Linux Kernel: security vulnerability (CVE-2026-99085)
Published Last modified Sources: BSI, CVE.org
What is affected, what to do
Update Linux Kernel to version 6.12.114, Linux Kernel to version 6.18.58, Linux Kernel to version 7.2.12.
- Affected
- Linux Kernel
lt 6.12..6.12.114 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.13..6.18.58 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.19..7.2.12
- Linux Kernel
- Fixed in
- Linux Kernel
6.12.114 - Linux Kernel
6.18.58 - Linux Kernel
7.2.12 - Linux Kernel
7.3
- Linux Kernel
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Metrics
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Priority
No value is available for this vulnerability.
—
CVSS v3
No value is available for this vulnerability.
0.2 %
EPSS score
Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 5.6
Show all metrics
- Severity
- Not rated
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 30.25 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 0.2 %
- Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 5.6
- Low — this CVE sits in the lower 10% of all CVEs scored today.
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
sched_ext: Fix CPU hotplug hang when a dying CPU's tasks sit in the BPF scheduler
A CPU going down has to empty its own rq. Its hotplug thread waits in sched_cpu_wait_empty() until nothing else is left, and the only thing that wakes it is balance_push(), which runs from __schedule() on the dying CPU and pushes off the migratable tasks the CPU picks.
sched_ext breaks this. A task sitting on a user DSQ or held by the BPF scheduler is still counted on its rq, but an inactive CPU no longer calls ops.dispatch() and can't pull the task back. The dying CPU goes idle with the task still counted, and one of two things happens:
- Another CPU consumes the task. The rq empties without a __schedule() on the dying CPU, so the hotplug thread is never woken and cpu_down() hangs holding cpu_hotplug_lock.
- The task is affine only to the dying CPU. Nothing can move it, and the offline stalls until the watchdog ejects the BPF scheduler.
When the rq goes offline, re-enqueue every task on it that isn't already on the local DSQ. An enqueue on an offline rq lands on the local DSQ, so the dying CPU itself picks the tasks and balance_push() pushes them off, the same as for the other sched classes. From then on no sched_ext path on another CPU can pull a task off the rq.
ops.dispatch() currently stops as soon as the CPU goes inactive, and CPU hotplug then waits for an RCU grace period before taking the rq offline. A BPF-held task affine only to the dying CPU and preempted inside an RCU read-side critical section would block that grace period, and the rq would never go offline. Test SCX_RQ_ONLINE directly so that ops.dispatch() keeps running until the rq goes offline. Only the dying CPU's own hotplug thread clears the flag during teardown, and task_can_run_on_remote_rq() still keeps other rqs' tasks off the CPU.
Source: BSI CSAF, BSI WID Portal, cvelistv5, NVD (NIST)
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux |
|
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Vendors and products
References & sources
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/173ff9d03ec6373c3158b6e630af33a9b36fd216
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/638ee6bca19750934ea13f9c325f46fd8ae60064
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/d35a535d3e3e71f92a051d94e415f43612c4edfc
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/f79cd7a2df3768323fbfb9b0f96adff08fb7eb4c
Changes to this CVE
Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).
ReceivedLinux
Description added or changed
New references:Show 6 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Description added —In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched_ext: Fix CPU hotplug hang when a dying CPU's tasks sit in the BPF scheduler A CPU going down has to empty its own rq. Its hotplug thread waits in sched_cpu_wait_empty() until nothing else is left, and the only thing that wakes it is balance_push(), which runs from __schedule() on the dying CPU and pushes off the migratable tasks the CPU picks. sched_ext breaks this. A task sitting on a user DSQ or held by the BPF scheduler is still counted on its rq, but an inactive CPU no longer calls ops.dispatch() and can't pull the task back. The dying CPU goes idle with the task still counted, and one of two things happens: - Another CPU consumes the task. The rq empties without a __schedule() on the dying CPU, so the hotplug thread is never woken and cpu_down() hangs holding cpu_hotplug_lock. - The task is affine only to the dying CPU. Nothing can move it, and the offline stalls until the watchdog ejects the BPF scheduler. When the rq goes offline, re-enqueue every task on it that isn't already on the local DSQ. An enqueue on an offline rq lands on the local DSQ, so the dying CPU itself picks the tasks and balance_push() pushes them off, the same as for the other sched classes. From then on no sched_ext path on another CPU can pull a task off the rq. ops.dispatch() currently stops as soon as the CPU goes inactive, and CPU hotplug then waits for an RCU grace period before taking the rq offline. A BPF-held task affine only to the dying CPU and preempted inside an RCU read-side critical section would block that grace period, and the rq would never go offline. Test SCX_RQ_ONLINE directly so that ops.dispatch() keeps running until the rq goes offline. Only the dying CPU's own hotplug thread clears the flag during teardown, and task_can_run_on_remote_rq() still keeps other rqs' tasks off the CPU.Affected versions (publisher) added —New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/99xxx/CVE-2026-99085.json">CVE-2026-99085</a>Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/173ff9d03ec6373c3158b6e630af33a9b36fd216Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/638ee6bca19750934ea13f9c325f46fd8ae60064Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d35a535d3e3e71f92a051d94e415f43612c4edfcReference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f79cd7a2df3768323fbfb9b0f96adff08fb7eb4cSource identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2026-99085"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2026-99085.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2026-99085 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>