CVE-2026-89998 dm: fix race when loading and unloading a table
A race condition in the Linux kernel device-mapper allows access to invalid memory during concurrent table loads, potentially causing a system crash.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-89998?
CVE-2026-89998 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 16 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:
dm: fix race when loading and unloading a table
If the userspace calls two concurrent table load ioctls and one of them succeeds and the other fails, there is a race condition because dm_setup_md_queue walks &md->table_devices without any lock. If the walk races with dm_table_destroy -> free_devices -> dm_put_table_device, there is access to invalid memory.
Fix this race by extending the lock over the list walk.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-89998?
How do I fix CVE-2026-89998?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-89998 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-89998 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-101189, BELL-CVE-2026-89998, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-89998, GHSA-qxqq-x3cw-322m, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-89998.