In the Linux kernel a missing reset of the next_event_forced flag within the clockevents subsystem caused the flag to remain stale in several code paths. When the flag persisted, scheduled timer interrupts were unintentionally suppressed, leading to periods where the system waited for a forced event that never arrived. This manifested as visible system stalls and degraded responsiveness.

The flaw is confined to the Linux kernel itself. All kernel versions that contained the buggy clockevents implementation before the patch are potentially affected. The exact release range is not specified, so any kernel lacking the provided commit to reset next_event_forced in the described paths is at risk.

The CVSS score of 5.5 indicates a medium severity and the EPSS score of less than 1% suggests a low likelihood of exploitation in the wild. The vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. Attackers would need to trigger a circular reset or initiate a reboot sequence on a system that has not yet applied the patch. With local or root access, invoking the stale flag path could force the kernel into a state of missing timer interrupts, effectively denying service to user applications that rely on timely scheduling. No public exploit so far has been reported, so the risk remains mainly theoretical but not negligible.