# CVE-2026-90184: null_blk: serialize configfs attribute updates with device setup

> A race condition in the Linux kernel null_blk driver allows local attackers to cause device setup failures or potential null pointer dereferences by concurrently modifying configfs attributes.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **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:** 17 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-102302, BELL-CVE-2026-90184, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-90184, GHSA-vmh6-cgxh-hrg9, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-90184

## What is CVE-2026-90184?

CVE-2026-90184 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 17 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:

null_blk: serialize configfs attribute updates with device setup

The attribute store methods generated with NULLB_DEVICE_ATTR() refuse to
change the configuration of a live device by testing
NULLB_DEV_FL_CONFIGURED, but that flag is only set by
nullb_device_power_store() after null_add_dev() has returned, and the
store methods take no lock at all. configfs only serializes writes to
the same open file (buffer->mutex), so a write to any attribute can run
concurrently with null_add_dev() and change the device configuration
while it is being used.

null_add_dev() reads the configuration several times, e.g. dev->zoned is
read once to set up the queue limits and once to initialize the zone
resources:

  CPU0: echo 1 > nullb0/power         CPU1: echo 1 > nullb0/zoned
  nullb_device_power_store()
    mutex_lock(&lock)
    null_add_dev()
      if (dev->zoned) -> false
        /* no BLK_FEAT_ZONED */       nullb_device_zoned_store()
                                        test_bit(FL_CONFIGURED) -> 0
                                        dev->zoned = true
      blk_mq_alloc_disk()
        /* queue is not zoned */
      if (nullb->dev->zoned) -> true
        null_register_zoned_dev()
          blk_revalidate_disk_zones()

blk_revalidate_disk_zones() is then called for a queue that does not
have BLK_FEAT_ZONED set, which triggers its WARN_ON_ONCE() and fails the
device setup with -EIO:

  WARNING: CPU: 2 PID: 322 at block/blk-zoned.c:2357 blk_revalidate_disk_zones+0x4c/0x560

Clearing dev->zoned in the same window is worse: the queue is created
with BLK_FEAT_ZONED but the zone resources are never initialized, so
add_disk() succeeds for a zoned disk that has no zones. And a store that
lands after the last dev->zoned test leaves dev->zoned set while
dev->zones is still NULL, which null_process_zoned_cmd() dereferences on
the first write.

Fix this by taking the global lock, which nullb_device_power_store()
already holds across null_add_dev() and null_del_dev(), around both the
NULLB_DEV_FL_CONFIGURED test and the update of the device configuration.
The submit_queues and poll_queues apply callbacks are now called with
that lock held, so remove the locking they did themselves.

Since the store methods can run as soon as configfs_register_subsystem()
returns, that is, before null_init() gets to mutex_init(&lock), also
initialize the lock statically with DEFINE_MUTEX().

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-90184?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-90184?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-90184 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-90184 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-90184 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-90184 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 17 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-2026-90184 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-2026-90184/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-90184/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-90184
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90184
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-90184

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-90184/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.