CVE-2026-45919
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched/rt: Skip currently executing CPU in rto_next_cpu() CPU0 becomes overloaded when hosting a CPU-bound RT task, a non-CPU-bound RT task, and a CFS task stuck in kernel space. When other CPUs switch from RT to non-RT tasks, RT load balancing (LB) is triggered; with HAVE_RT_PUSH_IPI enabled, they send IPIs to CPU0 to drive the execution of rto_push_irq_work_func. During push_rt_task on CPU0, if next_task->prio < rq->donor->prio, resched_curr() sets NEED_RESCHED and after the push operation completes, CPU0 calls rto_next_cpu(). Since only CPU0 is overloaded in this scenario, rto_next_cpu() should ideally return -1 (no further IPI needed). However, multiple CPUs invoking tell_cpu_to_push() during LB increments rd->rto_loop_next. Even when rd->rto_cpu is set to -1, the mismatch between rd->rto_loop and rd->rto_loop_next forces rto_next_cpu() to restart its search from -1. With CPU0 remaining overloaded (satisfying rt_nr_migratory && rt_nr_total > 1), it gets reselected, causing CPU0 to queue irq_work to itself and send self-IPIs repeatedly. As long as CPU0 stays overloaded and other CPUs run pull_rt_tasks(), it falls into an infinite self-IPI loop, which triggers a CPU hardlockup due to continuous self-interrupts. The trigging scenario is as follows: cpu0 cpu1 cpu2 pull_rt_task tell_cpu_to_push <------------irq_work_queue_on rto_push_irq_work_func push_rt_task resched_curr(rq) pull_rt_task rto_next_cpu tell_cpu_to_push <-------------------------- atomic_inc(rto_loop_next) rd->rto_loop != next rto_next_cpu irq_work_queue_on rto_push_irq_work_func Fix redundant self-IPI by filtering the initiating CPU in rto_next_cpu(). This solution has been verified to effectively eliminate spurious self-IPIs and prevent CPU hardlockup scenarios.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
4.4.103,
4.9.66,
4.14.3,
4.15
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.10.252,
5.15.202,
6.1.165,
6.6.128,
6.12.75,
6.18.14,
6.19.4,
7.0
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-45919 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/16ca9f3117e9a294646c897daf08a5ab546c711b
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3b3c672a66db3de3b40f8a7057864bc1f874ede3
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/52aeb1e07ec223caf212f036817976c98d2aa250
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-45919?
CVE-2026-45919 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.4.103 onward and has been patched in 5.10.252, 5.15.202, 6.1.165 and others. CVE-2026-45919 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-45919?
Yes — CVE-2026-45919 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.252, 5.15.202, 6.1.165 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.4.103 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-45919 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2026-45919 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.