In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
workqueue: Fix NULL current_pwq deref in flush dependency check
check_flush_dependency() uses current_wq_worker() to determine whether
the caller is a workqueue worker and then dereferences worker->current_pwq
to test whether the current workqueue is WQ_MEM_RECLAIM.
current_wq_worker() only means that %current has PF_WQ_WORKER set. A
kworker can reach check_flush_dependency() while it is not executing a
work item. One such path is worker_thread() acting as the pool manager,
where create_worker() does GFP_KERNEL allocation and the allocation path
invokes the OOM notifier. In that state worker->current_pwq is NULL
because current_pwq is set only by process_one_work() and cleared again
after the work function returns.
[ 416.760634][ T375] Call trace:
[ 416.760638][ T375] check_flush_dependency+0x80/0x120 (P)
[ 416.760648][ T375] __flush_work+0x98/0x224
[ 416.760657][ T375] flush_work+0x30/0x44
[ 416.760665][ T375] ...
[ 416.760710][ T375] blocking_notifier_call_chain+0x58/0xa0
[ 416.760719][ T375] out_of_memory+0xb4/0x458
[ 416.760730][ T375] __alloc_pages_may_oom+0x11c/0x1a8
[ 416.760739][ T375] __alloc_pages_slowpath+0x314/0x46c
[ 416.760746][ T375] __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof+0x110/0x1a4
[ 416.760753][ T375] new_slab+0x12c/0x484
[ 416.760759][ T375] ___slab_alloc+0x7a8/0xc7c
[ 416.760765][ T375] __slab_alloc+0x74/0xd8
[ 416.760772][ T375] __kmalloc_cache_node_noprof+0x2ac/0x304
[ 416.760779][ T375] alloc_worker+0x28/0x60
[ 416.760785][ T375] create_worker+0x4c/0x20c
[ 416.760790][ T375] worker_thread+0xe8/0x2b8
[ 416.760796][ T375] kthread+0x1a8/0x200
[ 416.760805][ T375] ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20
Guard the WQ_MEM_RECLAIM-worker warning with worker->current_pwq. If the
kworker is not currently executing a work item, there is no current
workqueue to diagnose with that warning. The PF_MEMALLOC warning is left
unchanged so explicit reclaim context flushing a !WQ_MEM_RECLAIM target
is still reported.
workqueue: Fix NULL current_pwq deref in flush dependency check
check_flush_dependency() uses current_wq_worker() to determine whether
the caller is a workqueue worker and then dereferences worker->current_pwq
to test whether the current workqueue is WQ_MEM_RECLAIM.
current_wq_worker() only means that %current has PF_WQ_WORKER set. A
kworker can reach check_flush_dependency() while it is not executing a
work item. One such path is worker_thread() acting as the pool manager,
where create_worker() does GFP_KERNEL allocation and the allocation path
invokes the OOM notifier. In that state worker->current_pwq is NULL
because current_pwq is set only by process_one_work() and cleared again
after the work function returns.
[ 416.760634][ T375] Call trace:
[ 416.760638][ T375] check_flush_dependency+0x80/0x120 (P)
[ 416.760648][ T375] __flush_work+0x98/0x224
[ 416.760657][ T375] flush_work+0x30/0x44
[ 416.760665][ T375] ...
[ 416.760710][ T375] blocking_notifier_call_chain+0x58/0xa0
[ 416.760719][ T375] out_of_memory+0xb4/0x458
[ 416.760730][ T375] __alloc_pages_may_oom+0x11c/0x1a8
[ 416.760739][ T375] __alloc_pages_slowpath+0x314/0x46c
[ 416.760746][ T375] __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof+0x110/0x1a4
[ 416.760753][ T375] new_slab+0x12c/0x484
[ 416.760759][ T375] ___slab_alloc+0x7a8/0xc7c
[ 416.760765][ T375] __slab_alloc+0x74/0xd8
[ 416.760772][ T375] __kmalloc_cache_node_noprof+0x2ac/0x304
[ 416.760779][ T375] alloc_worker+0x28/0x60
[ 416.760785][ T375] create_worker+0x4c/0x20c
[ 416.760790][ T375] worker_thread+0xe8/0x2b8
[ 416.760796][ T375] kthread+0x1a8/0x200
[ 416.760805][ T375] ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20
Guard the WQ_MEM_RECLAIM-worker warning with worker->current_pwq. If the
kworker is not currently executing a work item, there is no current
workqueue to diagnose with that warning. The PF_MEMALLOC warning is left
unchanged so explicit reclaim context flushing a !WQ_MEM_RECLAIM target
is still reported.
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
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Fixes
Solution
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Workaround
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References
History
Sun, 18 Oct 2026 17:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | CWE-476 |
Sun, 18 Oct 2026 15:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: workqueue: Fix NULL current_pwq deref in flush dependency check check_flush_dependency() uses current_wq_worker() to determine whether the caller is a workqueue worker and then dereferences worker->current_pwq to test whether the current workqueue is WQ_MEM_RECLAIM. current_wq_worker() only means that %current has PF_WQ_WORKER set. A kworker can reach check_flush_dependency() while it is not executing a work item. One such path is worker_thread() acting as the pool manager, where create_worker() does GFP_KERNEL allocation and the allocation path invokes the OOM notifier. In that state worker->current_pwq is NULL because current_pwq is set only by process_one_work() and cleared again after the work function returns. [ 416.760634][ T375] Call trace: [ 416.760638][ T375] check_flush_dependency+0x80/0x120 (P) [ 416.760648][ T375] __flush_work+0x98/0x224 [ 416.760657][ T375] flush_work+0x30/0x44 [ 416.760665][ T375] ... [ 416.760710][ T375] blocking_notifier_call_chain+0x58/0xa0 [ 416.760719][ T375] out_of_memory+0xb4/0x458 [ 416.760730][ T375] __alloc_pages_may_oom+0x11c/0x1a8 [ 416.760739][ T375] __alloc_pages_slowpath+0x314/0x46c [ 416.760746][ T375] __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof+0x110/0x1a4 [ 416.760753][ T375] new_slab+0x12c/0x484 [ 416.760759][ T375] ___slab_alloc+0x7a8/0xc7c [ 416.760765][ T375] __slab_alloc+0x74/0xd8 [ 416.760772][ T375] __kmalloc_cache_node_noprof+0x2ac/0x304 [ 416.760779][ T375] alloc_worker+0x28/0x60 [ 416.760785][ T375] create_worker+0x4c/0x20c [ 416.760790][ T375] worker_thread+0xe8/0x2b8 [ 416.760796][ T375] kthread+0x1a8/0x200 [ 416.760805][ T375] ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20 Guard the WQ_MEM_RECLAIM-worker warning with worker->current_pwq. If the kworker is not currently executing a work item, there is no current workqueue to diagnose with that warning. The PF_MEMALLOC warning is left unchanged so explicit reclaim context flushing a !WQ_MEM_RECLAIM target is still reported. | |
| Title | workqueue: Fix NULL current_pwq deref in flush dependency check | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
|
Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-10-18T15:18:05.028Z
Reserved: 2026-09-25T10:25:14.355Z
Link: CVE-2026-98537
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-10-18T16:17:05.480
Modified: 2026-10-18T16:17:05.480
Link: CVE-2026-98537
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
Updated: 2026-10-18T17:30:16Z
Weaknesses