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Unscored CVE-2026-98530 EUVD-2026-103575GHSA-2p4m-w3h2-4q6g

kprobes: Fix permanent hang when flushing the kprobe optimizer

Published Oct 18, 2026 · Updated Oct 19, 2026 · Assigned by Linux

Vendor: Linux Product: Linux Package: linux Package: linux Package: linux-allwinner-5.19 Package: linux-aws Package: linux-aws-5.0 Package: linux-aws-5.11 Package: linux-aws-5.13 Package: linux-aws-5.19 Package: linux-aws-5.3 Package: linux-aws-5.8 Package: linux-aws-6.14 Package: linux-aws-6.17 Package: linux-aws-6.2 Package: linux-aws-6.5 Package: linux-aws-7.0 Package: linux-azure Package: linux-azure-5.11 Package: linux-azure-5.13 Package: linux-azure-5.19 Package: linux-azure-5.3 Package: linux-azure-5.8 Package: linux-azure-6.11 Package: linux-azure-6.14 Package: linux-azure-6.17 Package: linux-azure-6.2 Package: linux-azure-6.5 Package: linux-azure-7.0 Package: linux-azure-edge Package: linux-azure-fde Package: linux-azure-fde-5.19 Package: linux-azure-fde-6.14 Package: linux-azure-fde-6.17 Package: linux-azure-fde-6.2 Package: linux-azure-fde-7.0 Package: linux-azure-nvidia-6.14 Package: linux-gcp Package: linux-gcp-5.11 Package: linux-gcp-5.13 Package: linux-gcp-5.19 Package: linux-gcp-5.3 Package: linux-gcp-5.8 Package: linux-gcp-6.11 Package: linux-gcp-6.14 Package: linux-gcp-6.17 Package: linux-gcp-6.2 Package: linux-gcp-6.5 Package: linux-gcp-7.0 Package: linux-gke Package: linux-gke-4.15 Package: linux-gke-5.15 Package: linux-gke-5.4 Package: linux-gkeop Package: linux-gkeop-5.15 Package: linux-gkeop-5.4 Package: linux-hwe Package: linux-hwe-5.11 Package: linux-hwe-5.13 Package: linux-hwe-5.19 Package: linux-hwe-5.8 Package: linux-hwe-6.11 Package: linux-hwe-6.14 Package: linux-hwe-6.2 Package: linux-hwe-6.5 Package: linux-hwe-7.0 Package: linux-hwe-edge Package: linux-ibm Package: linux-intel-5.13 Package: linux-intel-iot-realtime Package: linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.19 Package: linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11 Package: linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.2 Package: linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.5 Package: linux-nvidia Package: linux-nvidia-6.11 Package: linux-nvidia-6.17 Package: linux-nvidia-6.2 Package: linux-nvidia-6.5 Package: linux-nvidia-7.0 Package: linux-nvidia-bos Package: linux-oem Package: linux-oem-5.10 Package: linux-oem-5.13 Package: linux-oem-5.14 Package: linux-oem-5.17 Package: linux-oem-5.6 Package: linux-oem-6.0 Package: linux-oem-6.1 Package: linux-oem-6.11 Package: linux-oem-6.14 Package: linux-oem-6.5 Package: linux-oem-6.8 Package: linux-oem-7.0 Package: linux-oracle Package: linux-oracle-5.0 Package: linux-oracle-5.11 Package: linux-oracle-5.13 Package: linux-oracle-5.3 Package: linux-oracle-5.8 Package: linux-oracle-6.14 Package: linux-oracle-6.17 Package: linux-oracle-6.5 Package: linux-oracle-7.0 Package: linux-raspi Package: linux-raspi-realtime Package: linux-raspi2 Package: linux-realtime Package: linux-realtime-6.14 Package: linux-realtime-6.17 Package: linux-riscv Package: linux-riscv-5.11 Package: linux-riscv-5.19 Package: linux-riscv-5.8 Package: linux-riscv-6.14 Package: linux-riscv-6.17 Package: linux-riscv-6.5 Package: linux-riscv-7.0 Package: linux-starfive-5.19 Package: linux-starfive-6.2 Package: linux-starfive-6.5 Package: linux-vmware Platform: Linux Ecosystem: Debian Ecosystem: Ubuntu

Description

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

kprobes: Fix permanent hang when flushing the kprobe optimizer

Writing 0 to /proc/sys/debug/kprobes-optimization while a kprobe is
jump-optimized never returns. The writer sleeps in D state forever with
kprobe_sysctl_mutex held, so any later read or write of that sysctl
hangs as well. For example, with vfs_read+9 as an optimizable address
in this build:

