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CVE-2026-89689

nfsd: don't free session slots that are still in use

9.8 EPSS 0.6% 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-2026-89689 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

nfsd4_sequence() can free the very slot it is currently processing. When the session shrinker has reduced se_target_maxslots below se_fchannel.maxreqs, the shrink path checks three conditions before calling free_session_slots(): 1. se_target_maxslots < maxreqs (shrink was advertised) 2. slot->sl_generation == se_slot_gen (slot is up-to-date) 3. seq->maxslots <= se_target_maxslots (client acknowledges) However, seq->slotid is never checked against se_target_maxslots. A client using a slot in the range [se_target_maxslots, maxreqs) can satisfy all three conditions: its slot has the current generation (set by a prior SEQUENCE), and it sends sa_highest_slotid <= se_target_maxslots to acknowledge the reduction. free_session_slots() then kfrees every slot at index >= se_target_maxslots, including the caller's own slot. The function continues to write sl_seqid, sl_flags, sl_generation, and stores the dangling pointer in cstate->slot. Later, nfsd4_store_cache_entry() copies up to maxresp_cached bytes of the compound reply into the freed sl_data[] array, corrupting whatever slab object now occupies that address. Additionally, a concurrent thread processing SEQUENCE on a different high-numbered slot can have its slot freed out from under it. NFSD4_SLOT_INUSE is set under nn->client_lock before the lock is released, so any concurrent thread past SEQUENCE will have its slot marked. However, free_session_slots() does not check NFSD4_SLOT_INUSE before freeing. Fix both problems by: 1. Checking that the current request's slotid is below the shrink boundary. 2. Scanning slots in the to-be-freed range for NFSD4_SLOT_INUSE and deferring the shrink if any are active.

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/nfs4state.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 -wE 'CONFIG_NFSD|CONFIG_NFSD_V4' /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 switches
CONFIG_NFSD, CONFIG_NFSD_V4
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
0.61%, higher than 48.4% 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
6.146.18.5072d40b103bb0
6.147.2.4b449b134e776
6.147.3f5d22e372f4a

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
The bug is in nfsd4_sequence() in the in-kernel NFSv4.1 server (fs/nfsd/nfs4state.c). A remote client reaches it by sending COMPOUND RPCs with OP_SEQUENCE over TCP/2049 after EXCHANGE_ID/CREATE_SESSION; no local access to the NFS server is required.
AC:LAttack complexity, low
After CREATE_SESSION with multiple slots, the attacker can grow the slot table and consume DRC memory so the nfsd-DRC-slot shrinker lowers se_target_maxslots, which SEQUENCE replies report. A SEQUENCE on a high slotid with sa_highest_slotid acknowledging the shrink then kfree's that in-use slot. Slotid, maxslots, cachethis, and concurrent COMPOUNDs are attacker-controlled.
PR:NPrivileges required, none
Typical nfsd deployments accept AUTH_SYS/AUTH_NULL without cryptographic authentication. Any host allowed by the export ACL can EXCHANGE_ID/CREATE_SESSION and then SEQUENCE (ALLOWED_WITHOUT_FH, no filehandle or OPEN required); no local account or capability on the NFS server is needed.
UI:NUser interaction, none
The attacking NFS client sends the EXCHANGE_ID, CREATE_SESSION, and crafted SEQUENCE compounds itself. No victim user or administrator action on the NFS server, such as mounting an export or opening a file, is required.
S:UScope, unchanged
The use-after-free corrupts nfsd session-slot heap objects inside the NFS server host kernel. Impact stays in that kernel security authority and does not cross a VM, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary.
C:HConfidentiality impact, high
free_session_slots() kfree's the nfsd4_slot still referenced by cstate->slot. Later nfsd4_store_cache_entry() and SEQUENCE processing read the freed object, including sl_cred. Slab reuse of the DRC slot (up to 2048-byte sl_data) enables arbitrary kernel memory disclosure per UAF guidance.
I:HIntegrity impact, high
After the kfree, nfsd4_sequence() writes sl_seqid, sl_flags, and sl_generation through the dangling pointer, and nfsd4_store_cache_entry() copies up to maxresp_cached bytes of the compound reply into freed sl_data[] and runs free_svc_cred() on reused memory, yielding a kernel heap write/arbitrary-free primitive.
A:HAvailability impact, high
Use-after-free of the in-use session slot oopses or panics nfsd when the dangling cstate->slot is dereferenced or when concurrent SEQUENCE threads hit a freed slot. The attacker can repeat the SEQUENCE compounds to deny NFS service and take down the host.