CVE-2026-89696 nfsd: block non-SAVEFH ops after FOREIGN PUTFH to prevent NULL deref
A remote attacker can cause a kernel crash in the Linux NFS server by sending a crafted COMPOUND request when inter-server copy is enabled.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-89696?
CVE-2026-89696 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 11 Sep 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: block non-SAVEFH ops after FOREIGN PUTFH to prevent NULL deref
When CONFIG_NFSD_V4_2_INTER_SSC is enabled, nfsd4_putfh() can return success with fh_dentry and fh_export both NULL if fh_verify() returns nfserr_stale and putfh->no_verify is true. The NFSD4_FH_FOREIGN flag is set, but the compound dispatch loop only uses this flag to bypass the nfserr_nofilehandle check -- it does not prevent subsequent ops from running with a NULL fh_dentry.
A remote client can exploit this by crafting a COMPOUND that includes an inter-SSC COPY (which causes check_if_stalefh_allowed() to set no_verify=true on the saved PUTFH) with an additional op inserted between the source PUTFH and SAVEFH. For example, SETATTR calls fh_want_write() which dereferences fh_export->ex_path.mnt without calling fh_verify() first, causing a NULL pointer dereference in the nfsd kthread.
Fix this by gating the dispatch loop: when NFSD4_FH_FOREIGN is set and fh_dentry is NULL, only OP_SAVEFH (needed for the inter-SSC flow) and ops with ALLOWED_WITHOUT_FH (which don't need a resolved filehandle) may proceed. All other ops receive nfserr_stale, per RFC 7862 Section 15.2.3 which specifies that foreign filehandle validation is deferred to the consuming operation and NFS4ERR_STALE returned at that point.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-89696?
How do I fix CVE-2026-89696?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-89696 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-89696 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-100671, BELL-CVE-2026-89696, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-89696, GHSA-78m3-prpr-8mjm, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-89696.