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CVE-2026-72464
xprtrdma: Repost Receive buffers for malformed replies
Published 2026-08-15 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem net/sunrpc. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-72464 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | fixed | 6.1.180-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.1.180-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixed | 6.12.100-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.100-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.1.5-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.5-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.1.5-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.5-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
rpcrdma_wc_receive() decrements the transport's Receive count for every completion before it dispatches a successful Receive to rpcrdma_reply_handler(). The handler must post a replacement Receive WR before returning unless ownership of the rep has moved elsewhere, as on the backchannel path. Commit 2ae50ad68cd7 ("xprtrdma: Close window between waking RPC senders and posting Receives") moved the Receive refill out of rpcrdma_wc_receive(), where it had run ahead of every reply, into rpcrdma_reply_handler() so that the responder's credit grant could be parsed before reposting. The bad-version and short-reply exits never reach that refill: they recycle the rep and return without calling rpcrdma_post_recvs(). A remote peer can therefore drain the client's posted Receive queue by sending a sustained stream of replies that are shorter than the fixed transport header or that carry an unrecognized RPC/RDMA version. Each such reply consumes one posted Receive without replacing it. Once the queue empties, the peer's next Send finds no posted Receive and the transport stalls until reconnect. Route both malformed-reply exits through the shared repost tail after recycling the rep, refilling against buf->rb_credits, the most recent accepted credit grant. Neither exit updates the congestion window, so RPCs admitted under the previous grant remain in flight awaiting replies. A smaller refill target would let a stream of malformed replies ratchet the posted Receive count down to the batch floor while the congestion window still admits rb_credits RPCs; a burst of valid replies to those RPCs could then overrun the posted Receives, and because the client connects with rnr_retry_count of zero, a single RNR NAK terminates the connection. Refilling against rb_credits also restores the target that applied to malformed replies before commit 2ae50ad68cd7 ("xprtrdma: Close window between waking RPC senders and posting Receives") when rpcrdma_post_recvs() computed it from rb_credits internally. rb_credits is at least one from connection establishment onward, so the repost path always keeps Receives posted.
Where it lives
The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.
net/sunrpc/xprtrdma/rpc_rdma.c
- What this is
- KERNEL NFSD, SUNRPC, AND LOCKD SERVERSMAINTAINERS section matched on net/sunrpc/ · linux-nfs@vger.kernel.org · Supported
- Kernel module
- rpcrdma
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_SUNRPC|CONFIG_SUNRPC_XPRT_RDMA' /boot/config-$(uname -r)Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.
lsmod | grep -w rpcrdmaPrints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian builds this as a loadable module. Every release below compiles it as a module on every flavour, so whether the code is in the running kernel depends on whether that module is loaded.
- bookworm, trixie, forky, sidm
- m
- a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted
- Build switches
- CONFIG_SUNRPC, CONFIG_SUNRPC_XPRT_RDMA
- Reads as
- all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.
From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-08-15 (2 months ago)source
- CVSS
- 7.5 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- network (AV:N)source
- EPSS
- 0.68%, higher than 51.3% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- net/sunrpc
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | 6.1.178 | ef6fb8a5c521 |
| 5.5 | 6.6.145 | 4322fd9645ee |
| 5.5 | 6.12.97 | 19fae02b272e |
| 5.5 | 6.18.40 | 007b4da2f38d |
| 5.5 | 7.1.5 | d7c531ab477a |
| 5.5 | 7.2 | abc011ddaf16 |
| 5.4.13 | 0 | 0 |
Why the CNA scored it this way
Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source
- AV:NAttack vector, network
- Malicious or compromised NFS/RDMA server sends malformed RPC reply messages over an established RDMA connection; the kernel client processes them in rpcrdma_wc_receive()/rpcrdma_reply_handler() without any local access.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- Remote server reliably triggers the bug by streaming replies shorter than the fixed RPC/RDMA header or carrying an unrecognized version; each consumes a posted Receive without reposting a replacement.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- Attacker needs no credentials on the victim host, only the ability to act as the connected RDMA peer (e.g., a malicious or compromised NFS server the client has mounted).
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- Exploitation requires only an active NFS-over-RDMA client session; no additional victim action is needed beyond an existing mount/connection used for normal I/O.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- Impact is confined to SunRPC/RDMA transport availability on the NFS client; it does not cross VM, container, or kernel/user security boundaries.
- C:NConfidentiality impact, none
- No memory corruption or out-of-bounds access occurs; short or bad-version replies are detected during header decode and the buffer is recycled without disclosing kernel data.
- I:NIntegrity impact, none
- The flaw only fails to repost Receive buffers after malformed replies; it does not corrupt memory, alter RPC payloads, or enable arbitrary kernel writes.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- Sustained malformed replies drain all posted Receives, stalling the transport until reconnect; a burst of valid replies can trigger RNR NAK and disconnect (rnr_retry_count=0), denying NFS/RDMA service.