CVE-2026-97905 (GCVE-0-2026-97905)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-09-25 10:22 – Updated: 2026-10-19 09:10
VLAI
Title
cpufreq: zero-initialize policy cpumask before sysfs publication
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cpufreq: zero-initialize policy cpumask before sysfs publication cpufreq_policy_alloc() allocates policy->cpus with alloc_cpumask_var(), i.e. without __GFP_ZERO, unlike the sibling related_cpus and real_cpus masks. With CONFIG_CPUMASK_OFFSTACK=y the mask is a separate kmalloc_node() allocation, so its bitmap holds whatever the slab allocator left behind: cpufreq_online() cpufreq_policy_alloc() alloc_cpumask_var(&policy->cpus) /* bitmap is uninitialized */ kobject_init_and_add() /* policy%u/ appears in sysfs */ cpufreq_policy_online() cpumask_copy(policy->cpus, cpumask_of(cpu)) /* first valid value */ This leaves a window in which the sysfs attributes are already reachable while policy->cpus is still garbage. show()/store() gate on policy_is_inactive(), i.e. cpumask_empty(policy->cpus), so a non-zero bitmap makes them run the attribute callbacks on a policy that is not initialized yet. Fix this by using zalloc_cpumask_var() for policy->cpus.
Severity
No CVSS data available.
Assigner
Linux CNA under the mitre root
CNA scorecard D 53/100 over 6641 records in the last 180 days details
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
Linux Linux Affected: 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 , < e13370c5b549712f49f80234df249303381c53b4 (git)
Affected: 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 , < e807920031ca32b668f9e7a1efbd21858f03d64b (git)
Affected: 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 , < ca52482508b3ac9febe74ca4f732647d394727b8 (git)
Affected: 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 , < 06f273d29e5e0fe5c775a65c563fbeed8cd94c7a (git)
Affected: 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 , < 0de2f3918fbbbb767e7e716178194b66560dd12a (git)
Affected: 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 , < 6e166b9281dec98aed19213a84235250e5fdb081 (git)
Affected: 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 , < bbc0472d2270bf732142ca71579d6ede636174ed (git)
Affected: 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 , < 54d37bcf2f497140b9207968557ddb484058e749 (git)
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Linux Linux Affected: 4.2
Unaffected: 0 , < 4.2 (semver)
Unaffected: 5.10.271 , ≤ 5.10.* (semver)
Unaffected: 5.15.222 , ≤ 5.15.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.1.189 , ≤ 6.1.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.6.158 , ≤ 6.6.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.12.111 , ≤ 6.12.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.18.53 , ≤ 6.18.* (semver)
Unaffected: 7.2.7 , ≤ 7.2.* (semver)
Unaffected: 7.3 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
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          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\ncpufreq: zero-initialize policy cpumask before sysfs publication\n\ncpufreq_policy_alloc() allocates policy-\u003ecpus with alloc_cpumask_var(),\ni.e. without __GFP_ZERO, unlike the sibling related_cpus and real_cpus\nmasks. With CONFIG_CPUMASK_OFFSTACK=y the mask is a separate\nkmalloc_node() allocation, so its bitmap holds whatever the slab allocator\nleft behind:\n\n  cpufreq_online()\n    cpufreq_policy_alloc()\n      alloc_cpumask_var(\u0026policy-\u003ecpus)    /* bitmap is uninitialized */\n      kobject_init_and_add()              /* policy%u/ appears in sysfs */\n    cpufreq_policy_online()\n      cpumask_copy(policy-\u003ecpus, cpumask_of(cpu))  /* first valid value */\n\nThis leaves a window in which the sysfs attributes are already reachable\nwhile policy-\u003ecpus is still garbage. show()/store() gate on\npolicy_is_inactive(), i.e. cpumask_empty(policy-\u003ecpus), so a non-zero\nbitmap makes them run the attribute callbacks on a policy that is not\ninitialized yet.\n\nFix this by using zalloc_cpumask_var() for policy-\u003ecpus."
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
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    "dateUpdated": "2026-10-19T09:10:31.498Z",
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            "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\ncpufreq: zero-initialize policy cpumask before sysfs publication\n\ncpufreq_policy_alloc() allocates policy-\u003ecpus with alloc_cpumask_var(),\ni.e. without __GFP_ZERO, unlike the sibling related_cpus and real_cpus\nmasks. With CONFIG_CPUMASK_OFFSTACK=y the mask is a separate\nkmalloc_node() allocation, so its bitmap holds whatever the slab allocator\nleft behind:\n\n  cpufreq_online()\n    cpufreq_policy_alloc()\n      alloc_cpumask_var(\u0026policy-\u003ecpus)    /* bitmap is uninitialized */\n      kobject_init_and_add()              /* policy%u/ appears in sysfs */\n    cpufreq_policy_online()\n      cpumask_copy(policy-\u003ecpus, cpumask_of(cpu))  /* first valid value */\n\nThis leaves a window in which the sysfs attributes are already reachable\nwhile policy-\u003ecpus is still garbage. show()/store() gate on\npolicy_is_inactive(), i.e. cpumask_empty(policy-\u003ecpus), so a non-zero\nbitmap makes them run the attribute callbacks on a policy that is not\ninitialized yet.\n\nFix this by using zalloc_cpumask_var() for policy-\u003ecpus."
          }
        ],
        "id": "CVE-2026-97905",
        "lastModified": "2026-10-19T10:17:40.887",
        "metrics": {},
        "published": "2026-09-25T11:17:17.403",
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        "sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "vulnStatus": "Received"
      }
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    "redhat_vex": {
      "aggregate_severity": "Low",
      "current_release_date": "2026-11-07T11:29:29+00:00",
      "cve": "CVE-2026-97905",
      "id": "CVE-2026-97905",
      "initial_release_date": "2026-09-25T00:00:00+00:00",
      "product_status:known_affected": "203",
      "source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "kernel: cpufreq: zero-initialize policy cpumask before sysfs publication",
      "url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97905.json",
      "version": "3"
    }
  }
}



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How durations are calculated

Following the VTEM framework (Black Hat USA 2015), time to patch starts when the vendor or a coordinator was informed, total time to patch at discovery, and disclosure to patch at public disclosure; vendor response time runs from the report to its acknowledgement. Time to exploit and time unpatched start at the earliest discovery or report, falling back to public disclosure. Unpatched time ends at the first recorded patch, or the calculation time when no patch is recorded. Exploitation to patch shows the interval between those two events; a published proof of concept is a public exploit, not exploitation.

Each result shows its source dates. A negative interval means the end event came first; when date-only inputs leave the order open, the result says so. Date-only inputs are approximate. The earliest evidence wins: KEV report dates and sightings are labelled as such. Records describing another vulnerability are listed but never calculated from, and a PoC alone does not establish exploitation. Missing patch evidence does not prove that no patch exists. Filters below change the event list only.

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