# cd /sys/kernel/tracing
# echo 'p:myprobe vfs_read+9' >> kprobe_events
# echo 1 > events/kprobes/myprobe/enable
# # wait until /sys/kernel/debug/kprobes/list shows [OPTIMIZED]
# echo 0 > /proc/sys/debug/kprobes-optimization

INFO: task sh:246 blocked for more than 10 seconds.
Call Trace:
<TASK>
__schedule+0x1176/0x4f70
schedule+0xdc/0x2c0
schedule_timeout+0x17b/0x260
wait_for_completion+0x173/0x3c0
wait_for_kprobe_optimizer_locked+0xbc/0x130
proc_kprobes_optimization_handler+0x156/0x1b0
proc_sys_call_handler+0x324/0x490
vfs_write+0x52d/0xfe0
ksys_write+0xff/0x200
do_syscall_64+0x106/0x630
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
</TASK>
...
INFO: task cat:265 is blocked on a mutex likely owned by task sh:246.

wait_for_kprobe_optimizer_locked() reinitializes optimizer_completion,
asks the optimizer thread to flush and sleeps in wait_for_completion().
The thread drains the (un)optimizing lists, but calls complete() only
if completion_done() is true, i.e. if the completion is already done,
which never happens while someone waits. disarm_all_kprobes() and
kprobe_trace_self_tests_init() wait the same way.

Calling complete() unconditionally would not be enough: the waiter
drops kprobe_mutex while it sleeps, and nothing else serializes the
sysctl handler against the debugfs "enabled" file. A second flusher
that still finds the lists non-empty, e.g. because a disabled probe is
queued for unoptimizing, reinitializes the completion under the first:

sysctl write debugfs "enabled" write
unoptimize_all_kprobes()
wait_for_kprobe_optimizer_locked()
init_completion(c)
mutex_unlock(&kprobe_mutex)
wait_for_completion(c)
disarm_all_kprobes()
wait_for_kprobe_optimizer_locked()
init_completion(c)
// c->wait is reset, the first
// waiter is off the queue
mutex_unlock(&kprobe_mutex)
wait_for_completion(c)
kprobe_optimizer()
complete(c)
// wakes the debugfs writer only

where c is &optimizer_completion. Lining up the two writes during an
optimizer pass loses the sysctl writer this way.

Replace the completion with a counter of optimizer passes, bumped at the
end of each pass and signalled with wake_up_var_locked(), both under
kprobe_mutex. A flusher samples the count and waits with
wait_var_event_mutex(), which drops kprobe_mutex only while sleeping, so
a new count means a whole pass ran in the meantime. Nothing is
reinitialized, so several flushers can sleep in the wait at once.

Affected products

VendorProductAffectedFixed
Linux Linux 7.0 7.2.9

Fixed in Linux distributions

Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.

ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian 14 linux 7.2.9-1 —
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS linux 7.0.0-42.42 USN-8959-1
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS linux-aws 7.0.0-1016.17 USN-8959-1
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS linux-azure 7.0.0-1020.21 USN-9019-1
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS linux-azure-fde 7.0.0-1019.19 USN-9020-1
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS linux-gcp 7.0.0-1016.18 USN-8959-1
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS linux-gke 7.0.0-1010.11 USN-9020-1
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS linux-ibm +1 7.0.0-1017.17 USN-8960-1, USN-8959-1
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS linux-nvidia +1 No fix yet —
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS linux-oracle 7.0.0-1015.16 USN-8959-1
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS linux-raspi 7.0.0-1023.23 USN-9021-1
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS linux-realtime 7.0.0-43.43.1 USN-9020-1
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS linux-riscv 7.0.0-42.42.1 —
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS linux-aws-7.0 7.0.0-1017.18~24.04.1 USN-9020-1
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS linux-azure-fde-7.0 7.0.0-1019.19~24.04.1 USN-9020-1
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS linux-gcp-7.0 7.0.0-1017.19~24.04.1 USN-9020-1
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS linux-hwe-7.0 7.0.0-42.42~24.04.1 USN-8959-1
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS linux-oracle-7.0 7.0.0-1016.18~24.04.1 USN-9020-1
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS linux-riscv +27 No fix yet —
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS linux-riscv-7.0 7.0.0-42.42.1~24.04.1 —
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS linux-riscv +32 No fix yet —
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS linux-gke +28 No fix yet —
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS linux-gcp +14 No fix yet —
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS linux-hwe-edge No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS linux-realtime-6.14 +1 No fix yet —

Advisories 5

References