incorrectly keep a task running even after it has been dequeued. This could lead to unexpected task management behavior within the kernel.
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oVirt Team: --- RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
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Embargoed:

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-09-11 22:27:46 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

sched_ext: Replace SCX_RQ_BAL_KEEP with a dispatch verdict return

SCX_RQ_BAL_KEEP tells the pick to keep running the previous task, a leftover
from when balancing and picking were separate operations. An rq-level flag
only works while dispatches and picks pair up one to one, which core
scheduling breaks: selections interleave through dispatch's lock drops and a
pick can consume a stale flag, keeping a task that has since been dequeued.
Fixing core scheduling support requires the decision to travel with the
dispatch that made it. Make scx_dispatch_sched() and balance_one() return an
explicit verdict instead and drop the flag's plumbing from the tools autogen
enum headers.

Also factor the pick-side invocation, its follow-up queueing and the
post-dispatch checks out of do_pick_task_scx() into dispatch_pick(). No
functional changes intended.

v2: Drop the SCX_RQ_BAL_KEEP plumbing from the tools autogen enum headers
    as well (Andrea).