CVE-2026-64374 — sched/rt: Have RT_PUSH_IPI be default off for non PREEMPT_RT
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched/rt: Have RT_PUSH_IPI be default off for non PREEMPT_RT RT migration is done aggressively. When a CPU schedules out a high priority RT task for a lower priority task, it will look to see if there's any RT tasks that are waiting to run on another CPU that is of higher priority than the task this CPU is about to run. If it finds one, it will pull that task over to the CPU and allow it to run there instead. Normally, this pulling is done by looking at the RT overloaded mask (rto) which contains all the CPUs in the scheduler domain with RT tasks that are waiting to run due to a higher priority RT task currently running on their CPU. The CPU that is about to schedule a lower priority task will grab the rq lock of the overloaded CPU and move the RT task from that CPU's runqueue to the local one and schedule the higher priority RT task. This caused issues when a lot of CPUs would schedule a lower priority task at the same time. They would all try to grab the same runqueue lock of the CPU with the overloaded RT tasks. Only the first CPU that got in will get that task. All the others would wait until they got the runqueue lock and see there's nothing to pull and do nothing. On systems with lots of CPUs, this caused a large latency (up to 500us) which is beyond what PREEMPT_RT is to allow. The solution to that was to create an RT_PUSH_IPI logic. When any CPU wanted to pull a task, instead of grabbing the runqueue lock of the overloaded CPU, it would start by sending an IPI to the overloaded CPU, and that IPI handler would have the CPU with the waiting RT task do a push instead. Then that handler would send an IPI to the next CPU with overloaded RT tasks, and so on. Note, after the first CPU starts this process, if another CPU wanted to do a pull, it would see that the process has already begun and would only increment a counter to have the IPIs continue again. The RT_PUSH_IPI solved the latency problem with PREEMPT_RT but could cause a new issue with non PREEMPT_RT. Namely, softirqs run in a threaded context on PREEMPT_RT but they can run in an interrupt context in non-RT. If an IPI lands on a CPU that has just woken up multiple RT tasks and the current CPU is running a non RT or a low priority RT task, instead of doing a push, it would simply do a schedule on that CPU. But if a softirq was also executing on this CPU, the schedule would need to wait until the softirq finished. Until then, the CPU would still be considered overloaded as there are RT tasks still waiting to run on it. A live lock occurred on a workload that was doing heavy networking traffic on a large machine where the softirqs would run 500us out of 750us. And it would also be waking up RT tasks, causing the RT pull logic to be constantly executed. When a softirq triggered on a CPU with RT tasks queued but not running yet, and the other CPUs would see this CPU as being overloaded, they would send an IPI over to it. The CPU would notice that the waiting RT tasks are of higher priority than the currently running task and simply schedule that CPU instead. But because the softirq was executing, before it could schedule, it would receive another IPI to do the same. The amount of IPIs would slow down the currently running softirq so much that before it could return back to task context, it would execute another softirq never allowing the CPU to schedule. This live locked that CPU. As RT_PUSH_IPI was created to help PREEMPT_RT, make it default off if PREEMPT_RT is not enabled.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- Technical severity (high)+6
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
- Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
- Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
- Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
- Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
- Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
- Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
- Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
- Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Linux Linux, Linux Linux Kernel).
- The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
- Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
- Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux |
≥ b6366f048e0caff28af5335b7af2031266e1b06b and < b99f04ae3d200d2f8844aa29145bd18eccbeecde≥ b6366f048e0caff28af5335b7af2031266e1b06b and < d8312a56d9a162e3ec76476aa487e7d20bc602e9≥ b6366f048e0caff28af5335b7af2031266e1b06b and < 44aae426dbfd51286f7eb601cfa14bc32164812a≥ b6366f048e0caff28af5335b7af2031266e1b06b and < 860aaff72c8446fed5e576249e19952883a18885≥ b6366f048e0caff28af5335b7af2031266e1b06b and < 89237c8fc15d8016a194076e648ccb57d75e65ae≥ b6366f048e0caff28af5335b7af2031266e1b06b and < 4bd0da48fbc1dbef6774175129107fbbdd353e26≥ b6366f048e0caff28af5335b7af2031266e1b06b and < a18f80bf5359238c4f067d691b96af00286fdd89≥ b6366f048e0caff28af5335b7af2031266e1b06b and < dd29c017aed628076e915fe4cdfb5392fd4c5cab and 1 moreversion 4.1 |
Vulnerable | CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | ≥ 4.1 and < 5.10.261≥ 5.11 and < 5.15.212≥ 5.16 and < 6.1.178≥ 6.2 and < 6.6.145≥ 6.7 and < 6.12.96≥ 6.13 and < 6.18.39≥ 6.19 and < 7.1.4 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.5 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 3.9 | 3.6 | 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 7.5 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | Linux via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H (score shown at the top: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · linux/linux
- Record published
- Fix documented
- CVSS changed · 7.5
- Source status changed · → Analyzed
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026
References
8 on the record
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/860aaff72c8446fed5e576249e19952883a18885
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/d8312a56d9a162e3ec76476aa487e7d20bc602e9
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/dd29c017aed628076e915fe4cdfb5392fd4c5cab
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/89237c8fc15d8016a194076e648ccb57d75e65ae
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/4bd0da48fbc1dbef6774175129107fbbdd353e26
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/44aae426dbfd51286f7eb601cfa14bc32164812a
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/a18f80bf5359238c4f067d691b96af00286fdd89
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b99f04ae3d200d2f8844aa29145bd18eccbeecde
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Critical CVE-2026-99999 ipv4: validate checksum_start before completing checksum 11h
- Unknown CVE-2026-98432 ipv4: free inet_opt and ireq_opt after an RCU grace period 11h
- Unknown CVE-2026-98424 wifi: cfg80211: undo netns switch if renaming the wiphy fails 1d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98425 wifi: mac80211: don't warn when an IBSS has no channel to scan 1d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98426 wifi: mwifiex: fix IRQ leak using wrong index in MSI-X error path 1d
- Unknown CVE-2026-98427 net/sched: codel: bound the dropping loop per dequeue call 1d
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No FIRST EPSS score.
- No CISA SSVC assessment.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2026-64374 is "sched/rt: Have RT_PUSH_IPI be default off for non PREEMPT_RT", rated High. It affects Linux (Linux); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.5 describes technical severity. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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