CVE-2026-90182

What the bug is

iocg_kick_delay() turns sufficiently large debt into an explicit block-cgroup delay with blkcg_set_delay(), setting blkg->use_delay to -1 and incrementing blkcg->congestion_count. Clearing it again depends on iocg_kick_delay() running from the period timer, the waitq timer or the issue path. ioc_pd_free() removes the iocg from active_iocgs and cancels its waitq timer, and no further bios can arrive, so once it has run nothing is left which can reduce the debt and clear the delay. The blkcg stays marked congested for the rest of its life. blk_cgroup_congested() then returns true for every task in that cgroup and its descendants: page_cache_sync_ra() cuts readahead to a single page, page_cache_async_ra() skips it altogether, and __folio_throttle_swaprate() takes swap_avail_lock and schedules a throttle on anonymous folio allocation. Clear it explicitly, after the list removal and the synchronous hrtimer_cancel() so that neither timer processing nor an I/O path can re-arm it. The free callback can also see policy data which was never attached to a blkg, hence the pd->blkg check.

Where it lives

The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.

block/blk-iocost.c

What this is

CONTROL GROUP - BLOCK IO CONTROLLER (BLKIO)MAINTAINERS section matched on block/blk-iocost.c · cgroups@vger.kernel.org

Check it on the machine

grep -w CONFIG_BLK_CGROUP_IOCOST /boot/config-$(uname -r)

Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.

Show whether Debian builds this, per release

Debian builds this code. Every release below compiles the affected file into the kernels it ships.

• bookworm, trixie, forky, sidy

y

built into the kernel image on every flavour - only a patch removes it

Build switch

CONFIG_BLK_CGROUP_IOCOST

From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages

Signals

Published

2026-09-17 (31 days ago)source

CVSS

no vector published, unrated

Attack vector

not published

EPSS

0.21%, higher than 10.0% of all CVEssource

CISA KEV

not listedthe KEV catalogue

Debian urgency

not yet assignedsource

Subsystem

block

Upstream fixes

The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source

Introduced	Fixed in	Commit
5.4	6.18.57	b399a88eb8b1
5.4	7.2.6	b9c16db833e3
5.4	7.3	97cb95d21488