{"api_version":"1","generated_at":"2026-10-21T12:45:41+00:00","cve":"CVE-2026-98537","urls":{"html":"https://cve.report/CVE-2026-98537","api":"https://cve.report/api/cve/CVE-2026-98537.json","docs":"https://cve.report/api","cve_org":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98537","nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98537"},"summary":{"title":"workqueue: Fix NULL current_pwq deref in flush dependency check","description":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nworkqueue: Fix NULL current_pwq deref in flush dependency check\n\ncheck_flush_dependency() uses current_wq_worker() to determine whether\nthe caller is a workqueue worker and then dereferences worker->current_pwq\nto test whether the current workqueue is WQ_MEM_RECLAIM.\n\ncurrent_wq_worker() only means that %current has PF_WQ_WORKER set. A\nkworker can reach check_flush_dependency() while it is not executing a\nwork item. One such path is worker_thread() acting as the pool manager,\nwhere create_worker() does GFP_KERNEL allocation and the allocation path\ninvokes the OOM notifier. In that state worker->current_pwq is NULL\nbecause current_pwq is set only by process_one_work() and cleared again\nafter the work function returns.\n\n[  416.760634][  T375] Call trace:\n[  416.760638][  T375]  check_flush_dependency+0x80/0x120 (P)\n[  416.760648][  T375]  __flush_work+0x98/0x224\n[  416.760657][  T375]  flush_work+0x30/0x44\n[  416.760665][  T375]  ...\n[  416.760710][  T375]  blocking_notifier_call_chain+0x58/0xa0\n[  416.760719][  T375]  out_of_memory+0xb4/0x458\n[  416.760730][  T375]  __alloc_pages_may_oom+0x11c/0x1a8\n[  416.760739][  T375]  __alloc_pages_slowpath+0x314/0x46c\n[  416.760746][  T375]  __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof+0x110/0x1a4\n[  416.760753][  T375]  new_slab+0x12c/0x484\n[  416.760759][  T375]  ___slab_alloc+0x7a8/0xc7c\n[  416.760765][  T375]  __slab_alloc+0x74/0xd8\n[  416.760772][  T375]  __kmalloc_cache_node_noprof+0x2ac/0x304\n[  416.760779][  T375]  alloc_worker+0x28/0x60\n[  416.760785][  T375]  create_worker+0x4c/0x20c\n[  416.760790][  T375]  worker_thread+0xe8/0x2b8\n[  416.760796][  T375]  kthread+0x1a8/0x200\n[  416.760805][  T375]  ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20\n\nGuard the WQ_MEM_RECLAIM-worker warning with worker->current_pwq. If the\nkworker is not currently executing a work item, there is no current\nworkqueue to diagnose with that warning. The PF_MEMALLOC warning is left\nunchanged so explicit reclaim context flushing a !WQ_MEM_RECLAIM target\nis still reported.","state":"PUBLISHED","assigner":"Linux","published_at":"2026-10-18 16:17:05","updated_at":"2026-10-18 16:17:05"},"problem_types":[],"metrics":[],"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1dccf5dc2f8fe688270b261ca4216e03c6a1e674","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1dccf5dc2f8fe688270b261ca4216e03c6a1e674","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/513121e69388604619ea8c0ee07e86a3d1b5b5dc","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/513121e69388604619ea8c0ee07e86a3d1b5b5dc","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8ffececcb88262389b4f91fed0fe4884b68204bc","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8ffececcb88262389b4f91fed0fe4884b68204bc","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f97e6d0572d1b39998e053732332bc3cfdd0b9aa","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f97e6d0572d1b39998e053732332bc3cfdd0b9aa","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cc190a6a1d20b87e6a9435202fc2a3bd84c79fb3","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cc190a6a1d20b87e6a9435202fc2a3bd84c79fb3","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c6b9b1e295aeff1132ac7aa738148cc65f06485","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c6b9b1e295aeff1132ac7aa738148cc65f06485","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/db6365ced4d5855e321f772b240c0e473bcfcdd5","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/db6365ced4d5855e321f772b240c0e473bcfcdd5","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9bb739a5c5a570c28a62afb98e9326e2a49743c1","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9bb739a5c5a570c28a62afb98e9326e2a49743c1","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98537","name":"CVE Program record","refsource":"CVE.ORG","tags":["canonical"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98537","name":"NVD vulnerability detail","refsource":"NVD","tags":["canonical","analysis"]}],"affected":[{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262 8ffececcb88262389b4f91fed0fe4884b68204bc git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262 9bb739a5c5a570c28a62afb98e9326e2a49743c1 git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262 cc190a6a1d20b87e6a9435202fc2a3bd84c79fb3 git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262 513121e69388604619ea8c0ee07e86a3d1b5b5dc git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262 0c6b9b1e295aeff1132ac7aa738148cc65f06485 git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262 1dccf5dc2f8fe688270b261ca4216e03c6a1e674 git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262 f97e6d0572d1b39998e053732332bc3cfdd0b9aa git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262 db6365ced4d5855e321f772b240c0e473bcfcdd5 git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected 4.5","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 4.5 semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 5.10.271 5.10.* semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 5.15.222 5.15.* semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 6.1.189 6.1.* semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 6.6.158 6.6.* semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 6.12.112 6.12.* semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 6.18.55 6.18.* semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 7.2.9 7.2.* semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 7.3 * original_commit_for_fix","platforms":[]}],"timeline":[],"solutions":[],"workarounds":[],"exploits":[],"credits":[],"nvd_cpes":[],"vendor_comments":[],"enrichments":{"kev":null,"epss":null,"legacy_qids":[]},"source_records":{"cve_program":{"containers":{"cna":{"affected":[{"defaultStatus":"unaffected","product":"Linux","programFiles":["kernel/workqueue.c"],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","vendor":"Linux","versions":[{"lessThan":"8ffececcb88262389b4f91fed0fe4884b68204bc","status":"affected","version":"fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262","versionType":"git"},{"lessThan":"9bb739a5c5a570c28a62afb98e9326e2a49743c1","status":"affected","version":"fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262","versionType":"git"},{"lessThan":"cc190a6a1d20b87e6a9435202fc2a3bd84c79fb3","status":"affected","version":"fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262","versionType":"git"},{"lessThan":"513121e69388604619ea8c0ee07e86a3d1b5b5dc","status":"affected","version":"fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262","versionType":"git"},{"lessThan":"0c6b9b1e295aeff1132ac7aa738148cc65f06485","status":"affected","version":"fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262","versionType":"git"},{"lessThan":"1dccf5dc2f8fe688270b261ca4216e03c6a1e674","status":"affected","version":"fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262","versionType":"git"},{"lessThan":"f97e6d0572d1b39998e053732332bc3cfdd0b9aa","status":"affected","version":"fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262","versionType":"git"},{"lessThan":"db6365ced4d5855e321f772b240c0e473bcfcdd5","status":"affected","version":"fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262","versionType":"git"}]},{"defaultStatus":"affected","product":"Linux","programFiles":["kernel/workqueue.c"],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","vendor":"Linux","versions":[{"status":"affected","version":"4.5"},{"lessThan":"4.5","status":"unaffected","version":"0","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"5.10.*","status":"unaffected","version":"5.10.271","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"5.15.*","status":"unaffected","version":"5.15.222","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"6.1.*","status":"unaffected","version":"6.1.189","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"6.6.*","status":"unaffected","version":"6.6.158","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"6.12.*","status":"unaffected","version":"6.12.112","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"6.18.*","status":"unaffected","version":"6.18.55","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"7.2.*","status":"unaffected","version":"7.2.9","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"*","status":"unaffected","version":"7.3","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}]}],"cpeApplicability":[{"nodes":[{"cpeMatch":[{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"5.10.271","versionStartIncluding":"4.5","vulnerable":true},{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"5.15.222","versionStartIncluding":"4.5","vulnerable":true},{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"6.1.189","versionStartIncluding":"4.5","vulnerable":true},{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"6.6.158","versionStartIncluding":"4.5","vulnerable":true},{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"6.12.112","versionStartIncluding":"4.5","vulnerable":true},{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"6.18.55","versionStartIncluding":"4.5","vulnerable":true},{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"7.2.9","versionStartIncluding":"4.5","vulnerable":true},{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"7.3","versionStartIncluding":"4.5","vulnerable":true}],"negate":false,"operator":"OR"}]}],"descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nworkqueue: Fix NULL current_pwq deref in flush dependency check\n\ncheck_flush_dependency() uses current_wq_worker() to determine whether\nthe caller is a workqueue worker and then dereferences worker->current_pwq\nto test whether the current workqueue is WQ_MEM_RECLAIM.\n\ncurrent_wq_worker() only means that %current has PF_WQ_WORKER set. A\nkworker can reach check_flush_dependency() while it is not executing a\nwork item. One such path is worker_thread() acting as the pool manager,\nwhere create_worker() does GFP_KERNEL allocation and the allocation path\ninvokes the OOM notifier. In that state worker->current_pwq is NULL\nbecause current_pwq is set only by process_one_work() and cleared again\nafter the work function returns.