CVE-2026-23113: io_uring/io-wq: check IO_WQ_BIT_EXIT inside work run loop
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
io_uring/io-wq: check IO_WQ_BIT_EXIT inside work run loop
Currently this is checked before running the pending work. Normally this
is quite fine, as work items either end up blocking (which will create a
new worker for other items), or they complete fairly quickly. But syzbot
reports an issue where io-wq takes seemingly forever to exit, and with a
bit of debugging, this turns out to be because it queues a bunch of big
(2GB - 4096b) reads with a /dev/msr* file. Since this file type doesn't
support ->read_iter(), loop_rw_iter() ends up handling them. Each read
returns 16MB of data read, which takes 20 (!!) seconds. With a bunch of
these pending, processing the whole chain can take a long time. Easily
longer than the syzbot uninterruptible sleep timeout of 140 seconds.
This then triggers a complaint off the io-wq exit path:
INFO: task syz.4.135:6326 blocked for more than 143 seconds.
Not tainted syzkaller #0
Blocked by coredump.
"echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs" disables this message.
task:syz.4.135 state:D stack:26824 pid:6326 tgid:6324 ppid:5957 task_flags:0x400548 flags:0x00080000
Call Trace:
<TASK>
context_switch kernel/sched/core.c:5256 [inline]
__schedule+0x1139/0x6150 kernel/sched/core.c:6863
__schedule_loop kernel/sched/core.c:6945 [inline]
schedule+0xe7/0x3a0 kernel/sched/core.c:6960
schedule_timeout+0x257/0x290 kernel/time/sleep_timeout.c:75
do_wait_for_common kernel/sched/completion.c:100 [inline]
__wait_for_common+0x2fc/0x4e0 kernel/sched/completion.c:121
io_wq_exit_workers io_uring/io-wq.c:1328 [inline]
io_wq_put_and_exit+0x271/0x8a0 io_uring/io-wq.c:1356
io_uring_clean_tctx+0x10d/0x190 io_uring/tctx.c:203
io_uring_cancel_generic+0x69c/0x9a0 io_uring/cancel.c:651
io_uring_files_cancel include/linux/io_uring.h:19 [inline]
do_exit+0x2ce/0x2bd0 kernel/exit.c:911
do_group_exit+0xd3/0x2a0 kernel/exit.c:1112
get_signal+0x2671/0x26d0 kernel/signal.c:3034
arch_do_signal_or_restart+0x8f/0x7e0 arch/x86/kernel/signal.c:337
__exit_to_user_mode_loop kernel/entry/common.c:41 [inline]
exit_to_user_mode_loop+0x8c/0x540 kernel/entry/common.c:75
__exit_to_user_mode_prepare include/linux/irq-entry-common.h:226 [inline]
syscall_exit_to_user_mode_prepare include/linux/irq-entry-common.h:256 [inline]
syscall_exit_to_user_mode_work include/linux/entry-common.h:159 [inline]
syscall_exit_to_user_mode include/linux/entry-common.h:194 [inline]
do_syscall_64+0x4ee/0xf80 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:100
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
RIP: 0033:0x7fa02738f749
RSP: 002b:00007fa0281ae0e8 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 00000000000000ca
RAX: fffffffffffffe00 RBX: 00007fa0275e6098 RCX: 00007fa02738f749
RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000080 RDI: 00007fa0275e6098
RBP: 00007fa0275e6090 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000
R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000000
R13: 00007fa0275e6128 R14: 00007fff14e4fcb0 R15: 00007fff14e4fd98
There's really nothing wrong here, outside of processing these reads
will take a LONG time. However, we can speed up the exit by checking the
IO_WQ_BIT_EXIT inside the io_worker_handle_work() loop, as syzbot will
exit the ring after queueing up all of these reads. Then once the first
item is processed, io-wq will simply cancel the rest. That should avoid
syzbot running into this complaint again.
Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2026-23113 is a Linux kernel io_uring/io-wq cleanup issue. Under unusual queued read workloads, worker shutdown can take long enough to trigger hung-task conditions. The provided sources describe reliability impact, not data theft or code execution.
Executive priority
Treat as a kernel reliability maintenance item unless your environment has exposed multi-user Linux systems or affected Siemens products. Prioritize routine kernel patch cycles and vendor advisory review.
Technical view
The fix checks IO_WQ_BIT_EXIT inside the io_worker_handle_work() loop. Previously, pending work could continue processing long-running loop_rw_iter() reads before exit, delaying io-wq shutdown. syzbot reproduced the issue with large reads against /dev/msr* files.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to systems running affected Linux kernel builds with io_uring/io-wq behavior matching the CVE record. The bundle lists Linux kernel versions and stable commits but does not provide clear distro package mapping.
Exploitation context
The CVE is not listed as KEV, and the bundle provides no evidence of active exploitation. The public description is based on syzbot testing and a kernel reliability failure during exit handling.
Researcher notes
The evidence points to denial-of-service style shutdown delay, not memory corruption. Exact affected-version semantics are incomplete in the bundle, so validation should rely on vendor kernel mappings and the listed upstream stable commits.
Mitigation direction
Update Linux kernels through distribution or vendor-supported channels.
Confirm the update includes one of the referenced stable kernel fixes.
Review Siemens advisories if Siemens products are in scope.
If no update is available, follow vendor guidance; no workaround is provided.
Validation and detection
Inventory running kernel versions across Linux systems.
Map distro kernel packages to the referenced stable kernel commits.
Check whether io_uring is enabled and exposed to local workloads.
Review logs for hung-task messages involving io_wq_exit_workers or io_uring cleanup.
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Potential ATT&CK relevance
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ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CVE-2026-23113 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
1ADP providers
9Source links
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
Feb 14, 2026, 15:09 UTC (UTC+00:00)
CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.