# CVE-2025-68333: sched_ext: Fix possible deadlock in the deferred_irq_workfn()

> A race condition in the Linux kernel's sched_ext subsystem can cause a deadlock in PREEMPT_RT kernels, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2025-68333, DEBIAN-CVE-2025-68333, GHSA-xw74-3hjf-3xpv, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2025-68333, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2025-68333, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2025-68333, UBUNTU-CVE-2025-68333

## What is CVE-2025-68333?

CVE-2025-68333 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 Dec 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

sched_ext: Fix possible deadlock in the deferred_irq_workfn()

For PREEMPT_RT=y kernels, the deferred_irq_workfn() is executed in
the per-cpu irq_work/* task context and not disable-irq, if the rq
returned by container_of() is current CPU's rq, the following scenarios
may occur:

lock(&rq->__lock);
<Interrupt>
  lock(&rq->__lock);

This commit use IRQ_WORK_INIT_HARD() to replace init_irq_work() to
initialize rq->scx.deferred_irq_work, make the deferred_irq_workfn()
is always invoked in hard-irq context.

Weakness: CWE-667 (Improper Locking)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2025-68333?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2025-68333?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2025-68333 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-68333 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2025-68333 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2025-68333 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 Dec 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2025-68333 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-68333/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-68333/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-68333
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-68333
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2025-68333

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-68333/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.