Kernel crash via unchecked cpuset parent traversal
Published Oct 23, 2026 · Updated Oct 23, 2026
A cpuset race in Linux 6.16 allows attackers to trigger a kernel crash during task placement concurrent with CPU offlining. In kernel/cgroup/cpuset.c, guarantee_active_cpus() follows parent cpusets without checking for NULL after cpu_active_mask changes but before effective_cpus is synchronized. Triggering requires that timing window; the published report does not establish minimum attacker privileges or a network trigger.
Summary
What happened
A cpuset race in Linux 6.16 allows attackers to trigger a kernel crash during task placement concurrent with CPU offlining. In kernel/cgroup/cpuset.c, guarantee_active_cpus() follows parent cpusets without checking for NULL after cpu_active_mask changes but before effective_cpus is synchronized. Triggering requires that timing window; the published report does not establish minimum attacker privileges or a network trigger.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-99065
- Published
- Oct 23, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 23, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 23, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 23, 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=6.16
- Affected versionversion=7a0aabd9ce697fc581ec691b21f748050fbcf004 <23b1ab15ca91f2cffaf149d9bb0fafeb700c7db2
- Affected versionversion=7a0aabd9ce697fc581ec691b21f748050fbcf004 <8d88d3221204fbb1b6dc2c0f2f2181fe49126639
- Affected versionversion=7a0aabd9ce697fc581ec691b21f748050fbcf004 <a21c255159bfe0034740292e10d2e258feeeb10d
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
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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