Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm/kmemleak: avoid soft lockup when scanning task stacks
Patch series "mm/kmemleak: avoid soft lockup when scanning task", v3.
kmemleak_scan() scans every task stack under one rcu_read_lock() with no
reschedule point, which can trip the soft lockup watchdog on hosts with
very many threads.
That prints the following message, depending on the workload+host
configuration:
watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#35 stuck for 22s! [kmemleak:537]
scan_block
kmemleak_scan
kmemleak_scan_thread
kthread
Patch 1 walks the tasks with find_ge_pid() so the scan reschedules between
tasks
Patches 2-3 let the scan loops stop early once a scan is interrupted.
This patch (of 3):
kmemleak_scan() walks every thread and scans its kernel stack under a
single rcu_read_lock() with no reschedule point. On a host with very many
threads -- amplified by KASAN/lockdep in debug builds -- this loop can hog
a CPU long enough to trip the soft lockup watchdog:
watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#35 stuck for 22s! [kmemleak:537]
scan_block
kmemleak_scan
kmemleak_scan_thread
kthread
A cond_resched() cannot be added directly: the loop runs inside an RCU
read-side critical section.
Walk the tasks one PID at a time with find_ge_pid(), taking the RCU read
lock only to look up and pin each task. The stack is then scanned with no
lock held, so cond_resched() runs between tasks and the scan stops early
on scan_should_stop(). This follows the next_tgid()/task_seq_get_next()
iteration pattern and keeps each RCU critical section short.
mm/kmemleak: avoid soft lockup when scanning task stacks
Patch series "mm/kmemleak: avoid soft lockup when scanning task", v3.
kmemleak_scan() scans every task stack under one rcu_read_lock() with no
reschedule point, which can trip the soft lockup watchdog on hosts with
very many threads.
That prints the following message, depending on the workload+host
configuration:
watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#35 stuck for 22s! [kmemleak:537]
scan_block
kmemleak_scan
kmemleak_scan_thread
kthread
Patch 1 walks the tasks with find_ge_pid() so the scan reschedules between
tasks
Patches 2-3 let the scan loops stop early once a scan is interrupted.
This patch (of 3):
kmemleak_scan() walks every thread and scans its kernel stack under a
single rcu_read_lock() with no reschedule point. On a host with very many
threads -- amplified by KASAN/lockdep in debug builds -- this loop can hog
a CPU long enough to trip the soft lockup watchdog:
watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#35 stuck for 22s! [kmemleak:537]
scan_block
kmemleak_scan
kmemleak_scan_thread
kthread
A cond_resched() cannot be added directly: the loop runs inside an RCU
read-side critical section.
Walk the tasks one PID at a time with find_ge_pid(), taking the RCU read
lock only to look up and pin each task. The stack is then scanned with no
lock held, so cond_resched() runs between tasks and the scan stops early
on scan_should_stop(). This follows the next_tgid()/task_seq_get_next()
iteration pattern and keeps each RCU critical section short.
Published:
2026-09-11
Score:
n/a
EPSS:
n/a
KEV:
No
Impact:
n/a
Action:
n/a
Analysis
No analysis available yet.
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Linux | Linux | affected |
|
No data.
No data.
No data available yet.
Remediation
No remediation available yet.
Tracking
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Advisories
No advisories yet.
References
History
Fri, 11 Sep 2026 23:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/kmemleak: avoid soft lockup when scanning task stacks Patch series "mm/kmemleak: avoid soft lockup when scanning task", v3. kmemleak_scan() scans every task stack under one rcu_read_lock() with no reschedule point, which can trip the soft lockup watchdog on hosts with very many threads. That prints the following message, depending on the workload+host configuration: watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#35 stuck for 22s! [kmemleak:537] scan_block kmemleak_scan kmemleak_scan_thread kthread Patch 1 walks the tasks with find_ge_pid() so the scan reschedules between tasks Patches 2-3 let the scan loops stop early once a scan is interrupted. This patch (of 3): kmemleak_scan() walks every thread and scans its kernel stack under a single rcu_read_lock() with no reschedule point. On a host with very many threads -- amplified by KASAN/lockdep in debug builds -- this loop can hog a CPU long enough to trip the soft lockup watchdog: watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#35 stuck for 22s! [kmemleak:537] scan_block kmemleak_scan kmemleak_scan_thread kthread A cond_resched() cannot be added directly: the loop runs inside an RCU read-side critical section. Walk the tasks one PID at a time with find_ge_pid(), taking the RCU read lock only to look up and pin each task. The stack is then scanned with no lock held, so cond_resched() runs between tasks and the scan stops early on scan_should_stop(). This follows the next_tgid()/task_seq_get_next() iteration pattern and keeps each RCU critical section short. | |
| Title | mm/kmemleak: avoid soft lockup when scanning task stacks | |
| 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: 2026-09-11T19:47:01.313Z
Reserved: 2026-09-11T19:38:34.763Z
Link: CVE-2026-89759
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-09-11T20:20:06.997
Modified: 2026-09-11T20:20:06.997
Link: CVE-2026-89759
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.