Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched/rt: Fix race in...
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
sched/rt: Fix race in push_rt_task
OverviewWhen a CPU chooses to call push_rt_task and picks a task to push to
another CPU's runqueue then it will call find_lock_lowest_rq method
which would take a double lock on both CPUs' runqueues. If one of the
locks aren't readily available, it may lead to dropping the current
runqueue lock and reacquiring both the locks at once. During this window
it is possible that the task is already migrated and is running on some
other CPU. These cases are already handled. However, if the task is
migrated and has already been executed and another CPU is now trying to
wake it up (ttwu) such that it is queued again on the runqeue
(on_rq is 1) and also if the task was run by the same CPU, then the
current checks will pass even though the task was migrated out and is no
longer in the pushable tasks list.
This bug resulted in quite a few flavors of crashes triggering kernel
panics with various crash signatures such as assert failures, page
faults, null pointer dereferences, and queue corruption errors all
coming from scheduler itself.
Some of the crashes:
-> kernel BUG at kernel/sched/rt.c:1616! BUG_ON(idx >= MAX_RT_PRIO)
Call Trace:
? __die_body+0x1a/0x60
? die+0x2a/0x50
? do_trap+0x85/0x100
? pick_next_task_rt+0x6e/0x1d0
? do_error_trap+0x64/0xa0
? pick_next_task_rt+0x6e/0x1d0
? exc_invalid_op+0x4c/0x60
? pick_next_task_rt+0x6e/0x1d0
? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x12/0x20
? pick_next_task_rt+0x6e/0x1d0
__schedule+0x5cb/0x790
? update_ts_time_stats+0x55/0x70
schedule_idle+0x1e/0x40
do_idle+0x15e/0x200
cpu_startup_entry+0x19/0x20
start_secondary+0x117/0x160
secondary_startup_64_no_verify+0xb0/0xbb
-> BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 00000000000000c0
Call Trace:
? __die_body+0x1a/0x60
? no_context+0x183/0x350
? __warn+0x8a/0xe0
? exc_page_fault+0x3d6/0x520
? asm_exc_page_fault+0x1e/0x30
? pick_next_task_rt+0xb5/0x1d0
? pick_next_task_rt+0x8c/0x1d0
__schedule+0x583/0x7e0
? update_ts_time_stats+0x55/0x70
schedule_idle+0x1e/0x40
do_idle+0x15e/0x200
cpu_startup_entry+0x19/0x20
start_secondary+0x117/0x160
secondary_startup_64_no_verify+0xb0/0xbb
-> BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffff9464daea5900
kernel BUG at kernel/sched/rt.c:1861! BUG_ON(rq->cpu != task_cpu(p))
-> kernel BUG at kernel/sched/rt.c:1055! BUG_ON(!rq->nr_running)
Call Trace:
? __die_body+0x1a/0x60
? die+0x2a/0x50
? do_trap+0x85/0x100
? dequeue_top_rt_rq+0xa2/0xb0
? do_error_trap+0x64/0xa0
? dequeue_top_rt_rq+0xa2/0xb0
? exc_invalid_op+0x4c/0x60
? dequeue_top_rt_rq+0xa2/0xb0
? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x12/0x20
? dequeue_top_rt_rq+0xa2/0xb0
dequeue_rt_entity+0x1f/0x70
dequeue_task_rt+0x2d/0x70
__schedule+0x1a8/0x7e0
? blk_finish_plug+0x25/0x40
schedule+0x3c/0xb0
futex_wait_queue_me+0xb6/0x120
futex_wait+0xd9/0x240
do_futex+0x344/0xa90
? get_mm_exe_file+0x30/0x60
? audit_exe_compare+0x58/0x70
? audit_filter_rules.constprop.26+0x65e/0x1220
__x64_sys_futex+0x148/0x1f0
do_syscall_64+0x30/0x80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x62/0xc7
-> BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffff8cf3608bc2c0
Call Trace:
? __die_body+0x1a/0x60
? no_context+0x183/0x350
? spurious_kernel_fault+0x171/0x1c0
? exc_page_fault+0x3b6/0x520
? plist_check_list+0x15/0x40
? plist_check_list+0x2e/0x40
? asm_exc_page_fault+0x1e/0x30
? _cond_resched+0x15/0x30
? futex_wait_queue_me+0xc8/0x120
? futex_wait+0xd9/0x240
? try_to_wake_up+0x1b8/0x490
? futex_wake+0x78/0x160
? do_futex+0xcd/0xa90
? plist_check_list+0x15/0x40
? plist_check_list+0x2e/0x40
? plist_del+0x6a/0xd0
? plist_check_list+0x15/0x40
? plist_check_list+0x2e/0x40
? dequeue_pushable_task+0x20/0x70
? __schedule+0x382/0x7e0
? asm_sysvec_reschedule_i
---truncated---
Impact
Multiple concurrent operations access a shared resource without proper synchronization, producing unpredictable results depending on timing. Typical impact: TOCTOU exploits, data corruption, or privilege escalation.
CVE-2025-38234 has a CVSS score of 4.7 (Medium). The vector is requires local access, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. No fixed version is listed yet, so configuration controls and monitoring matter more in the interim.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2025-38234? CVE-2025-38234 is a medium-severity race condition vulnerability. No fixed version is listed yet. Multiple concurrent operations access a shared resource without proper synchronization, producing unpredictable results depending on timing.
- How severe is CVE-2025-38234? CVE-2025-38234 has a CVSS score of 4.7 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2025-38234? No fixed version is listed for CVE-2025-38234 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is CVE-2025-38234 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-38234 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2025-38234 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.