# 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.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 16 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-101189, BELL-CVE-2026-89998, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-89998, GHSA-qxqq-x3cw-322m, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-89998

## 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.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-89998 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-89998 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-89998/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-89998/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-89998
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89998
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-89998

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-89998/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.