# CVE-2026-53394: nfsd: avoid leaking pre-allocated openowner on unconfirmed retry race

> A race condition in the Linux kernel NFS server can leak memory, potentially leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 19 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-53394, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53394, GHSA-3gwr-8cwh-87h2, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53394

## What is CVE-2026-53394?

CVE-2026-53394 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

nfsd: avoid leaking pre-allocated openowner on unconfirmed retry race

When find_or_alloc_open_stateowner() encounters an unconfirmed owner, it
calls release_openowner() and sets oo = NULL. Control then falls through
past the `if (oo)` guard -- which would have freed any pre-allocated
`new` -- and unconditionally executes `new = alloc_stateowner(...)`. If
`new` was already allocated on a prior iteration, the pointer is
silently overwritten and the previous allocation (slab object + owner
name buffer) is leaked.

This requires a race: two NFSv4.0 OPEN threads with the same owner
string, where a concurrent thread inserts a new unconfirmed owner into
the hash between retry iterations. The window is narrow but repeatable
under adversarial conditions.

Fix by adding `goto retry` after `oo = NULL` so the already-allocated
`new` is reused on the next iteration rather than overwritten.

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53394?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-53394?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-53394 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53394 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-53394 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-53394 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53394 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53394/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53394/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53394
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53394
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-53394

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53394/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.