cpuidle: Skip governor when only one idle state is available
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-476.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cpuidle: Skip governor when only one idle state is available On certain platforms (PowerNV systems without a power-mgt DT node), cpuidle may register only a single idle state. In cases where that single state is a polling state (state 0), the ladder governor may incorrectly treat state 1 as the first usable state and pass an out-of-bounds index. This can lead to a NULL enter callback being invoked, ultimately resulting in a system crash. [ 13.342636] cpuidle-powernv : Only Snooze is available [ 13.351854] Faulting instruction address: 0x00000000 [ 13.376489] NIP [0000000000000000] 0x0 [ 13.378351] LR [c000000001e01974] cpuidle_enter_state+0x2c4/0x668 Fix this by adding a bail-out in cpuidle_select() that returns state 0 directly when state_count <= 1, bypassing the governor and keeping the tick running.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 4.14 and later | 5.10.252, 5.15.202, 6.1.165, 6.6.128, 6.12.75, 6.18.14, 6.19.4, 7.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.14 and later Fixed in 5.10.252, 5.15.202, 6.1.165, 6.6.128, 6.12.75, 6.18.14, 6.19.4, 7.0 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.14 to before 5.10.252; 5.11 to before 5.15.202; 5.16 to before 6.1.165; 6.2 to before 6.6.128; 6.7 to before 6.12.75; 6.13 to before 6.18.14; 6.19 to before 6.19.4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.14 to before 5.10.252; 5.11 to before 5.15.202; 5.16 to before 6.1.165; 6.2 to before 6.6.128; 6.7 to before 6.12.75; 6.13 to before 6.18.14; 6.19 to before 6.19.4 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.252, 5.15.202, 6.1.165, 6.6.128, 6.12.75, 6.18.14, 6.19.4, 7.0
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-45968
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-2g8g-2643-4335
- 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a0f7e804edc82e513d1ccb7c95ed8b351522ec81
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d103a38e2ae96eca57fd17161bcd29bd4622d1c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4da2b897283c39980d6ae09dc1560fcd937879e5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5c577ac939bca486cb02069505cfe47a5312ce02
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8f6833d919bae915ead6c599a53e81e19b32da52
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/63ae78336f40bcd9a44952a7c6bafb9c88a8effd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a0724e40a58a0e323c59707edeae5b71d15800dc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e5c9ffc6ae1bcdb1062527d611043681ac301aca
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- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2026-45968 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-45968 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-2g8g-2643-4335 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-45968 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences