# CVE-2026-93196: nvdimm: virtio_pmem: refcount requests for token lifetime

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's virtio_pmem driver allows attackers to cause a system crash or potentially execute arbitrary code.

- **Severity:** High 8.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 17 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-102605, BELL-CVE-2026-93196, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-93196, GHSA-8m98-gqrc-3mr3, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-93196

## What is CVE-2026-93196?

CVE-2026-93196 is a high-severity use after free 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:

nvdimm: virtio_pmem: refcount requests for token lifetime

KASAN reports slab-use-after-free in __wake_up_common():
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in __wake_up_common+0x114/0x160
Read of size 8 at addr ffff88810fdcb710 by task swapper/0/0

CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted
6.19.0-next-20260220-00006-g1eae5f204ec3 #4 PREEMPT(full)
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS Arch Linux
1.17.0-2-2 04/01/2014
Call Trace:
 <IRQ>
 dump_stack_lvl+0x6d/0xb0
 print_report+0x170/0x4e2
 ? __pfx__raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x10/0x10
 ? __virt_addr_valid+0x1dc/0x380
 kasan_report+0xbc/0xf0
 ? __wake_up_common+0x114/0x160
 ? __wake_up_common+0x114/0x160
 __wake_up_common+0x114/0x160
 ? __pfx__raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x10/0x10
 __wake_up+0x36/0x60
 virtio_pmem_host_ack+0x11d/0x3b0
 ? sched_balance_domains+0x29f/0xb00
 ? __pfx_virtio_pmem_host_ack+0x10/0x10
 ? _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x98/0x100
 ? __pfx__raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x10/0x10
 vring_interrupt+0x1c9/0x5e0
 ? __pfx_vp_interrupt+0x10/0x10
 vp_vring_interrupt+0x87/0x100
 ? __pfx_vp_interrupt+0x10/0x10
 __handle_irq_event_percpu+0x17f/0x550
 ? __pfx__raw_spin_lock+0x10/0x10
 handle_irq_event+0xab/0x1c0
 handle_fasteoi_irq+0x276/0xae0
 __common_interrupt+0x65/0x130
 common_interrupt+0x78/0xa0
 </IRQ>

virtio_pmem_host_ack() wakes a request that has already been freed by the
submitter.

This happens when the request token is still reachable via the virtqueue,
but virtio_pmem_flush() returns and frees it.

Fix the token lifetime by refcounting struct virtio_pmem_request.
virtio_pmem_flush() holds a submitter reference, and the virtqueue holds an
extra reference once the request is queued. The completion path drops the
virtqueue reference, and the submitter drops its reference before
returning.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-93196?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-93196?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-93196 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-93196 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-93196 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-93196 is a high-severity use after free 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-2026-93196 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-2026-93196/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-93196/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-93196
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-93196
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-93196

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-93196/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.