Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-43392

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.78 / 6.18.20 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched_ext: Fix starvation of scx_enable() under fair-class saturation During scx_enable(), the READY -> ENABLED task switching loop changes the calling thread's sched_class from fair to ext. Since fair has higher priority than ext, saturating fair-class workloads can indefinitely starve the enable thread, hanging the system. This was introduced when the enable path switched from preempt_disable() to scx_bypass() which doesn't protect against fair-class starvation. Note that the original preempt_disable() protection wasn't complete either - in partial switch modes, the calling thread could still be starved after preempt_enable() as it may have been switched to ext class. Fix it by offloading the enable body to a dedicated system-wide RT (SCHED_FIFO) kthread which cannot be starved by either fair or ext class tasks. scx_enable() lazily creates the kthread on first use and passes the ops pointer through a struct scx_enable_cmd containing the kthread_work, then synchronously waits for completion. The workfn runs on a different kthread from sch->helper (which runs disable_work), so it can safely flush disable_work on the error path without deadlock.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 6.12.1, < 6.12.78>= 6.13, < 6.18.20>= 6.19, < 6.19.9= 6.12= 7.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.12.78 / 6.18.20 / 6.19.9 or later
Fixed in 6.12.786.18.206.19.9
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.12.78, 6.18.20, or 6.19.9 (depending on your current branch)

  1. Check current kernel version with `uname -r` to identify which affected branch you are on
  2. For 6.12.x kernels: upgrade to kernel version 6.12.78 or later
  3. For 6.13.x through 6.17.x kernels: upgrade to kernel version 6.18.20 or later
  4. For 6.19.x kernels: upgrade to kernel version 6.19.9 or later
  5. Reboot the system after applying the kernel update
Caveat Kernel upgrade carries standard stability risk; sched_ext now uses a dedicated RT kthread for enable operations which may have minor behavioral differences

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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Free · runs locally
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-43392 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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