In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

io-wq: check that the predecessor is hashed in io_wq_remove_pending()

io_wq_remove_pending() needs to fix up wq->hash_tail[] if the cancelled
work was the tail of its hash bucket. When doing this, it checks whether
the preceding entry in acct->work_list has the same hash value, but
never checks that the predecessor is hashed at all. io_get_work_hash()
is simply atomic_read(&work->flags) >> IO_WQ_HASH_SHIFT, and the hash
bits are never set for non-hashed work, so it returns 0. Thus, when a
hashed bucket-0 work is cancelled while a non-hashed work is its list
predecessor, the check spuriously passes and a pointer to the non-hashed
io_kiocb is stored in wq->hash_tail[0].

Because non-hashed work is dequeued via the fast path in
io_get_next_work(), which never touches hash_tail[], the stale pointer
is never cleared. Therefore, after the non-hashed io_kiocb completes and
is freed back to req_cachep, wq->hash_tail[0] is a dangling pointer. The
io_wq is per-task (tctx->io_wq) and survives ring open/close, so the
dangling pointer persists for the lifetime of the task; the next hashed
bucket-0 enqueue dereferences it in io_wq_insert_work() and
wq_list_add_after() writes through freed memory.

Add the missing io_wq_is_hashed() check so a non-hashed predecessor
never inherits a hash_tail[] slot.

Project Subscriptions

Vendors Products
Linux Kernel Subscribe
Advisories

No advisories yet.

Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.


Workaround

No workaround given by the vendor.

History

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 15:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: io-wq: check that the predecessor is hashed in io_wq_remove_pending() io_wq_remove_pending() needs to fix up wq->hash_tail[] if the cancelled work was the tail of its hash bucket. When doing this, it checks whether the preceding entry in acct->work_list has the same hash value, but never checks that the predecessor is hashed at all. io_get_work_hash() is simply atomic_read(&work->flags) >> IO_WQ_HASH_SHIFT, and the hash bits are never set for non-hashed work, so it returns 0. Thus, when a hashed bucket-0 work is cancelled while a non-hashed work is its list predecessor, the check spuriously passes and a pointer to the non-hashed io_kiocb is stored in wq->hash_tail[0]. Because non-hashed work is dequeued via the fast path in io_get_next_work(), which never touches hash_tail[], the stale pointer is never cleared. Therefore, after the non-hashed io_kiocb completes and is freed back to req_cachep, wq->hash_tail[0] is a dangling pointer. The io_wq is per-task (tctx->io_wq) and survives ring open/close, so the dangling pointer persists for the lifetime of the task; the next hashed bucket-0 enqueue dereferences it in io_wq_insert_work() and wq_list_add_after() writes through freed memory. Add the missing io_wq_is_hashed() check so a non-hashed predecessor never inherits a hash_tail[] slot.
Title io-wq: check that the predecessor is hashed in io_wq_remove_pending()
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Projects

Sign in to view the affected projects.

cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-06-08T14:30:53.323Z

Reserved: 2026-05-13T15:03:33.109Z

Link: CVE-2026-46274

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-06-08T16:16:40.707

Modified: 2026-06-08T16:16:40.707

Link: CVE-2026-46274

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses

No weakness.