# CVE-2026-98542: cgroup/cpuset: Return PERR_NOCPUS in remote_partition_enable() on subpartitions_cpus conflict CVE-2026-98542 is fixed in 20 products on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98542, released October 19, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High. - Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98542 - Priority: High - CVSS: n/a (important) - EPSS: 0.0020 - CISA KEV: not listed - Exploited (vendor report): no - Publicly disclosed: no - Published: Oct 18, 2026 - Vendor advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98542 ## Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cgroup/cpuset: Return PERR_NOCPUS in remote_partition_enable() on subpartitions_cpus conflict When a remote partition is created underneath an existing local partition via a non-partition (PRS_MEMBER) intermediate cgroup, update_prstate() sees parent->partition_root_state == PRS_MEMBER and calls remote_partition_enable(). Commit 86888c7bd117 ("cgroup/cpuset: Add warnings to catch inconsistency in exclusive CPUs") replaced the cpumask_intersects(tmp->new_cpus, subpartitions_cpus) error check in remote_partition_enable() with WARN_ON_ONCE(). As a result, remote_partition_enable() emits a warning and proceeds to enable the remote partition on CPUs that are already owned by the ancestor local partition in subpartitions_cpus. This can be reproduced on Linux 7.3.0-rc3 with: mkdir -p /tmp/cg1 mount -t cgroup2 none /tmp/cg1 echo "+cpuset" > /tmp/cg1/cgroup.subtree_control mkdir /tmp/cg1/A echo 1 > /tmp/cg1/A/cpuset.cpus echo 1 > /tmp/cg1/A/cpuset.cpus.exclusive echo root > /tmp/cg1/A/cpuset.cpus.partition echo "+cpuset" > /tmp/cg1/A/cgroup.subtree_control mkdir /tmp/cg1/A/B echo 1 > /tmp/cg1/A/B/cpuset.cpus echo 1 > /tmp/cg1/A/B/cpuset.cpus.exclusive echo "+cpuset" > /tmp/cg1/A/B/cgroup.subtree_control mkdir /tmp/cg1/A/B/D echo 1 > /tmp/cg1/A/B/D/cpuset.cpus echo 1 > /tmp/cg1/A/B/D/cpuset.cpus.exclusive echo root > /tmp/cg1/A/B/D/cpuset.cpus.partition which triggers: WARNING: kernel/cgroup/cpuset.c:1594 at remote_partition_enable+0x1c1/0x300 and leaves both /tmp/cg1/A and /tmp/cg1/A/B/D as active root partitions claiming exclusive CPU 1. Fix this by returning PERR_NOCPUS when tmp->new_cpus intersects subpartitions_cpus in remote_partition_enable(), matching the error code used by remote_cpus_update() for the same subpartitions_cpus conflict, and add a regression test case to tools/testing/selftests/cgroup/test_cpuset_prs.sh. Tested in QEMU on Linux 7.3.0-rc3 using the reproducer above and tools/testing/selftests/cgroup/test_cpuset_prs.sh. ## Where it's fixed | Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released | |---|---|---|---|---| | Linux | bpftool6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | bpftool6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-livepatch-6.18.56-125.164 amzn 2023 | 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-debuginfo-common-aarch64 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-debuginfo-common-x86_64 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-devel amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-headers amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-modules-extra amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-modules-extra-common amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-tools amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-tools-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel6.18-tools-devel amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | linux Debian 14 | 7.2.9-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98542](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-98542.md) | Oct 19, 2026 | | Linux | microvm-kernel6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | perf6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | perf6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | python3-perf6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | | Linux | python3-perf6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.56-125.164.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3251](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3251.md) | Nov 7, 2026 | --- Data as of 2026-11-08T06:59:42Z UTC. 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