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CVE-2026-90185
null_blk: serialize configfs attribute stores with the lock
Published 2026-09-17 (31 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/block. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-90185 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
The NULLB_DEVICE_ATTR _store takes no lock: apply_fn attributes (submit_queues, poll_queues) get dev->NAME written again after apply_fn returns, outside its lock; APPLY=NULL attributes are entirely lockless. configfs only serializes stores per-open-file, so concurrent stores on separate fds race. For apply_fn attributes, once one store's apply_fn has reconfigured the hardware, a second (losing) store can still overwrite dev->NAME afterwards. This leaves dev->submit_queues out of sync with the live queue count, which is later caught by the WARN_ON_ONCE() in null_map_queues(). For !apply_fn attributes, power_store()'s null_add_dev() validates and builds the device under "lock" but only sets CONFIGURED afterwards. A store slipping in during this window can change a field mid-setup -- for example, zone_nr_conv can be pushed above nr_zones after it has already been clamped, leading to an out-of-bounds dev->zones[] access. Take "lock" in the macro around the apply_fn call, the CONFIGURED test and the field write, and move it out of nullb_apply_submit_queues()/ nullb_apply_poll_queues() so both paths are covered once. This serializes stores with power_store's setup and with each other.
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/block/null_blk/main.c
- What this is
- BLOCK LAYERMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/block/ · linux-block@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- null_blk
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_BLK_DEV_NULL_BLK /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 null_blkPrints 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 switch
- CONFIG_BLK_DEV_NULL_BLK
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
- 2026-09-17 (31 days ago)source
- CVSS
- no vector published, unrated
- Attack vector
- not published
- EPSS
- 0.21%, higher than 9.9% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- drivers/block
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | 6.1.188 | 8e839ed52103 |
| 5.5 | 6.6.157 | 88d806d0e1d3 |
| 5.5 | 6.12.110 | 3945ce8cbce4 |
| 5.5 | 6.18.52 | 65cae82fd3c3 |
| 5.5 | 7.2.6 | c70994c2862b |
| 5.5 | 7.3 | 7e7fff518082 |
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
The kernel CNA published no CVSS vector and no reasoning for CVE-2026-90185, which is why it is shown as unrated rather than given an invented score. 6,405 of the 20,413 CVEs here carry reasoning; this is not one of them.