Linux Kernel up to 6.18.54/7.2.8/7.3-rc4 sched_ext run_deferred use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
8.4	$0-$5k	1.81

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.54/7.2.8/7.3-rc4 and classified as very critical. Affected is the function run_deferred of the component sched_ext. The manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2026-98463. The attack needs to be performed locally. There is not any exploit available. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as very critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.54/7.2.8/7.3-rc4. This issue affects the function run_deferred of the component sched_ext. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sched_ext: Derive SCX_RQ_IN_WAKEUP from the core enqueue flags schedule_deferred_locked() skips scheduling a deferred action while SCX_RQ_IN_WAKEUP is set and relies on the task_woken_scx() call that follows a wakeup enqueue to run it. enqueue_task_scx() sets the flag from the merged enqueue flags, which include the flags stashed for a remote activation. move_remote_task_to_local_dsq() thus sets SCX_RQ_IN_WAKEUP on the destination rq when the moved task was woken up, although no task_woken_scx() follows that activation. An IMMED insert into a busy destination requests a local reenqueue during that enqueue. The request gets linked but not scheduled and stays pending until an unrelated wakeup or preemption on that CPU runs the deferred actions. The IMMED task sits behind the running task in the meantime. If nothing runs them before the scheduler is disabled, the request outlives the scheduler and points into its freed per-cpu area, which the next scheduler dereferences from run_deferred(). Test the core enqueue flags for the wakeup bit. Only the core's wakeup path is followed by task_woken_scx().

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-98463 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. An attack has to be approached locally. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 10/18/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.55, 7.2.9 or 7.3-rc5 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 6c401ae426e20e53a3398a8e79afd0964c0f5110/3fdf2ceb31e8aff77451e468bc8409e10587916a/df5cdc2c832ca4e8a6d774596b9005558761a403 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 6.18.40
• 6.18.41
• 6.18.42
• 6.18.43
• 6.18.44
• 6.18.45
• 6.18.46
• 6.18.47
• 6.18.48
• 6.18.49
• 6.18.50
• 6.18.51
• 6.18.52
• 6.18.53
• 6.18.54
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6
• 7.2.7
• 7.2.8
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2
• 7.3-rc3
• 7.3-rc4

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 8.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.4

VulDB Base Score: 8.8
VulDB Temp Score: 8.4
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.18.55/7.2.9/7.3-rc5
Patch: 6c401ae426e20e53a3398a8e79afd0964c0f5110/3fdf2ceb31e8aff77451e468bc8409e10587916a/df5cdc2c832ca4e8a6d774596b9005558761a403

Timelineinfo

09/25/2026 CVE reserved
10/18/2026 +23 days Advisory disclosed
10/18/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
10/18/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-98463 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-98463
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-422201

Entryinfo

Created: 10/18/2026 21:00
Changes: 10/18/2026 21:00 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Discussion

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