Kernel crash via unsynchronized CPU hotplug
Published Jul 25, 2026 · Updated Jul 25, 2026
Race condition in the Linux Kernel cpufreq subsystem allows local users with administrative access to crash the kernel during reboot. The cpufreq_suspend() path reads governor_data without excluding concurrent CPU hotplug, allowing the hotplug path to free the object before that access and trigger a null pointer dereference. Reachability requires a reboot concurrent with CPU hotplug; the resulting oops or panic interrupts the rebooting system.
Summary
What happened
Race condition in the Linux Kernel cpufreq subsystem allows local users with administrative access to crash the kernel during reboot. The cpufreq_suspend() path reads governor_data without excluding concurrent CPU hotplug, allowing the hotplug path to free the object before that access and trigger a null pointer dereference. Reachability requires a reboot concurrent with CPU hotplug; the resulting oops or panic interrupts the rebooting system.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-64373
- Published
- Jul 25, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 25, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 25, 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.
- Affected versionversion=4.14.151 <4.15
- Affected versionversion=4.19.81 <4.20
- Affected versionversion=4.4.198 <4.5
- Affected versionversion=4.9.198 <4.10
- Affected versionversion=5.3.8 <5.4
- Affected versionversion=5.4
- Affected versionversion=5f466713989250938624afa79dc33bae20920700
- Affected versionversion=65650b35133ff20f0c9ef0abd5c3c66dbce3ae57 <6d5dd354c37abaf4d60400c55c71f23ba2b33639
- Affected versionversion=65650b35133ff20f0c9ef0abd5c3c66dbce3ae57 <6e175c00c62dca3d91b987015808b5d52e8db2b4
- Affected versionversion=65650b35133ff20f0c9ef0abd5c3c66dbce3ae57 <73255d702c7560185fd5951aadcf7eb057c2f453
- Affected versionversion=65650b35133ff20f0c9ef0abd5c3c66dbce3ae57 <9103078c7b3091a2fbb52af176f95982ee7dd7f8
- Affected versionversion=65650b35133ff20f0c9ef0abd5c3c66dbce3ae57 <a0106b41f9a724868d390b8b3b4ea5ca0e04ea53
- Affected versionversion=65650b35133ff20f0c9ef0abd5c3c66dbce3ae57 <a0ef2fc89d28ca62923376c4b8ffaa57136a36be
- Affected versionversion=65650b35133ff20f0c9ef0abd5c3c66dbce3ae57 <a9029dd55696c651ee46912afa2a166fa456bb3e
- Affected versionversion=65650b35133ff20f0c9ef0abd5c3c66dbce3ae57 <cd4524ff6567fa4458a5bec4b017105e671d393e
- Affected versionversion=7ccf3b8b7a12dc9da158c2e699c36d04b2496944
- Affected versionversion=89ab39da1452d272007acc5912d4008047b86706
- Affected versionversion=8bfa06ea6e81bf08d2132d7e70c2b5313b34caf8
- Affected versionversion=cb4b4601f910c78d2b49f637a12ef98b41cb76a9
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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