mm/kmemleak: avoid soft lockup when scanning task stacks
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-89759 |
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | Linux |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-09-11 20:20:06 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-09-11 20:20:06 UTC |
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm/kmemleak: avoid soft lockup when scanning task stacks
Patch series "mm/kmemleak: avoid soft lockup when scanning task", v3.
kmemleak_scan() scans every task stack under one rcu_read_lock() with no
reschedule point, which can trip the soft lockup watchdog on hosts with
very many threads.
That prints the following message, depending on the workload+host
configuration:
watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#35 stuck for 22s! [kmemleak:537]
scan_block
kmemleak_scan
kmemleak_scan_thread
kthread
Patch 1 walks the tasks with find_ge_pid() so the scan reschedules between
tasks
Patches 2-3 let the scan loops stop early once a scan is interrupted.
This patch (of 3):
kmemleak_scan() walks every thread and scans its kernel stack under a
single rcu_read_lock() with no reschedule point. On a host with very many
threads -- amplified by KASAN/lockdep in debug builds -- this loop can hog
a CPU long enough to trip the soft lockup watchdog:
watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#35 stuck for 22s! [kmemleak:537]
scan_block
kmemleak_scan
kmemleak_scan_thread
kthread
A cond_resched() cannot be added directly: the loop runs inside an RCU
read-side critical section.
Walk the tasks one PID at a time with find_ge_pid(), taking the RCU read
lock only to look up and pin each task. The stack is then scanned with no
lock held, so cond_resched() runs between tasks and the scan stops early
on scan_should_stop(). This follows the next_tgid()/task_seq_get_next()
iteration pattern and keeps each RCU critical section short. |
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|
| CNA |
Linux |
Linux |
affected c4b28963fd79457315783b3b0f21c01eb88cfdc1 9a1b12c06c192290b8479de48f66f1e75d89c4b7 git |
Not specified |
| CNA |
Linux |
Linux |
affected c4b28963fd79457315783b3b0f21c01eb88cfdc1 3fc8044251de21555fb02c365fa681bab8b0db55 git |
Not specified |
| CNA |
Linux |
Linux |
affected c4b28963fd79457315783b3b0f21c01eb88cfdc1 1838c704bcb4fd3556cf67513c6f97a39099e35c git |
Not specified |
| CNA |
Linux |
Linux |
affected c4b28963fd79457315783b3b0f21c01eb88cfdc1 5d10d4e19e6daa487f0cd0ea6cba472325de92f9 git |
Not specified |
| CNA |
Linux |
Linux |
affected 5.10 |
Not specified |
| CNA |
Linux |
Linux |
unaffected 5.10 semver |
Not specified |
| CNA |
Linux |
Linux |
unaffected 6.12.109 6.12.* semver |
Not specified |
| CNA |
Linux |
Linux |
unaffected 6.18.50 6.18.* semver |
Not specified |
| CNA |
Linux |
Linux |
unaffected 7.2.4 7.2.* semver |
Not specified |
| CNA |
Linux |
Linux |
unaffected 7.3-rc1 * original_commit_for_fix |
Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|
| git.kernel.org/stable/c/9a1b12c06c192290b8479de48f66f1e75d89c4b7 |
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 |
git.kernel.org |
|
| git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d10d4e19e6daa487f0cd0ea6cba472325de92f9 |
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 |
git.kernel.org |
|
| git.kernel.org/stable/c/3fc8044251de21555fb02c365fa681bab8b0db55 |
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 |
git.kernel.org |
|
| git.kernel.org/stable/c/1838c704bcb4fd3556cf67513c6f97a39099e35c |
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 |
git.kernel.org |
|
| CVE Program record |
CVE.ORG |
www.cve.org |
canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail |
NVD |
nvd.nist.gov |
canonical, analysis |
No vendor comments have been submitted for this CVE.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.