CVE-2026-89659
Received Received - Intake

Use-After-Free in Linux Kernel NFSD

Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-89659, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.

Publication date: 2026-09-11

Last updated on: 2026-09-11

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: NFSD: Prevent client use-after-free during delegation revoke A delegation stateid holds only a bare pointer to its owning nfs4_client and does not keep it alive. The client survives its stateids only because __destroy_client() drains cl_delegations and cl_revoked before free_client() runs. nfs4_laundromat() breaks that invariant: it unhashes an expired delegation from cl_delegations, drops deleg_lock, then revoke_delegation() relinks it onto cl_revoked under cl_lock. In that window the delegation is on neither list, so client_has_state() can report no remaining state. Every teardown path first requires cl_rpc_users to be zero, but the laundromat holds no such reference. A client whose recalled delegation has just timed out can therefore reach free_client() while revoke_delegation() is still about to dereference cl_lock, a use-after-free. Pin the client with cl_rpc_users across the revoke so teardown blocks until it completes, then reap the delegation from cl_revoked. A client already expiring reaps its own, so skip it and leave the delegation on del_recall_lru.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-09-11
Last Modified
2026-09-11
Generated
2026-09-12
AI Q&A
2026-09-12
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
EUVD

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability in the Linux kernel involves a use-after-free issue during NFS delegation revocation. A delegation stateid holds a pointer to its owning client but does not keep it alive. The client survives due to draining of delegations before freeing. The nfs4_laundromat function breaks this by unhashing an expired delegation, allowing the client to reach free_client while revoke_delegation still accesses it, causing a use-after-free.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability affects the Linux kernel's NFS daemon (NFSD) delegation handling. Detection requires checking kernel logs for NFS-related errors or crashes, particularly during delegation revocation. Monitor for kernel oops messages or system hangs related to nfsd processes. Use commands like 'dmesg | grep nfsd' or 'journalctl -k | grep -i nfs' to inspect logs for suspicious activity.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability could lead to system crashes, data corruption, or privilege escalation if exploited. Attackers might trigger the use-after-free to execute arbitrary code or cause denial-of-service conditions on systems running vulnerable NFS server configurations.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the latest kernel security patches from your Linux distribution to resolve this issue. If immediate patching is not possible, consider disabling NFSv4 delegations as a temporary workaround by setting 'echo 0 > /proc/fs/nfsd/delegations' or unloading the nfsd module if not in use. Monitor for signs of exploitation or system instability.

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