CVE-2026-53352 signal: clear JOBCTL_PENDING_MASK for caller in zap_other_threads()
A race condition in the Linux kernel signal handling can trigger a kernel warning and potential denial of service when execve races with group stop.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-53352?
CVE-2026-53352 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 Jul 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:
signal: clear JOBCTL_PENDING_MASK for caller in zap_other_threads()
When a multi-threaded process receives a stop signal (e.g., SIGSTOP), do_signal_stop() sets JOBCTL_STOP_PENDING and JOBCTL_STOP_CONSUME on all threads and sets signal->group_stop_count to the number of threads. If one of the threads concurrently calls execve(), de_thread() invokes zap_other_threads() to kill all other threads. zap_other_threads() aborts the pending group stop by resetting signal->group_stop_count to 0 and clears the JOBCTL_PENDING_MASK for all other threads. However, it fails to clear the job control flags for the calling thread.
When execve() completes, the calling thread returns to user mode and checks for pending signals. Seeing the stale JOBCTL_STOP_PENDING flag, it calls do_signal_stop(), which invokes task_participate_group_stop(). Since JOBCTL_STOP_CONSUME is still set, it attempts to decrement the already-zero signal->group_stop_count, triggering a warning:
sig->group_stop_count == 0 WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 6475 at kernel/signal.c:373 task_participate_group_stop+0x215/0x2d0 Call Trace: <TASK> do_signal_stop+0x3be/0x5c0 kernel/signal.c:2619 get_signal+0xa8c/0x1330 kernel/signal.c:2884 arch_do_signal_or_restart+0xbc/0x840 arch/x86/kernel/signal.c:337 exit_to_user_mode_loop+0x8c/0x4d0 kernel/entry/common.c:98 do_syscall_64+0x33e/0xf80 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:100 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f </TASK>
Fix this race condition by clearing the JOBCTL_PENDING_MASK for the calling thread in zap_other_threads(), ensuring it does not retain any stale job control state after the thread group is destroyed. This aligns with other functions that tear down a thread group and abort group stops, such as zap_process() and complete_signal(), which correctly clear these flags for all threads including the current one.
Weakness: CWE-362
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53352?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2026-53352?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-53352 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53352 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-53352, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53352, GHSA-hcpv-6hqv-vmx5, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-53352, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-53352, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53352.