In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
workqueue: Fix selection of wake_cpu in kick_pool()
With cpu_possible_mask=0-63 and cpu_online_mask=0-7 the following
kernel oops was observed:
smp: Bringing up secondary CPUs ...
smp: Brought up 1 node, 8 CPUs
Unable to handle kernel pointer dereference in virtual kernel address space
Failing address: 0000000000000000 TEID: 0000000000000803
[..]
Call Trace:
arch_vcpu_is_preempted+0x12/0x80
select_idle_sibling+0x42/0x560
select_task_rq_fair+0x29a/0x3b0
try_to_wake_up+0x38e/0x6e0
kick_pool+0xa4/0x198
__queue_work.part.0+0x2bc/0x3a8
call_timer_fn+0x36/0x160
__run_timers+0x1e2/0x328
__run_timer_base+0x5a/0x88
run_timer_softirq+0x40/0x78
__do_softirq+0x118/0x388
irq_exit_rcu+0xc0/0xd8
do_ext_irq+0xae/0x168
ext_int_handler+0xbe/0xf0
psw_idle_exit+0x0/0xc
default_idle_call+0x3c/0x110
do_idle+0xd4/0x158
cpu_startup_entry+0x40/0x48
rest_init+0xc6/0xc8
start_kernel+0x3c4/0x5e0
startup_continue+0x3c/0x50
The crash is caused by calling arch_vcpu_is_preempted() for an offline
CPU. To avoid this, select the cpu with cpumask_any_and_distribute()
to mask __pod_cpumask with cpu_online_mask. In case no cpu is left in
the pool, skip the assignment.
tj: This doesn't fully fix the bug as CPUs can still go down between picking
the target CPU and the wake call. Fixing that likely requires adding
cpu_online() test to either the sched or s390 arch code. However, regardless
of how that is fixed, workqueue shouldn't be picking a CPU which isn't
online as that would result in unpredictable and worse behavior.
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (6.2): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 6.2 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 6.2 MEDIUMCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.NVD CVSS v3 · CVSS v3.0 or v3.1
- 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 every mission impact level.CISA BOD 26-04: 60 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 every mission impact level.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (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)60 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 Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). 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