data built 2026-10-19T13:16:53Z

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CVE-2026-89678

nfsd: fix partial-write detection in nfsd_direct_write

7.5 EPSS 0.4% AV:N

Published 2026-09-11 (37 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem fs/nfsd. Debian urgency: unimportant.

What to do, per Debian release

Debian's own status for CVE-2026-89678 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

ReleaseStatus VersionWhat this means
Debian 12bookwormnot affected6.1.190-1Nothing to do. bookworm never shipped the vulnerable code.
Debian 13trixienot affected6.12.113-1Nothing to do. trixie never shipped the vulnerable code.
Debian 14forkyfixed7.2.6-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian unstablesidfixed7.2.6-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.

The vulnerability

What the bug is

nfsd_direct_write() walks a list of write segments and, after each vfs_iocb_iter_write(), tries to detect a short write so the loop can stop before placing the next segment at a wrong file offset: host_err = vfs_iocb_iter_write(file, kiocb, &segments[i].iter); if (host_err < 0) return host_err; *cnt += host_err; if (host_err < segments[i].iter.count) break; /* partial write */ vfs_iocb_iter_write() runs the iter through ->write_iter(), which advances the iter by the number of bytes written. By the time the check runs, segments[i].iter.count is the residual, not the original request length: before write_iter: iter.count == original_len after write_iter: iter.count == original_len - host_err The condition then reduces to host_err < original_len - host_err, so the break fires only when less than half of the segment was written. Any short write completing between 50% and 99% of the segment slips through; the loop advances to the next segment with kiocb->ki_pos only bumped by the short amount, writing the next segment's payload at the wrong offset and over-reporting *cnt to the NFS client. Snapshot the segment's byte count before the write and compare host_err against that snapshot so any short write breaks the loop.

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.

fs/nfsd/vfs.c

What this is
KERNEL NFSD, SUNRPC, AND LOCKD SERVERSMAINTAINERS section matched on fs/nfsd/ · linux-nfs@vger.kernel.org · Supported
Kernel module
nfsd

Check it on the machine

grep -w CONFIG_NFSD /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 nfsd

Prints 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 switch
CONFIG_NFSD

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:N/I:H/A:Nsource recompute it
Attack vector
network (AV:N)source
EPSS
0.38%, higher than 30.4% of all CVEssource
CISA KEV
not listedthe KEV catalogue
Debian urgency
unimportantsource
Subsystem
fs/nfsd

Upstream fixes

The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source

IntroducedFixed inCommit
6.197.2.4fa6590dfd16a
6.197.3250ec14932d5

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
nfsd_direct_write() is reached from NFSv2/v3 WRITE (nfsd_proc_write/nfsd3_proc_write) and NFSv4 WRITE (nfsd4_write) in the in-kernel NFS server via svc_recv/svc_process over TCP/UDP 2049, so a remote client supplies the payload, offset, and length on the wire.
AC:LAttack complexity, low
On nfsd hosts with io_cache_write=DIRECT, the attacker chooses WRITE offset and size to force a prefix/middle/suffix split (nsegs>=2) and can induce a 50-99% short write via quota, ENOSPC, or a concurrent truncate they also send; no race or layout outside their control is required.
PR:NPrivileges required, none
Typical nfsd deployments accept AUTH_SYS/AUTH_NULL with IP-based export ACLs, so a network peer can MOUNT/LOOKUP, spoof an owner UID, and issue WRITE without cryptographic authentication or a local account on the NFS server.
UI:NUser interaction, none
The attacking NFS client sends the WRITE RPC itself; no separate victim user or administrator action on the server is required at attack time beyond nfsd already exporting a writable filesystem with direct writes enabled.
S:UScope, unchanged
Misplaced writes and the over-reported WRITE count affect only file data on the host running nfsd, remaining in that kernel/filesystem security authority without crossing a VM, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary.
C:NConfidentiality impact, none
The bug only writes the client's own payload at a shifted file offset and over-reports the WRITE byte count; it does not read kernel memory or other inodes and is not a use-after-free or out-of-bounds read.
I:HIntegrity impact, high
After a 50-99% short write the loop continues and places the next segment at ki_pos advanced only by the short count, silently storing payload at the wrong file offset and over-reporting *cnt so clients treat corrupted server data as fully committed; when uncertain versus Low, High is required.
A:NAvailability impact, none
The defect corrupts file contents and the NFS WRITE count without oops, panic, BUG_ON, deadlock, or hang; files remain accessible and nfsd workers continue, so there is no kernel or service crash.