In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net/sched: sch_hfsc: bound the classify inner-filter walk with a drift budget
hfsc_classify() applies the "filter may only point downwards" level check
only when the filter result carries no bound class. A filter created with
a flowid gets res.class set once at bind time, so the check never runs for
it during classification. hfsc_adjust_levels() can later raise a class's
level without revalidating existing bindings, leaving two binds that were
each legal at bind time pointing at each other; the classify walk then
bounces between two interior classes forever with the qdisc lock held and
BH disabled — a soft lockup from a single packet. The stuck walk trips
the watchdog:
watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#3 stuck for 13s! [ping:444]
RIP: 0010:u32_classify+0x542/0x17f0
...
tcf_classify+0x66/0xa0
hfsc_enqueue+0x166/0xdf0
Bound the traversal with a budget of non-descending hops, the only way a
configured walk can move without descending the class tree once levels
drift after bind time. The budget is cumulative over the whole walk and
is deliberately not reset on a descending hop: a chain that alternates a
descent with a lateral hop would return the budget every lap and never
trip. Descending hops never decrement it, so legitimately deep trees are
unaffected and a terminating lateral chain still classifies normally.
Drop the packet with a rate-limited warning once the budget is exhausted,
mirroring the merged HTB fix.
This is a follow-up to commit 729c4896ab82 ("net/sched: sch_htb: limit
htb_classify inner-class filter hops"), which bounded the same classify
loop on the HTB side but left the HFSC walk unbounded.
Conditions to recreate the bug:
- CONFIG_NET_SCHED, CONFIG_NET_SCH_HFSC, CONFIG_NET_CLS_U32,
CONFIG_LOCKUP_DETECTOR.
- Build a cycle with two legal-at-bind-time flowid binds and a level
drift: class X 1:1 (child of root) with leaf child 1:10; class Y 1:2
(sibling of X) with children 1:20 and 1:200; root u32 filter flowid
1:1; filter on X flowid 1:2 (legal when Y is a leaf); after Y's level
rises to 2, filter on Y flowid 1:1 (legal then). Send one packet (ping
on the device). Unfixed kernel: classify spins with the qdisc lock
held; with softlockup_panic=1 it panics.
- Reachable from unprivileged user via unshare -Urn (CAP_NET_ADMIN).
net/sched: sch_hfsc: bound the classify inner-filter walk with a drift budget
hfsc_classify() applies the "filter may only point downwards" level check
only when the filter result carries no bound class. A filter created with
a flowid gets res.class set once at bind time, so the check never runs for
it during classification. hfsc_adjust_levels() can later raise a class's
level without revalidating existing bindings, leaving two binds that were
each legal at bind time pointing at each other; the classify walk then
bounces between two interior classes forever with the qdisc lock held and
BH disabled — a soft lockup from a single packet. The stuck walk trips
the watchdog:
watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#3 stuck for 13s! [ping:444]
RIP: 0010:u32_classify+0x542/0x17f0
...
tcf_classify+0x66/0xa0
hfsc_enqueue+0x166/0xdf0
Bound the traversal with a budget of non-descending hops, the only way a
configured walk can move without descending the class tree once levels
drift after bind time. The budget is cumulative over the whole walk and
is deliberately not reset on a descending hop: a chain that alternates a
descent with a lateral hop would return the budget every lap and never
trip. Descending hops never decrement it, so legitimately deep trees are
unaffected and a terminating lateral chain still classifies normally.
Drop the packet with a rate-limited warning once the budget is exhausted,
mirroring the merged HTB fix.
This is a follow-up to commit 729c4896ab82 ("net/sched: sch_htb: limit
htb_classify inner-class filter hops"), which bounded the same classify
loop on the HTB side but left the HFSC walk unbounded.
Conditions to recreate the bug:
- CONFIG_NET_SCHED, CONFIG_NET_SCH_HFSC, CONFIG_NET_CLS_U32,
CONFIG_LOCKUP_DETECTOR.
- Build a cycle with two legal-at-bind-time flowid binds and a level
drift: class X 1:1 (child of root) with leaf child 1:10; class Y 1:2
(sibling of X) with children 1:20 and 1:200; root u32 filter flowid
1:1; filter on X flowid 1:2 (legal when Y is a leaf); after Y's level
rises to 2, filter on Y flowid 1:1 (legal then). Send one packet (ping
on the device). Unfixed kernel: classify spins with the qdisc lock
held; with softlockup_panic=1 it panics.
- Reachable from unprivileged user via unshare -Urn (CAP_NET_ADMIN).
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Sun, 18 Oct 2026 15:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: sch_hfsc: bound the classify inner-filter walk with a drift budget hfsc_classify() applies the "filter may only point downwards" level check only when the filter result carries no bound class. A filter created with a flowid gets res.class set once at bind time, so the check never runs for it during classification. hfsc_adjust_levels() can later raise a class's level without revalidating existing bindings, leaving two binds that were each legal at bind time pointing at each other; the classify walk then bounces between two interior classes forever with the qdisc lock held and BH disabled — a soft lockup from a single packet. The stuck walk trips the watchdog: watchdog: BUG: soft lockup - CPU#3 stuck for 13s! [ping:444] RIP: 0010:u32_classify+0x542/0x17f0 ... tcf_classify+0x66/0xa0 hfsc_enqueue+0x166/0xdf0 Bound the traversal with a budget of non-descending hops, the only way a configured walk can move without descending the class tree once levels drift after bind time. The budget is cumulative over the whole walk and is deliberately not reset on a descending hop: a chain that alternates a descent with a lateral hop would return the budget every lap and never trip. Descending hops never decrement it, so legitimately deep trees are unaffected and a terminating lateral chain still classifies normally. Drop the packet with a rate-limited warning once the budget is exhausted, mirroring the merged HTB fix. This is a follow-up to commit 729c4896ab82 ("net/sched: sch_htb: limit htb_classify inner-class filter hops"), which bounded the same classify loop on the HTB side but left the HFSC walk unbounded. Conditions to recreate the bug: - CONFIG_NET_SCHED, CONFIG_NET_SCH_HFSC, CONFIG_NET_CLS_U32, CONFIG_LOCKUP_DETECTOR. - Build a cycle with two legal-at-bind-time flowid binds and a level drift: class X 1:1 (child of root) with leaf child 1:10; class Y 1:2 (sibling of X) with children 1:20 and 1:200; root u32 filter flowid 1:1; filter on X flowid 1:2 (legal when Y is a leaf); after Y's level rises to 2, filter on Y flowid 1:1 (legal then). Send one packet (ping on the device). Unfixed kernel: classify spins with the qdisc lock held; with softlockup_panic=1 it panics. - Reachable from unprivileged user via unshare -Urn (CAP_NET_ADMIN). | |
| Title | net/sched: sch_hfsc: bound the classify inner-filter walk with a drift budget | |
| 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: 2026-10-18T15:19:25.128Z
Reserved: 2026-09-25T10:25:14.360Z
Link: CVE-2026-98610
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-10-18T16:17:13.793
Modified: 2026-10-18T16:17:13.793
Link: CVE-2026-98610
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.