Vulnerability in Linux
CVE-2026-98079
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: zstd: fix lost wakeup when waiting for a workspace A writer can sleep forever in zstd_get_workspace() even though a workspace is free. When zstd_alloc_workspace() fails, the task is queued on zwsm->wait and schedules unconditionally, never re-testing the pool. zstd_put_workspace() publishes the workspace and then calls cond_wake_up(), which only wakes when a sleeper is already visible, so a workspace returned between the failed allocation and prepare_to_wait() wakes nobody. The window is wide: zstd_alloc_workspace() goes through kvmalloc() and may enter reclaim. Only a max level workspace triggers the wakeup and one is deliberately kept allocated as the fallback every waiter waits for, so once its wakeup is lost the writer stays in TASK_UNINTERRUPTIBLE until some other task happens to return one. Re-check the pool after prepare_to_wait() has published the waiter, and use the workspace if one turned up.
Published · last modified .
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.002 (9.9th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 10th percentile — 9.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: +0.000
Affected products
- Linux — versions 5.1