CVE-2026-99253
io_uring/cancel: rearm local work wake up before sleep
What happened?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
io_uring/cancel: rearm local work wake up before sleep
io_uring_try_cancel_requests() sets ->cq_wait_nr to 1 so that the next io_req_local_work_add() wakes the cancelling task. The add that takes the count to zero is the only one that wakes, later ones see a count <= 0 and return. io_uring_cancel_generic() however only becomes TASK_INTERRUPTIBLE much later, so the one wake up can be spent on a running task. That is fine as long as the entry of that add is still queued, as the io_local_work_pending() check then skips the sleep. It is not if the add was delayed after queueing its entry:
CPU0 (submitter in exec or exit) CPU1 (io_req_local_work_add) mpscq_push(req A) io_uring_try_cancel_requests() io_run_local_work() // runs req A io_uring_try_cancel_requests() atomic_set(&ctx->cq_wait_nr, 1) atomic_read(&ctx->cq_wait_nr) == 1 count taken, wake_up_state() // task is running, no-op prepare_to_wait(TASK_INTERRUPTIBLE) io_local_work_pending() == false schedule() mpscq_push(req B) cq_wait_nr <= 0, return
Only the sleeping task can run req B, so it is stuck in execve() until a signal happens to wake it. An exiting task doesn't even get that.
Arm the count again once the task state is set and before the work list is checked, for the rings whose local work this task is the one to run.
Affected software and versions
| Software | Version information | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| LinuxLinux | affected: d46ab2c98ababa19b41a5709b6921d7b1add7f74 to < aaa06bb9fc03384f7cf2dbc3e43f2939cc7791b2; affected: d46ab2c98ababa19b41a5709b6921d7b1add7f74 to < 76a82c666abf155ad52d5f41043eac77dd3e41d8 | See vendor advisory |
| LinuxLinux | affected: 7.2; unaffected: 0 to < 7.2; unaffected: 7.2.14 to ≤ 7.2.*; unaffected: 7.4-rc1 to ≤ * | See vendor advisory |
Version information comes from the source record and can include unaffected products and exceptions. Distribution packages may contain backported fixes: an older upstream version alone does not prove a server is affected.
Is it being exploited?
This CVE was not listed in the CISA catalogue at our last retrieval. This does not establish that exploitation is absent.
How to respond
- Confirm the product, installed package version, and any configuration requirements in the vendor advisory.
- Follow the vendor’s remediation or workaround guidance in the references below. Structured fixed-version data is unavailable here; the publisher’s description may include a fix or workaround.
- Restart affected services if required, then verify the running version. Known exploitation may warrant investigation as well as patching.