VulnerabilityPublished 18 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98537: Linux kernel · workqueue: Fix NULL current_pwq deref in flush dependency check

Source GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-98537· Medium

Not known to be exploited · fixed in f97e6d0572d1b39998e053732332bc3cfdd0b9aa : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:55 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 12% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in f97e6d0572d1b39998e053732332bc3cfdd0b9aa, db6365ced4d5855e321f772b240c0e473bcfcdd5, cc190a6a1d20b87e6a9435202fc2a3bd84c79fb3 +5

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 Oct 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

ghsa-6w2x-9phq-jcjc

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262, < f97e6d0572d1b39998e053732332bc3cfdd0b9aa	Fixed in f97e6d0572d1b39998e053732332bc3cfdd0b9aa
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262, < db6365ced4d5855e321f772b240c0e473bcfcdd5	Fixed in db6365ced4d5855e321f772b240c0e473bcfcdd5
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262, < cc190a6a1d20b87e6a9435202fc2a3bd84c79fb3	Fixed in cc190a6a1d20b87e6a9435202fc2a3bd84c79fb3
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262, < 513121e69388604619ea8c0ee07e86a3d1b5b5dc	Fixed in 513121e69388604619ea8c0ee07e86a3d1b5b5dc
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262, < 9bb739a5c5a570c28a62afb98e9326e2a49743c1	Fixed in 9bb739a5c5a570c28a62afb98e9326e2a49743c1
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ fca839c00a12d682cb59b3b620d109a1d850b262, < 8ffececcb88262389b4f91fed0fe4884b68204bc	Fixed in 8ffececcb88262389b4f91fed0fe4884b68204bc

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

A fix is available that adds a guard to check that worker->current_pwq is non-NULL before dereferencing in check_flush_dependency(). Users should update to the patched Linux kernel version that includes this fix. No additional mitigations are indicated.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's workqueue subsystem was resolved that involved a NULL pointer dereference in the flush dependency check. The flaw occurred because the check_flush_dependency() function dereferenced worker->current_pwq without ensuring it was non-NULL, which could happen when a kworker thread was not executing a work item. This could lead to a kernel warning or potential instability during memory reclaim operations.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…