\n\n[  416.760634][  T375] Call trace:\n[  416.760638][  T375]  check_flush_dependency+0x80/0x120 (P)\n[  416.760648][  T375]  __flush_work+0x98/0x224\n[  416.760657][  T375]  flush_work+0x30/0x44\n[  416.760665][  T375]  ...\n[  416.760710][  T375]  blocking_notifier_call_chain+0x58/0xa0\n[  416.760719][  T375]  out_of_memory+0xb4/0x458\n[  416.760730][  T375]  __alloc_pages_may_oom+0x11c/0x1a8\n[  416.760739][  T375]  __alloc_pages_slowpath+0x314/0x46c\n[  416.760746][  T375]  __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof+0x110/0x1a4\n[  416.760753][  T375]  new_slab+0x12c/0x484\n[  416.760759][  T375]  ___slab_alloc+0x7a8/0xc7c\n[  416.760765][  T375]  __slab_alloc+0x74/0xd8\n[  416.760772][  T375]  __kmalloc_cache_node_noprof+0x2ac/0x304\n[  416.760779][  T375]  alloc_worker+0x28/0x60\n[  416.760785][  T375]  create_worker+0x4c/0x20c\n[  416.760790][  T375]  worker_thread+0xe8/0x2b8\n[  416.760796][  T375]  kthread+0x1a8/0x200\n[  416.760805][  T375]  ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20\n\nGuard the WQ_MEM_RECLAIM-worker warning with worker->current_pwq. If the\nkworker is not currently executing a work item, there is no current\nworkqueue to diagnose with that warning. The PF_MEMALLOC warning is left\nunchanged so explicit reclaim context flushing a !WQ_MEM_RECLAIM target\nis still reported."}],"providerMetadata":{"dateUpdated":"2026-10-19T09:21:20.715Z","orgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","shortName":"Linux"},"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8ffececcb88262389b4f91fed0fe4884b68204bc"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9bb739a5c5a570c28a62afb98e9326e2a49743c1"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cc190a6a1d20b87e6a9435202fc2a3bd84c79fb3"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/513121e69388604619ea8c0ee07e86a3d1b5b5dc"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c6b9b1e295aeff1132ac7aa738148cc65f06485"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1dccf5dc2f8fe688270b261ca4216e03c6a1e674"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f97e6d0572d1b39998e053732332bc3cfdd0b9aa"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/db6365ced4d5855e321f772b240c0e473bcfcdd5"}],"title":"workqueue: Fix NULL current_pwq deref in flush dependency check","x_generator":{"engine":"bippy-1.2.0"}}},"cveMetadata":{"assignerOrgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","assignerShortName":"Linux","cveId":"CVE-2026-98537","datePublished":"2026-10-18T15:18:05.028Z","dateReserved":"2026-09-25T10:25:14.355Z","dateUpdated":"2026-10-19T09:21:20.715Z","state":"PUBLISHED"},"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2"},"nvd":{"publishedDate":"2026-10-18 16:17:05","lastModifiedDate":"2026-10-18 16:17:05","problem_types":[],"metrics":[],"configurations":[]},"legacy_mitre":{"record":{"CveYear":"2026","CveId":"98537","Ordinal":"1","Title":"workqueue: Fix NULL current_pwq deref in flush dependency check","CVE":"CVE-2026-98537","Year":"2026"},"notes":[{"CveYear":"2026","CveId":"98537","Ordinal":"1","NoteData":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nworkqueue: Fix NULL current_pwq deref in flush dependency check\n\ncheck_flush_dependency() uses current_wq_worker() to determine whether\nthe caller is a workqueue worker and then dereferences worker->current_pwq\nto test whether the current workqueue is WQ_MEM_RECLAIM.\n\ncurrent_wq_worker() only means that %current has PF_WQ_WORKER set. A\nkworker can reach check_flush_dependency() while it is not executing a\nwork item. One such path is worker_thread() acting as the pool manager,\nwhere create_worker() does GFP_KERNEL allocation and the allocation path\ninvokes the OOM notifier. In that state worker->current_pwq is NULL\nbecause current_pwq is set only by process_one_work() and cleared again\nafter the work function returns.\n\n[  416.760634][  T375] Call trace:\n[  416.760638][  T375]  check_flush_dependency+0x80/0x120 (P)\n[  416.760648][  T375]  __flush_work+0x98/0x224\n[  416.760657][  T375]  flush_work+0x30/0x44\n[  416.760665][  T375]  ...\n[  416.760710][  T375]  blocking_notifier_call_chain+0x58/0xa0\n[  416.760719][  T375]  out_of_memory+0xb4/0x458\n[  416.760730][  T375]  __alloc_pages_may_oom+0x11c/0x1a8\n[  416.760739][  T375]  __alloc_pages_slowpath+0x314/0x46c\n[  416.760746][  T375]  __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof+0x110/0x1a4\n[  416.760753][  T375]  new_slab+0x12c/0x484\n[  416.760759][  T375]  ___slab_alloc+0x7a8/0xc7c\n[  416.760765][  T375]  __slab_alloc+0x74/0xd8\n[  416.760772][  T375]  __kmalloc_cache_node_noprof+0x2ac/0x304\n[  416.760779][  T375]  alloc_worker+0x28/0x60\n[  416.760785][  T375]  create_worker+0x4c/0x20c\n[  416.760790][  T375]  worker_thread+0xe8/0x2b8\n[  416.760796][  T375]  kthread+0x1a8/0x200\n[  416.760805][  T375]  ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20\n\nGuard the WQ_MEM_RECLAIM-worker warning with worker->current_pwq. If the\nkworker is not currently executing a work item, there is no current\nworkqueue to diagnose with that warning. The PF_MEMALLOC warning is left\nunchanged so explicit reclaim context flushing a !WQ_MEM_RECLAIM target\nis still reported.","Type":"Description","Title":"workqueue: Fix NULL current_pwq deref in flush dependency check"}]}}}