VYPR
Unrated severityNVD Advisory· Published Jan 13, 2026· Updated Apr 15, 2026

CVE-2025-68780

CVE-2025-68780

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

sched/deadline: only set free_cpus for online runqueues

Commit 16b269436b72 ("sched/deadline: Modify cpudl::free_cpus to reflect rd->online") introduced the cpudl_set/clear_freecpu functions to allow the cpu_dl::free_cpus mask to be manipulated by the deadline scheduler class rq_on/offline callbacks so the mask would also reflect this state.

Commit 9659e1eeee28 ("sched/deadline: Remove cpu_active_mask from cpudl_find()") removed the check of the cpu_active_mask to save some processing on the premise that the cpudl::free_cpus mask already reflected the runqueue online state.

Unfortunately, there are cases where it is possible for the cpudl_clear function to set the free_cpus bit for a CPU when the deadline runqueue is offline. When this occurs while a CPU is connected to the default root domain the flag may retain the bad state after the CPU has been unplugged. Later, a different CPU that is transitioning through the default root domain may push a deadline task to the powered down CPU when cpudl_find sees its free_cpus bit is set. If this happens the task will not have the opportunity to run.

One example is outlined here: https://lore.kernel.org/lkml/20250110233010.2339521-1-opendmb@gmail.com

Another occurs when the last deadline task is migrated from a CPU that has an offlined runqueue. The dequeue_task member of the deadline scheduler class will eventually call cpudl_clear and set the free_cpus bit for the CPU.

This commit modifies the cpudl_clear function to be aware of the online state of the deadline runqueue so that the free_cpus mask can be updated appropriately.

It is no longer necessary to manage the mask outside of the cpudl_set/clear functions so the cpudl_set/clear_freecpu functions are removed. In addition, since the free_cpus mask is now only updated under the cpudl lock the code was changed to use the non-atomic __cpumask functions.

AI Insight

LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.

A race condition in Linux kernel's deadline scheduler allows a task to be migrated to an offline CPU, causing it to never run.

Vulnerability

In the Linux kernel's deadline scheduler (sched/deadline), the cpudl_clear function could set the free_cpus bit for a CPU whose deadline runqueue was offline. This happened because, while the cpudl_set/clear_freecpu functions were introduced to manage the free_cpus mask in sync with runqueue online/offline state, a code path (such as migrating the last deadline task from an offline CPU) allowed cpudl_clear to incorrectly set the bit without checking the runqueue's online status [description].

Exploitation

An attacker or system condition that triggers a CPU offline event while deadline tasks exist can cause the bug. When a CPU is taken offline, its deadline runqueue becomes inactive. If a deadline task is dequeued on that CPU, cpudl_clear may set the free_cpus bit for that now-offline CPU. Later, when another CPU in the same root domain searches for a free CPU via cpudl_find, it may see the offline CPU's bit set and push a deadline task to the powered-down CPU. No special privileges are needed; the issue can occur during normal CPU hotplug operations [description].

Impact

A deadline task migrated to an offline CPU will never run, effectively hanging or starving that task. This can lead to denial of service (DoS) for real-time workloads that rely on the deadline scheduler. The task becomes stuck indefinitely because the offline CPU never executes it [description].

Mitigation

This fix, committed as 9019e399684e (and similarly in fb36846cbcc9 for stable kernels), removes the cpudl_set/clear_freecpu functions and corrects cpudl_clear to only update free_cpus when the deadline runqueue is online. The free_cpus mask is now protected under the cpudl lock using non-atomic operations. Users should apply the corresponding stable kernel patch to prevent this issue [1], [2].

AI Insight generated on May 19, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.

Affected products

1

Patches

0

No patches discovered yet.

Vulnerability mechanics

AI mechanics synthesis has not run for this CVE yet.

References

6

News mentions

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