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CVE-2026-89483
nvme: zero the discard fallback page
Published 2026-09-11 (37 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/nvme. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-89483 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 | fixedDLA-4841-1 · 2026-10-17 · text | 6.1.190-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4841-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-17, in 6.1.190-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixedDSA-6528-1 · 2026-09-29 · text | 6.12.111-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6528-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-29, in 6.12.111-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12 | fixedDLA-4817-1 · 2026-10-04 · text | 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4817-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-04, in 6.12.111-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
nvme_setup_discard() always maps sizeof(struct nvme_dsm_range) * NVME_DSM_MAX_RANGES = 4096 bytes as the DSM payload however many ranges the command declares, because some devices ignore the 'Number of Ranges' field - the Fixes: commit records two that read past the declared ranges. A single-range discard fills only the first 16 bytes. Normally the buffer comes from kzalloc() and the other 4080 bytes are zero. When that allocation fails the code falls back to the per-controller ctrl->discard_page, which nvme_init_ctrl() obtains with alloc_page(GFP_KERNEL) and nothing ever zeroes, so those 4080 bytes are whatever the page last held and are handed to the controller. Reaching it requires the kzalloc(GFP_ATOMIC | __GFP_NOWARN) to fail, that is memory pressure; it is not remotely triggerable. Failing the allocation under KMSAN reproduces it, with the leaked tail full of vmemmap struct page pointers. The extent in the report is a partial transfer of the payload, not the whole 4096 bytes; the 16-byte boundary in it is the one declared range: [ 11.991601] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in dma_map_phys+0x14c8/0x1900 [ 11.991969] dma_map_phys+0x14c8/0x1900 [ 11.992220] dma_map_page_attrs+0xcf/0x130 [ 11.992485] e1000_xmit_frame+0x4099/0x6d10 [ 11.992768] dev_hard_start_xmit+0x22f/0xa80 [ 11.993068] sch_direct_xmit+0x35c/0xcb0 [ 11.993315] __dev_queue_xmit+0x1ee5/0x5eb0 [ 11.993608] ip_finish_output2+0x1903/0x1c30 [ 11.993881] ip_finish_output+0x288/0x870 [ 11.994125] ip_output+0x15e/0x400 [ 11.994365] __ip_queue_xmit+0x1e85/0x1fb0 [ 11.994639] ip_queue_xmit+0x60/0x80 [ 11.994899] __tcp_transmit_skb+0x4e71/0x5fa0 [ 11.995210] tcp_write_xmit+0x3a36/0x9160 [ 11.995533] __tcp_push_pending_frames+0xc5/0x3c0 [ 11.995854] tcp_push+0x7dc/0x840 [ 11.996076] tcp_sendmsg_locked+0x766c/0x8400 [ 11.996371] tcp_sendmsg+0x4b/0x90 [ 11.996572] inet_sendmsg+0x134/0x2a0 [ 11.996823] __sock_sendmsg+0x265/0x360 [ 11.997076] sock_sendmsg+0x100/0x1e0 [ 11.997293] nvme_tcp_try_send+0x196f/0x6370 [ 11.997605] nvme_tcp_queue_rq+0x1d54/0x20b0 [ 11.997882] blk_mq_dispatch_rq_list+0x5ee/0x2e50 [ 11.998175] __blk_mq_sched_dispatch_requests+0x16dc/0x24a0 [ 11.998539] blk_mq_sched_dispatch_requests+0x11b/0x2c0 [ 11.998865] blk_mq_run_work_fn+0x13b/0x280 [ 11.999146] process_scheduled_works+0x966/0x1ad0 [ 11.999465] worker_thread+0xe44/0x1480 [ 11.999709] kthread+0x53b/0x600 [ 11.999927] ret_from_fork+0x29f/0x7c0 [ 12.000191] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 [ 12.000460] [ 12.000558] Uninit was created at: [ 12.000788] __alloc_frozen_pages_noprof+0x8bf/0xd30 [ 12.001096] alloc_pages_mpol+0x1d0/0x5f0 [ 12.001326] alloc_pages_noprof+0x102/0x290 [ 12.001627] nvme_init_ctrl+0x5a3/0x9f0 [ 12.001891] nvme_tcp_create_ctrl+0xd75/0x19b0 [ 12.002170] nvmf_dev_write+0x4c68/0x4fd0 [ 12.002426] vfs_write+0x587/0x1a10 [ 12.002636] __x64_sys_write+0x207/0x4f0 [ 12.002874] x64_sys_call+0x2ff0/0x3ea0 [ 12.003123] do_syscall_64+0x147/0x3b0 [ 12.003400] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f [ 12.003680] [ 12.003777] Bytes 16-2843 of 2844 are uninitialized [ 12.004068] Memory access of size 2844 starts at ffff888109f82000 [ 12.004412] [ 12.004530] CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 101 Comm: kworker/0:1H Not tainted 7.2.0-rc5-NVMECTL-gf5098b6bae76 #1 PREEMPT(lazy) [ 12.005127] Hardware name: QEMU Ubuntu 24.04 PC v2 (i440FX + PIIX, arch_caps fix, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 [ 12.005762] Workqueue: kblockd blk_mq_run_work_fn [ 12.006073] ===================================================== Allocate the page with __GFP_ZERO. The single allocation site covers every use of it: bytes no discard has written stay zero, and bytes one did write hold that controller's own range list, which it has already been sent.
