In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
rcutorture: Fix ksoftirqd boosting timing and iteration
The RCU priority boosting can fail in two situations:
1) If (nr_cpus= > maxcpus=), which means if the total number of CPUs
is higher than those brought online at boot, then torture_onoff() may
later bring up CPUs that weren't online on boot. Now since rcutorture
initialization only boosts the ksoftirqds of the CPUs that have been
set online on boot, the CPUs later set online by torture_onoff won't
benefit from the boost, making RCU priority boosting fail.
2) The ksoftirqd kthreads are boosted after the creation of
rcu_torture_boost() kthreads, which opens a window large enough for these
rcu_torture_boost() kthreads to wait (despite running at FIFO priority)
for ksoftirqds that are still running at SCHED_NORMAL priority.
The issues can trigger for example with:
./kvm.sh --configs TREE01 --kconfig "CONFIG_RCU_BOOST=y"
[ 34.968561] rcu-torture: !!!
[ 34.968627] ------------[ cut here ]------------
[ 35.014054] WARNING: CPU: 4 PID: 114 at kernel/rcu/rcutorture.c:1979 rcu_torture_stats_print+0x5ad/0x610
[ 35.052043] Modules linked in:
[ 35.069138] CPU: 4 PID: 114 Comm: rcu_torture_sta Not tainted 5.18.0-rc1 #1
[ 35.096424] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.14.0-0-g155821a-rebuilt.opensuse.org 04/01/2014
[ 35.154570] RIP: 0010:rcu_torture_stats_print+0x5ad/0x610
[ 35.198527] Code: 63 1b 02 00 74 02 0f 0b 48 83 3d 35 63 1b 02 00 74 02 0f 0b 48 83 3d 21 63 1b 02 00 74 02 0f 0b 48 83 3d 0d 63 1b 02 00 74 02 <0f> 0b 83 eb 01 0f 8e ba fc ff ff 0f 0b e9 b3 fc ff f82
[ 37.251049] RSP: 0000:ffffa92a0050bdf8 EFLAGS: 00010202
[ 37.277320] rcu: De-offloading 8
[ 37.290367] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: 0000000000000001 RCX: 0000000000000001
[ 37.290387] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 00000000ffffbfff RDI: 00000000ffffffff
[ 37.290398] RBP: 000000000000007b R08: 0000000000000000 R09: c0000000ffffbfff
[ 37.290407] R10: 000000000000002a R11: ffffa92a0050bc18 R12: ffffa92a0050be20
[ 37.290417] R13: ffffa92a0050be78 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: 000000000001bea0
[ 37.290427] FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff96045eb00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
[ 37.290448] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
[ 37.290460] CR2: 0000000000000000 CR3: 000000001dc0c000 CR4: 00000000000006e0
[ 37.290470] Call Trace:
[ 37.295049]
[ 37.295065] ? preempt_count_add+0x63/0x90
[ 37.295095] ? _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x12/0x40
[ 37.295125] ? rcu_torture_stats_print+0x610/0x610
[ 37.295143] rcu_torture_stats+0x29/0x70
[ 37.295160] kthread+0xe3/0x110
[ 37.295176] ? kthread_complete_and_exit+0x20/0x20
[ 37.295193] ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30
[ 37.295218]
Fix this with boosting the ksoftirqds kthreads from the boosting
hotplug callback itself and before the boosting kthreads are created.
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (5.5): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 5.5 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 5.5 MEDIUMCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 0.2% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-25). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).CISA BOD 26-04: 14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (no CISA value, KEV listing or exploit code on record) · Automatable no (CISA's BOD 26-04 default) · Technical impact total (CISA's BOD 26-04 default). EchelonGraph holds no SSVC assessment of this CVE from CISA: none of these inputs is from Vulnrichment. EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA's BOD 26-04 default) · Technical impact total (CISA's BOD 26-04 default). Where an input reads “CISA's BOD 26-04 default”, no one has published it for this CVE, and CISA's implementation guidance says: “If “Automatable” and “Technical Impact” information items about a CVE ID are not available and the CVE ID is not in the KEV Catalog, CISA will treat its values as “no” and “total,” respectively, until CISA or a third party provides metadata about the CVE ID. CISA will always provide the Vulnrichment data for a CVE ID listed in the KEV Catalog.” Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it