Bug 2536354 (CVE-2026-90432)

Summary:	CVE-2026-90432 kernel: sched_ext: Abort directly from the hardlockup handler
Product:	[Other] Security Response	Reporter:	OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component:	vulnerability	Assignee:	Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status:	NEW ---	QA Contact:
Severity:	medium	Docs Contact:
Priority:	medium
Version:	unspecified	CC:	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
Whiteboard:
Fixed In Version:		Doc Type:	---
Doc Text:	A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's `sched_ext` component, specifically within its hardlockup handler. An unnecessary deferral of abort operations could prevent the system from properly recovering from a CPU hardlockup, where a CPU becomes unresponsive. This could lead to system unresponsiveness or a denial of service (DoS) condition, particularly in self-detected hardlockup scenarios. The fix ensures that hardlockups are handled directly, improving system stability and recoverability.	Story Points:	---
Clone Of:		Environment:
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Documentation:	---	CRM:
Verified Versions:		Category:	---
oVirt Team:	---	RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team:	---	Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-09-17 17:32:41 UTC

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

sched_ext: Abort directly from the hardlockup handler

scx_hardlockup() defers the abort to an irq_work because exit claiming used
to take scx_sched_lock and couldn't run from NMI. The deferral is now
unnecessary - claiming is NMI-safe and asserting ->aborting is exactly what
breaks the live-locks that hard-lock CPUs. Call handle_lockup() directly and
drop the irq_work. This also makes the self-detected case recoverable: the
perf watchdog fires on the hard-locked CPU itself, where a queued irq_work
never runs with IRQs off.

Also fix the return value: %true used to be returned whenever sched_ext was
loaded, suppressing the kernel's hardlockup report even when the abort was
refused. Return %true only when this call initiated the abort.

Comment 1 gkamathe 2026-09-20 02:29:34 UTC

Upstream advisory:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-90432.mbox