CVE-2026-89712 NFSD: restart ssc_expire_umount walk after dropping nfsd_ssc_lock
A race condition in the Linux kernel NFS server allows a use-after-free, potentially leading to code execution or denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-89712?
CVE-2026-89712 is a critical use after free 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: restart ssc_expire_umount walk after dropping nfsd_ssc_lock
nfsd4_ssc_expire_umount() walks nn->nfsd_ssc_mount_list with list_for_each_entry_safe(ni, tmp, ...). For each expired entry it sets nsui_busy = true, drops nfsd_ssc_lock to run mntput() on the source vfsmount, then reacquires the lock to list_del + kfree the entry and continue iterating via the macro's saved tmp pointer.
The nsui_busy flag protects the current ni from concurrent nfsd4_ssc_setup_dul() finders during the lock-drop window, but it does not pin tmp. Another nfsd RPC thread that fails its source- server mount and reaches nfsd4_ssc_cancel_dul() will, during that same window, take nfsd_ssc_lock, list_del + kfree its own ssc_umount item, and release the lock. If that item is the saved tmp of the expire walk, the next iteration dereferences a freed nfsd4_ssc_umount_item.
Restart the walk from the head after the mntput() unlock window so no saved next pointer survives the lock-drop. The list is bounded by the number of active inter-server source mounts (typically small) and the expire delayed-work runs periodically rather than per-IO, so the restart is cheap.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-89712?
How do I fix CVE-2026-89712?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.
Is CVE-2026-89712 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-89712 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-100715, BELL-CVE-2026-89712, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-89712, GHSA-cfxc-m2r2-5grw, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-89712.