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.
drivers/nvme/host/core.c
- What this is
- NVM EXPRESS DRIVERMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/nvme/host/ · linux-nvme@lists.infradead.org · Supported
- Kernel module
- nvme_core
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_NVME_CORE /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 nvme_corePrints 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 code. Every release below compiles the affected file into the kernels it ships.
- bookworm, trixie, forky, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12b
- b
- built in on some flavours, a module on others
- Build switch
- CONFIG_NVME_CORE
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
- 2026-09-11 (37 days ago)source
- CVSS
- 7.5 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:Nsource recompute it - Attack vector
- network (AV:N)source
- EPSS
- 0.57%, higher than 46.1% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- drivers/nvme
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | 5.10.270 | 76139b5bbf53 |
| 5.5 | 5.15.221 | 3f84d2bd0d8a |
| 5.5 | 6.1.188 | 415f2772ebcb |
| 5.5 | 6.6.157 | 66b5af23b6f9 |
| 5.5 | 6.12.109 | dc4d4b70a863 |
| 5.5 | 6.18.50 | 67551d8430df |
| 5.5 | 7.2.4 | f5827817b4fc |
| 5.5 | 7.3 | bededeaaeff4 |
| 4.19.92 | 0 | 0 |
| 5.4.7 | 0 | 0 |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4841-1 | 2026-10-17 | bookworm 6.1.190-1 | tracker |
| DLA-4817-1 | 2026-10-04 | bookworm 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | tracker |
| DSA-6528-1 | 2026-09-29 | trixie 6.12.111-1 | tracker |
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
- nvme_setup_discard() DMA-maps a 4096-byte DSM buffer that nvme-tcp (KMSAN: nvme_tcp_try_send), nvme-rdma, and nvme-fc transmit to the remote controller, so a malicious NVMe-oF target on the storage fabric receives the leftover kernel page.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The fallback is used when kzalloc(GFP_ATOMIC|__GFP_NOWARN) fails; a fabric peer can drive watermarks with high queue-depth I/O while discards run and retry until discard_page is used, with no race or unknown layout required.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- A compromised NVMe-oF target needs no Linux account or capability on the initiator; once the host is attached to fabric storage, DSM payloads are sent without further local authorization.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- REQ_OP_DISCARD is issued automatically by mount-discard, fstrim timers, hole-punch, and thin-provision UNMAP during normal operation once an NVMe controller exists; no extra victim mount or click is required at exploit time.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The disclosure is host kernel memory to the NVMe controller/peer within the same kernel authority and is not a VM escape, IOMMU bypass, or other cross-boundary scope change.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- nvme_init_ctrl() allocated discard_page with alloc_page(GFP_KERNEL) and no __GFP_ZERO, so up to 4080 bytes of stale buddy-page contents (KMSAN showed kernel/vmemmap pointers) are sent in the DSM payload, a page-sized leak rather than a few bounded bytes.
- I:NIntegrity impact, none
- The flaw only transmits leftover page bytes to the controller; it does not overwrite kernel objects, provide a write primitive, or enable control-flow hijacking.
- A:NAvailability impact, none
- DMA/send of the uninitialized DSM padding completes without oops, panic, or hang; the KMSAN uninit-value report is a sanitizer finding on the transmit path, not a host denial of service.