CVE-2026-97905
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cpufreq: zero-initialize policy cpumask before sysfs publication cpufreq_policy_alloc() allocates policy->cpus with alloc_cpumask_var(), i.e. without __GFP_ZERO, unlike the sibling related_cpus and real_cpus masks. With CONFIG_CPUMASK_OFFSTACK=y the mask is a separate kmalloc_node() allocation, so its bitmap holds whatever the slab allocator left behind: cpufreq_online() cpufreq_policy_alloc() alloc_cpumask_var(&policy->cpus) /* bitmap is uninitialized */ kobject_init_and_add() /* policy%u/ appears in sysfs */ cpufreq_policy_online() cpumask_copy(policy->cpus, cpumask_of(cpu)) /* first valid value */ This leaves a window in which the sysfs attributes are already reachable while policy->cpus is still garbage. show()/store() gate on policy_is_inactive(), i.e. cpumask_empty(policy->cpus), so a non-zero bitmap makes them run the attribute callbacks on a policy that is not initialized yet. Fix this by using zalloc_cpumask_var() for policy->cpus.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
4.2
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.10.271,
5.15.222,
6.1.189,
6.6.158,
6.12.111,
6.18.53,
7.2.7,
7.3-rc3
and their respective stable series.
References
8 totalFrequently asked questions
-
What is CVE-2026-97905?
CVE-2026-97905 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.2 onward and has been patched in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189 and others. CVE-2026-97905 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
-
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-97905?
Yes. CVE-2026-97905 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.2 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
-
Is CVE-2026-97905 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-97905 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.