CVE-2026-89698 nfsd: widen nfsd_genl_rqstp address fields to sockaddr_storage
An unprivileged local attacker can read kernel memory via netlink due to a buffer over-read in the NFS daemon, leaking sensitive data.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-89698?
CVE-2026-89698 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 11 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
nfsd: widen nfsd_genl_rqstp address fields to sockaddr_storage
struct nfsd_genl_rqstp declares rq_daddr and rq_saddr as plain "struct sockaddr" (16 bytes). When an IPv6 NFS client is connected, nfsd_genl_rpc_status_compose_msg() casts these fields to "struct sockaddr_in6 *" (28 bytes) and reads sin6_addr at offset 8..24, which extends 8 bytes past the end of the 16-byte sockaddr field into the adjacent rq_flags member. The 16-byte nla_put_in6_addr then ships 8 bytes of truncated IPv6 address followed by 8 bytes of rq_flags to userspace via the NFSD_A_RPC_STATUS_SADDR6/DADDR6 netlink attributes.
This is reachable by any unprivileged process in the network namespace because NFSD_CMD_RPC_STATUS_GET uses GENL_CMD_CAP_DUMP without GENL_ADMIN_PERM.
Fix by widening rq_daddr and rq_saddr to struct sockaddr_storage so the IPv6 casts operate within bounds, copying sizeof(struct sockaddr_storage) bytes in the memcpy calls so the full address is captured, and zero-initializing the genl_rqstp stack variable to prevent leaking uninitialized tail bytes through netlink.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-89698?
How do I fix CVE-2026-89698?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-89698 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-89698 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-89698, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-89698, GHSA-cgqx-6jrp-48w7, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-89698.