CVE-2026-53180

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's timer migration handling. An incorrect assumption in the tmigr_handle_remote_cpu() function regarding local softirq path handling of CPU timers can lead to a livelock. This occurs when a timer expires after the local timer wheel advances but before remote handling evaluates expiry times, causing the timer to be ignored and repeatedly re-queued. This can result in an indefinite loop, leading to a Denial of Service (DoS) condition.

This vulnerability is evaluated as having a Moderate impact for Red Hat Enterprise Linux because the risk is restricted to a local denial of service without enabling privilege escalation or information disclosure. The issue arises from a race condition within the kernel timer migration infrastructure where an expired timer is continuously requeued, causing the processor to spin in an unresolvable loop and degrading system responsiveness. Preceding enterprise platforms, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and 9, lack this specific timer migration implementation and are unaffected.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.