In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
sched/fair: Clear rel_deadline when initializing forked entities
A yield-triggered crash can happen when a newly forked sched_entity
enters the fair class with se->rel_deadline unexpectedly set.
The failing sequence is:
1. A task is forked while se->rel_deadline is still set.
2. __sched_fork() initializes vruntime, vlag and other sched_entity
state, but does not clear rel_deadline.
3. On the first enqueue, enqueue_entity() calls place_entity().
4. Because se->rel_deadline is set, place_entity() treats se->deadline
as a relative deadline and converts it to an absolute deadline by
adding the current vruntime.
5. However, the forked entity's deadline is not a valid inherited
relative deadline for this new scheduling instance, so the conversion
produces an abnormally large deadline.
6. If the task later calls sched_yield(), yield_task_fair() advances
se->vruntime to se->deadline.
7. The inflated vruntime is then used by the following enqueue path,
where the vruntime-derived key can overflow when multiplied by the
entity weight.
8. This corrupts cfs_rq->sum_w_vruntime, breaks EEVDF eligibility
calculation, and can eventually make all entities appear ineligible.
pick_next_entity() may then return NULL unexpectedly, leading to a
later NULL dereference.
A captured trace shows the effect clearly. Before yield, the entity's
vruntime was around:
9834017729983308
After yield_task_fair() executed:
se->vruntime = se->deadline
the vruntime jumped to:
19668035460670230
and the deadline was later advanced further to:
19668035463470230
This shows that the deadline had already become abnormally large before
yield_task_fair() copied it into vruntime.
rel_deadline is only meaningful when se->deadline really carries a
relative deadline that still needs to be placed against vruntime. A
freshly forked sched_entity should not inherit or retain this state.
Clear se->rel_deadline in __sched_fork(), together with the other
sched_entity runtime state, so that the first enqueue does not interpret
the new entity's deadline as a stale relative deadline.
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendors | Products |
|---|---|
| Linux |
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No data.
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References
History
Wed, 24 Jun 2026 19:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | CWE-665 |
Wed, 24 Jun 2026 17:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched/fair: Clear rel_deadline when initializing forked entities A yield-triggered crash can happen when a newly forked sched_entity enters the fair class with se->rel_deadline unexpectedly set. The failing sequence is: 1. A task is forked while se->rel_deadline is still set. 2. __sched_fork() initializes vruntime, vlag and other sched_entity state, but does not clear rel_deadline. 3. On the first enqueue, enqueue_entity() calls place_entity(). 4. Because se->rel_deadline is set, place_entity() treats se->deadline as a relative deadline and converts it to an absolute deadline by adding the current vruntime. 5. However, the forked entity's deadline is not a valid inherited relative deadline for this new scheduling instance, so the conversion produces an abnormally large deadline. 6. If the task later calls sched_yield(), yield_task_fair() advances se->vruntime to se->deadline. 7. The inflated vruntime is then used by the following enqueue path, where the vruntime-derived key can overflow when multiplied by the entity weight. 8. This corrupts cfs_rq->sum_w_vruntime, breaks EEVDF eligibility calculation, and can eventually make all entities appear ineligible. pick_next_entity() may then return NULL unexpectedly, leading to a later NULL dereference. A captured trace shows the effect clearly. Before yield, the entity's vruntime was around: 9834017729983308 After yield_task_fair() executed: se->vruntime = se->deadline the vruntime jumped to: 19668035460670230 and the deadline was later advanced further to: 19668035463470230 This shows that the deadline had already become abnormally large before yield_task_fair() copied it into vruntime. rel_deadline is only meaningful when se->deadline really carries a relative deadline that still needs to be placed against vruntime. A freshly forked sched_entity should not inherit or retain this state. Clear se->rel_deadline in __sched_fork(), together with the other sched_entity runtime state, so that the first enqueue does not interpret the new entity's deadline as a stale relative deadline. | |
| Title | sched/fair: Clear rel_deadline when initializing forked entities | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-06-24T16:28:56.457Z
Reserved: 2026-06-09T07:44:35.376Z
Link: CVE-2026-52980
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
No data.
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
Updated: 2026-06-24T19:00:06Z