In the Linux kernel, the poll_msec sysfs store accepts string values without enforcing the unsigned‑int limit. When a value larger than the maximum unsigned int is written, it is silently truncated. On 64-bit systems a uint larger than 0xFFFFFFFF is converted to a lower 32‑bit value and, if set to zero, the kernel’s poll work loops without delay, consuming 100 % of CPU. This can lead to a denial‑of‑service condition where the system becomes unresponsive.

The vulnerability affects all kernel releases that compile the EDAC driver with the legacy simple_strtoul conversion. Because the kernel change is a global kernel source patch, the problem exists until the repository commits that replace simple_strtoul with kstrtouint are merged and propagated to distribution packages. All Linux kernel users that expose the poll_msec sysfs entry without root-only permissions are potentially impacted.

The EPSS score is < 1%, indicating a low likelihood of exploitation. The vulnerability is not listed in CISA KEV. The CVSS score of 5.5 indicates moderate severity. Based on the description, it is inferred that the flaw requires write access to the poll_msec sysfs file, making it a local vulnerability that can be abused if an attacker has sufficient privileges. Truncation may silently set the delay to zero, causing the kernel to spin and waste CPU cycles, and larger supplied values will wrap, potentially resetting the polling interval to an unintended rate. The patch prevents truncation and adds a check for zero, which mitigates the DoS vector once applied.