io_uring fails to wake ring pollers for local task_work
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Fixed
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
In the Linux kernel from version 6.3, io_uring does not wake ring pollers when local task_work is queued under IORING_SETUP_DEFER_TASKRUN, so a process waiting in poll() or epoll on the ring file descriptor can sleep even though completions are pending. The fix wakes the poll wait queue when the first entry is added to the work list, deferring the wake up through an RCU callback when the work is queued from a wake up handler.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Description from the CNA
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: io_uring: wake ring pollers for local task_work With IORING_SETUP_DEFER_TASKRUN completions are queued as local work, and only become CQEs when the submitter enters the kernel to wait for events. For an application that finds out via poll() or epoll on the ring fd when it is time to do that, io_uring_poll() reports EPOLLIN if local work is pending. That only helps if the work is there at the time of the call. When DEFER_TASKRUN was added, io_req_local_work_add() did io_cqring_wake(), which took care of tasks sleeping in poll() as well. Then polling got a wait queue of its own, ->poll_wq, and the wake up in io_req_local_work_add() was replaced by waking the submitter directly. Since then ->poll_wq is only woken when CQEs are committed, which for such a ring is done by the very task that is waiting to be told to: submitter completion poll(ring_fd) io_uring_poll() // nothing yet schedule() io_req_local_work_add() // ->cq_wait_nr: nobody waits // sleeps on Wake ->poll_wq when the first entry is put on the work list. Like for the eventfd, that must not be done right away if the work is queued from a wake up handler, as the chain of wake ups could get back to the wait queue whose lock is held. Use an RCU callback in that case, with a reference to the ring.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
Linux kernel versions 6.6.161, 6.12.115, 6.18.60, 7.2.14 and 7.4-rc1 contain the fix, so update to the fixed release for your branch.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.6.161, 6.12.115, 6.18.60, 7.2.14, 7.4-rc1
Timeline
- 2026-11-03 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-99268
- 2026-11-03 Alias added: GHSA-497m-fpw9-92rh
- 2026-11-03 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@b88902d8745a701d24275d012f0830e3628e2a22 · CNA
- 2026-11-03 1 new reference · CNA
References
Other 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9bb28e7740ce78beecafc5db074b45f4cbeb8a47
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d8c618747a6aa90022e19ec614aa7157d0302108
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2c88d978f1dfd03edf67924ea8fd25cc45499eef
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/92bfadcbe0a9a001beb5e58a2abaf040b873deb6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b88902d8745a701d24275d012f0830e3628e2a22
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Sources
- CVE-2026-99268 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-99268 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-497m-fpw9-92rh · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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