The Linux kernel contains a busy‑wait loop in tipc_exit_net() that waits for a work‑queue counter to reach zero. If cond_resched() does nothing, the loop can spin for an extended period, draining CPU cycles and leading to soft lockups. The vulnerability is triggered when a network namespace is torn down in a high‑priority context or when preemption is disabled, because the worker thread cannot be pre‑empted and the loop never yields.

The flaw affects all Linux kernel builds that include the TIPC stack prior to the patch that replaces the busy loop with a proper wait queue. No specific kernel version range is listed, so any kernel using tipc before the commit that adds wait_var_event() is potentially impacted.

No EPSS score or KEV listing is available, and a CVSS score is not supplied, but the flaw can be used by an attacker who can cause network namespace teardown in a privileged context. When an attacker induces the tear‑down of a network namespace, the kernel can be forced into a high‑CPU state and may suffer soft lockups, disrupting system availability. Because the issue occurs only when conditional scheduling is bypassed, exploitation requires specific circumstances, making the risk moderate to high for affected systems.