CVE-2026-98542

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cgroup/cpuset: Return PERR_NOCPUS in remote_partition_enable() on subpartitions_cpus conflict When a remote partition is created underneath an existing local partition via a non-partition (PRS_MEMBER) intermediate cgroup, update_prstate() sees parent->partition_root_state == PRS_MEMBER and calls remote_partition_enable(). Commit 86888c7bd117 ("cgroup/cpuset: Add warnings to catch inconsistency in exclusive CPUs") replaced the cpumask_intersects(tmp->new_cpus, subpartitions_cpus) error check in remote_partition_enable() with WARN_ON_ONCE(). As a result, remote_partition_enable() emits a warning and proceeds to enable the remote partition on CPUs that are already owned by the ancestor local partition in subpartitions_cpus. This can be reproduced on Linux 7.3.0-rc3 with: mkdir -p /tmp/cg1 mount -t cgroup2 none /tmp/cg1 echo "+cpuset" > /tmp/cg1/cgroup.subtree_control mkdir /tmp/cg1/A echo 1 > /tmp/cg1/A/cpuset.cpus echo 1 > /tmp/cg1/A/cpuset.cpus.exclusive echo root > /tmp/cg1/A/cpuset.cpus.partition echo "+cpuset" > /tmp/cg1/A/cgroup.subtree_control mkdir /tmp/cg1/A/B echo 1 > /tmp/cg1/A/B/cpuset.cpus echo 1 > /tmp/cg1/A/B/cpuset.cpus.exclusive echo "+cpuset" > /tmp/cg1/A/B/cgroup.subtree_control mkdir /tmp/cg1/A/B/D echo 1 > /tmp/cg1/A/B/D/cpuset.cpus echo 1 > /tmp/cg1/A/B/D/cpuset.cpus.exclusive echo root > /tmp/cg1/A/B/D/cpuset.cpus.partition which triggers: WARNING: kernel/cgroup/cpuset.c:1594 at remote_partition_enable+0x1c1/0x300 and leaves both /tmp/cg1/A and /tmp/cg1/A/B/D as active root partitions claiming exclusive CPU 1. Fix this by returning PERR_NOCPUS when tmp->new_cpus intersects subpartitions_cpus in remote_partition_enable(), matching the error code used by remote_cpus_update() for the same subpartitions_cpus conflict, and add a regression test case to tools/testing/selftests/cgroup/test_cpuset_prs.sh. Tested in QEMU on Linux 7.3.0-rc3 using the reproducer above and tools/testing/selftests/cgroup/test_cpuset_prs.sh.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2026-10-18
Last modified 2026-10-18
Patch available
Yes

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.16 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 7.3 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 6.16
Fixed in
✓ 6.18.55 6.18.x ✓ 7.2.9 7.2.x ✓ 7.3

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2026-98542?

    CVE-2026-98542 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.16 onward and has been patched in 6.18.55, 7.2.9 and 7.3. CVE-2026-98542 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-98542?

    Yes. CVE-2026-98542 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.55, 7.2.9 and 7.3. If you are running Linux kernel 6.16 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2026-98542 actively exploited?

    No. CVE-2026-98542 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.