CPU exhaustion via truncated EDAC polling interval
Published Sep 25, 2026 · Updated Sep 25, 2026
Denial of service in Linux EDAC device sysfs allows local users to consume 100% CPU by writing a zero-equivalent poll interval. The edac_device_ctl_poll_msec_store function parses an unsigned long with simple_strtoul and stores it in an unsigned int, so zero or values congruent to zero modulo 2^32 become a zero delay. Exploitation requires local write access to the affected poll_msec sysfs control on a system with a registered EDAC device, and the resulting polling worker spins without delay.
Summary
What happened
Denial of service in Linux EDAC device sysfs allows local users to consume 100% CPU by writing a zero-equivalent poll interval. The edac_device_ctl_poll_msec_store function parses an unsigned long with simple_strtoul and stores it in an unsigned int, so zero or values congruent to zero modulo 2^32 become a zero delay. Exploitation requires local write access to the affected poll_msec sysfs control on a system with a registered EDAC device, and the resulting polling worker spins without delay.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98157
- Published
- Sep 25, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 25, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 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?
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- Affected versionversion=2.6.23
- Affected versionversion=e27e3dac651771fe3250f6305dee277bce29fc5d <0e022ee4f8e0dc843ba4c80bb75408a7704279af
- Affected versionversion=e27e3dac651771fe3250f6305dee277bce29fc5d <528052af901d6e6bbfa0e52362a70a58a5dd1e43
- Affected versionversion=e27e3dac651771fe3250f6305dee277bce29fc5d <66cc9dec919dd63d8e4b3d386f7aed3ae684e645
- Affected versionversion=e27e3dac651771fe3250f6305dee277bce29fc5d <ea01c061d839b520f385f112908de1c6e3391327
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
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