---
id: CVE-2026-97904
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  cpufreq: initialize policy rwsem before sysfs publication

  cpufreq_policy_alloc() initializes policy->rwsem after
  kobject_init_and_add() has created the policy sysfs di…
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  cpufreq: initialize policy rwsem before sysfs publication

  cpufreq_policy_alloc() initializes policy->rwsem after
  kobject_init_and_add() has created the policy sysfs di…
severity: medium
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-908
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 <
    c9d8435814f2ac533c40fe3f35d94235bc3a9443
  - >-
    Linux >= 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 <
    82a54923700da5de83ce2b26c0b43f6b5005c8f1
  - >-
    Linux >= 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 <
    b14987a0f73777644099f47f01aba3b0f9dc6c27
  - >-
    Linux >= 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 <
    b22193eea2ce32c39dda5e09f9c2be2f3fd7eb4a
  - >-
    Linux >= 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 <
    dc11263cb05ed519758fd135fe08d611bad1f241
  - >-
    Linux >= 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 <
    27c9b491bf7604e83b50c3bbfa18a30266ff345f
  - >-
    Linux >= 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 <
    2cee937f779f69b195b37bbec1e888da9bfe9d58
  - >-
    Linux >= 2fc3384dc75bf7333384c7a16d12c796f61c3f56 <
    3e5d1bf4bd687beb2cb4e32a07af695455925588
  - Linux 4.2
published: '2026-09-25'
updated: '2026-10-03'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-03T11:18:08.700'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97904'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/27c9b491bf7604e83b50c3bbfa18a30266ff345f'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2cee937f779f69b195b37bbec1e888da9bfe9d58'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3e5d1bf4bd687beb2cb4e32a07af695455925588'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/82a54923700da5de83ce2b26c0b43f6b5005c8f1'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b14987a0f73777644099f47f01aba3b0f9dc6c27'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b22193eea2ce32c39dda5e09f9c2be2f3fd7eb4a'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c9d8435814f2ac533c40fe3f35d94235bc3a9443'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dc11263cb05ed519758fd135fe08d611bad1f241'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97904.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-97904'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2541241'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97904'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97904'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-97904.mbox
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
epss: 0.00216
epssPercentile: 0.11987
cvssSource: vendor
ingestedAt: '2026-09-25T11:06:38.894Z'
---

## Overview

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

cpufreq: initialize policy rwsem before sysfs publication

cpufreq_policy_alloc() initializes policy->rwsem after
kobject_init_and_add() has created the policy sysfs directory and its
default attributes. A sysfs access can therefore reach a policy callback
before the semaphore has been initialized.

Initialize policy->rwsem before publishing the policy kobject so sysfs
callbacks always see an initialized semaphore.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Low · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, … · updated 2026-10-17 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97904.json)