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CVE-2026-89541
SUNRPC: harden gss_unwrap_resp_priv length checks
Published 2026-09-11 (37 days 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-2026-89541 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
gss_unwrap_resp_priv() validates the RPCSEC_GSS opaque length with offset = (u8 *)(p) - (u8 *)head->iov_base; if (offset + opaque_len > rcv_buf->len) goto unwrap_failed; maj_stat = gss_unwrap(ctx->gc_gss_ctx, offset, offset + opaque_len, rcv_buf); Both operands are u32 and the sum is computed in u32. A reply with opaque_len near 0xffffffff makes offset + opaque_len wrap to a small value that is below rcv_buf->len, so the bound check passes and gss_unwrap() is called with end < begin. The check also lacks a lower bound, so any opaque_len in [0, GSS_KRB5_TOK_HDR_LEN) is accepted and forwarded to gss_krb5_unwrap_v2(), whose pre-decrypt header reads at ptr+4 and ptr+6 then run past the token. A krb5p NFS server returning a crafted RPCSEC_GSS reply can drive the client into out-of-bounds reads in gss_krb5_unwrap_v2() and the rotate_left() loop that follows. Fix by replacing the single combined check with three guards that are safe in u32 arithmetic and that enforce the RFC 4121 minimum outer token length: if (offset > rcv_buf->len) goto unwrap_failed; if (opaque_len > rcv_buf->len - offset) goto unwrap_failed; if (opaque_len < GSS_KRB5_TOK_HDR_LEN) goto unwrap_failed; The first guard makes the subtraction in the second guard unconditionally safe; offset is derived from a successful xdr_inline_decode() in the head kvec, so in practice it already satisfies the bound. The floor mirrors the server-side check added in commit 5b757c2e57a5 ("SUNRPC: svcauth_gss: enforce krb5 token minimum length").
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/auth_gss/auth_gss.c
- What this is
- KERNEL NFSD, SUNRPC, AND LOCKD SERVERSMAINTAINERS section matched on net/sunrpc/ · linux-nfs@vger.kernel.org · Supported
- Kernel module
- auth_rpcgss
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_SUNRPC|CONFIG_SUNRPC_GSS' /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 auth_rpcgssPrints 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, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12m
- m
- a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted
- Build switches
- CONFIG_SUNRPC, CONFIG_SUNRPC_GSS
- 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
- 2026-09-11 (37 days ago)source
- CVSS
- 9.8 critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- network (AV:N)source
- EPSS
- 0.51%, higher than 42.5% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2.6.15 | 5.10.270 | 3691c4b3488d |
| 2.6.15 | 5.15.221 | 85fa6b12e8f4 |
| 2.6.15 | 6.1.188 | 401f6a5b338d |
| 2.6.15 | 6.6.157 | 81fd7654a842 |
| 2.6.15 | 6.12.109 | 89a15a50f84d |
| 2.6.15 | 6.18.50 | ebcbd2523a85 |
| 2.6.15 | 7.2.4 | d395c30d570c |
| 2.6.15 | 7.3 | 87831b92112c |
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
- gss_unwrap_resp_priv() runs in the Linux NFS/SUNRPC client while decoding RPCSEC_GSS privacy (krb5p) replies; a malicious or compromised NFS server supplies the crafted opaque_len and wrap token over the existing TCP/UDP/RDMA RPC connection.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The attacker fully controls the reply, including opaque_len and the cleartext RFC 4121 header, and a single response can make offset+opaque_len wrap in u32 or fall below GSS_KRB5_TOK_HDR_LEN; no race or layout beyond the attacker’s control is required.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- The attacker is the remote RPC/NFS peer that already holds the GSS session keys needed to pass gss_validate(); no local account, user namespace, or capability on the victim client is required.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- Once a krb5p NFS mount or other SUNRPC GSS-privacy client is already in use, normal client RPCs elicit replies the attacker can craft; no extra victim action is needed at attack time.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- Out-of-bounds reads, rotate/decrypt memory corruption, and crashes stay inside the victim kernel’s SUNRPC client and do not cross a VM, IOMMU, or other security-authority boundary.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- A short or wrapped opaque_len makes gss_krb5_unwrap_v2() read past the token at ptr+4/ptr+6 and feeds rotate_left()/decrypt with wrapped lengths, disclosing adjacent kernel memory; unwrap cleanup can also memmove nearly UINT_MAX bytes.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- The same wrapped lengths drive rotate_left() writes, CBC/AEAD decrypt over an unbounded xdr subsegment (xdr_buf_subsegment’s error is ignored), and gss_krb5_unwrap_v2()’s unsigned movelen underflow into a near-4GiB memmove, enabling kernel memory corruption.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- rotate_left() can divide-by-zero on a zero-length subbuffer, spin in a multi-gigabyte kernel loop on a wrapped subsegment, or oops/panic on the huge memmove or out-of-bounds header access.