# CVE-2026-64373: cpufreq: Fix hotplug-suspend race during reboot

> A race condition in the Linux kernel cpufreq subsystem during reboot can cause a null pointer dereference, leading to a system crash.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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:** 25 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-93551, BELL-CVE-2026-64373, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-64373, GHSA-r493-vrrx-v3x2, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-64373, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-64373

## What is CVE-2026-64373?

CVE-2026-64373 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 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:

cpufreq: Fix hotplug-suspend race during reboot

During system reboot, cpufreq_suspend() is called via the
kernel_restart() -> device_shutdown() path. Unlike the normal system
suspend path, the reboot path does not call freeze_processes(), so
userspace processes and kernel threads remain active.

This allows CPU hotplug operations to run concurrently with
cpufreq_suspend(). The original code has no synchronization with CPU
hotplug, leading to a race condition where governor_data can be freed
by the hotplug path while cpufreq_suspend() is still accessing it,
resulting in a null pointer dereference:

  Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference
  Call Trace:
   do_kernel_fault+0x28/0x3c
   cpufreq_suspend+0xdc/0x160
   device_shutdown+0x18/0x200
   kernel_restart+0x40/0x80
   arm64_sys_reboot+0x1b0/0x200

Fix this by adding cpus_read_lock()/cpus_read_unlock() to
cpufreq_suspend() to block CPU hotplug operations while suspend is in
progress.

[ rjw: Changelog edits ]

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-64373?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-64373?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-64373 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-64373 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-2026-64373 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-64373 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Jul 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-2026-64373 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-2026-64373/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64373/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-64373
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-64373
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-64373

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64373/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.