CVE-2026-52980

Local system crash via stale scheduler deadline

Published Jun 24, 2026 · Updated Jun 24, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in affected Linux Kernel releases allows local users to crash systems by forking and yielding tasks. The __sched_fork() path leaves se->rel_deadline set, so place_entity() converts a stale relative deadline, inflates vruntime, overflows weighted accounting, and lets pick_next_entity() return NULL. Local users must create a task with the stale state and invoke sched_yield(); the resulting NULL dereference interrupts the host.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.12%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in affected Linux Kernel releases allows local users to crash systems by forking and yielding tasks. The __sched_fork() path leaves se->rel_deadline set, so place_entity() converts a stale relative deadline, inflates vruntime, overflows weighted accounting, and lets pick_next_entity() return NULL. Local users must create a task with the stale state and invoke sched_yield(); the resulting NULL dereference interrupts the host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-52980
Published
Jun 24, 2026
Updated
Jun 24, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 24, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jun 24, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=6.12
  2. Affected versionversion=82e9d0456e06cebe2c89f3c73cdbc9e3805e9437 <3da56dc063cd77b9c0b40add930767fab4e389f3
  3. Affected versionversion=82e9d0456e06cebe2c89f3c73cdbc9e3805e9437 <8f4a16200785f49cf02c5b71bdfe7a9dab63f23a
  4. Affected versionversion=82e9d0456e06cebe2c89f3c73cdbc9e3805e9437 <c71bf35caba12bfd9bc23e32b0bcd9e02d1cf1ac
  5. Affected versionversion=82e9d0456e06cebe2c89f3c73cdbc9e3805e9437 <f3c16e1f4a314a20717ab90a41885f8111a242ab

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=6.12; version=82e9d0456e06cebe2c89f3c73cdbc9e3805e9437 <3da56dc063cd77b9c0b40add930767fab4e389f3; version=82e9d0456e06cebe2c89f3c73cdbc9e3805e9437 <8f4a16200785f49cf02c5b71bdfe7a9dab63f23a; version=82e9d0456e06cebe2c89f3c73cdbc9e3805e9437 <c71bf35caba12bfd9bc23e32b0bcd9e02d1cf1ac; version=82e9d0456e06cebe2c89f3c73cdbc9e3805e9437 <f3c16e1f4a314a20717ab90a41885f8111a242ab

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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