# CVE-2026-52977: futex: Prevent lockup in requeue-PI during signal/ timeout wakeup

> A race condition in the Linux kernel futex subsystem can cause a system lockup, 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:** 24 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-52977, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-52977, GHSA-f389-gw66-p7gf, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-52977, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-52977, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-52977, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-52977

## What is CVE-2026-52977?

CVE-2026-52977 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 Jun 2026. 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:

futex: Prevent lockup in requeue-PI during signal/ timeout wakeup

During wait-requeue-pi (task A) and requeue-PI (task B) the following
race can happen:

     Task A                             Task B
  futex_wait_requeue_pi()
    futex_setup_timer()
    futex_do_wait()
                                   futex_requeue()
                                        CLASS(hb, hb1)(&key1);
                                        CLASS(hb, hb2)(&key2);
        *timeout*
    futex_requeue_pi_wakeup_sync()
        requeue_state = Q_REQUEUE_PI_IGNORE

    *blocks on hb->lock*

                                        futex_proxy_trylock_atomic()
                                          futex_requeue_pi_prepare()
                                            Q_REQUEUE_PI_IGNORE => -EAGAIN
                                        double_unlock_hb(hb1, hb2)
                                         *retry*

Task B acquires both hb locks and attempts to acquire the PI-lock of the
top most waiter (task B). Task A is leaving early due to a signal/
timeout and started removing itself from the queue. It updates its
requeue_state but can not remove it from the list because this requires
the hb lock which is owned by task B.

Usually task A is able to swoop the lock after task B unlocked it.
However if task B is of higher priority then task A may not be able to
wake up in time and acquire the lock before task B gets it again.
Especially on a UP system where A is never scheduled.

As a result task A blocks on the lock and task B busy loops, trying to
make progress but live locks the system instead. Tragic.

This can be fixed by removing the top most waiter from the list in this
case. This allows task B to grab the next top waiter (if any) in the
next iteration and make progress.

Remove the top most waiter if futex_requeue_pi_prepare() fails.
Let the waiter conditionally remove itself from the list in
handle_early_requeue_pi_wakeup().

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-52977?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-52977?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-52977 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-52977 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-2026-52977 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-52977 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 Jun 2026. 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-2026-52977 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-2026-52977/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-52977/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-52977
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-52977
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-52977

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-52977/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.