# Tokio race condition in Interval time driver

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/rustsec-2026-0384-race-condition-in-tokio-time-interval-on-tokio-v1-54-c6906742  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-10-21. Updated: 2026-10-23  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

Severity: info · Published 2026-10-21

Tokio is an asynchronous runtime library for Rust applications. Version 1.54.0 contains a race condition in the Interval timer that can cause application crashes or memory corruption when using the multi-threaded runtime. This affects any application relying on Tokio's interval-based scheduling to trigger tasks repeatedly.

Technologies: [tokio (crates.io)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/tokio). Vendors: [crates.io](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/crates-io).

## Quick answers

**Is This vulnerability exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of This vulnerability being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is This vulnerability?** Informational severity, published 21 October 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** tokio (crates.io) SEMVER:introduced=1.54.0,fixed=1.54.1; Tokio project Tokio 1.54.0.

**Is there a fix for This vulnerability?** Yes. tokio (crates.io): upgrade to 1.54.1 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is This vulnerability attacked?** It is attacked with local access, in a software library.

**Am I affected?** Check whether you run tokio (crates.io) or Tokio project Tokio at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- tokio (crates.io): upgrade to 1.54.1 or later

  ```sh
  cargo update -p tokio
  ```


## Technical details

A race condition exists between Interval::poll_tick and the runtime's time driver thread in Tokio 1.54.0, allowing an internal timer entry to be dropped without proper synchronization. This results in a use-after-free vulnerability on the timer's waker and task state in safe Rust, potentially leading to assertion panics, reference-count corruption, or heap memory corruption. The vulnerability affects only Interval; Sleep and Timeout are unaffected. The bug is triggered on multi-threaded runtimes.

## Affected products

- Tokio project Tokio 1.54.0

## Identifiers

- GHSA-5wjr-9356-4wc8
- RUSTSEC-2026-0384

## Timeline

- 2026-10-21: disclosed
- 2026-10-21: patched: Version 1.54.0 yanked; fix released in 1.54.1

## References

- [https://crates.io/crates/tokio](https://crates.io/crates/tokio)
- [https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2026-0384.html](https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2026-0384.html)

## Related threats

- [Tokio race condition in time driver use-after-free](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-115567-tokio-is-a-runtime-for-writing-applications-with-rust-in-1-54-0)
- [tokio AsyncFd constructors violate I/O safety](https://junglewise.ai/threats/rustsec-2026-0386-asyncfd-new-and-related-constructors-violate-i-o-5c953f63)
- [Tokio broadcast channel calls clone in parallel, but does not require `Sync`](https://junglewise.ai/threats/tokio-broadcast-channel-calls-clone-in-parallel-but-does-not-require-7d58a702)
- [RUSTSEC-2025-0023 - Broadcast channel calls clone in parallel, but does not require `Sync`](https://junglewise.ai/threats/rustsec-2025-0023-broadcast-channel-calls-clone-in-parallel-but-does-22da8233)
- [`tokio::io::ReadHalf<T>::unsplit` is Unsound](https://junglewise.ai/threats/tokio-io-readhalf-t-unsplit-is-unsound-68916389)