# CVE-2026-90186: null_blk: reject per-device queue resize for shared tag set

> A local attacker with high privileges can crash the Linux kernel by resizing queues on a null_blk device with shared tags, causing a null pointer dereference.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **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-103017, BELL-CVE-2026-90186, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-90186, GHSA-m9g9-w42f-xp82, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-90186

## What is CVE-2026-90186?

CVE-2026-90186 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: reject per-device queue resize for shared tag set

When shared_tags is enabled, null_setup_tagset() makes the device use the
global tag_set, whose driver_data stays NULL. null_map_queues() therefore
falls back to the module-wide g_submit_queues/g_poll_queues instead of any
per-device value.

Resizing submit_queues or poll_queues via configfs on such a device calls
blk_mq_update_nr_hw_queues() on the shared set, shrinking
set->nr_hw_queues.  __blk_mq_realloc_hw_ctxs() only grows the
q->queue_hw_ctx[] allocation, so on shrink it merely exits and NULLs the
now-excess hctx slots. null_map_queues(), however, keeps mapping CPUs with
the unchanged g_submit_queues/g_poll_queues, so mq_map[] ends up pointing
at those NULLed hctx slots. blk_mq_map_swqueue() then dereferences the NULL
hctx (hctx->cpumask), crashing the kernel:

[  460.218374] KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000098-0x000000000000009f]
[  460.219003] CPU: 24 UID: 0 PID: 1492 Comm: sh Not tainted 7.2.0-rc2+ #67 PREEMPT(full)
[  460.219792] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.17.0-4.fc41 04/01/2014
[  460.220452] RIP: 0010:blk_mq_map_swqueue+0x4db/0x1430
......
[  460.228977] Call Trace:
[  460.229175]  <TASK>
[  460.229354]  blk_mq_update_nr_hw_queues+0xd49/0x11c0
[  460.229779]  ? __pfx_blk_mq_update_nr_hw_queues+0x10/0x10
[  460.230200]  nullb_update_nr_hw_queues+0x1a9/0x370 [null_blk]
[  460.230694]  nullb_device_submit_queues_store+0xd9/0x170 [null_blk]
[  460.231190]  ? __pfx_nullb_device_submit_queues_store+0x10/0x10 [null_blk]
[  460.231776]  ? configfs_write_iter+0x35c/0x4e0
[  460.232122]  configfs_write_iter+0x286/0x4e0
[  460.232460]  vfs_write+0x52d/0xd00
[  460.232779]  ? __x64_sys_openat+0x108/0x1d0
[  460.233106]  ? __pfx_vfs_write+0x10/0x10
[  460.233413]  ? fdget_pos+0x1cf/0x4c0
[  460.233745]  ? fput_close+0x133/0x190
[  460.234038]  ? __pfx_expand_files+0x10/0x10
[  460.234368]  ksys_write+0xfc/0x1d0

Reproducer:
modprobe null_blk shared_tags=1 submit_queues=64 poll_queues=1
mkdir /sys/kernel/config/nullb/dev
echo 1 > /sys/kernel/config/nullb/dev/power
echo 1 > /sys/kernel/config/nullb/dev/submit_queues

A per-device resize of a shared tag set is meaningless anyway, so reject it
with -EINVAL in nullb_update_nr_hw_queues() when the device is bound to the
global tag_set.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-90186?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-90186?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-90186 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-90186 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-90186 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-90186 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-2026-90186 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-2026-90186/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-90186/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-90186
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90186
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-90186

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-90186/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.