# CVE-2026-97409: nvme-fc: Do not cancel requests in io target before it is initialized

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel NVMe FC driver can cause a system crash when an admin request times out before the IO target is initialized.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/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:** 24 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 3 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-103997, BELL-CVE-2026-97409, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97409, GHSA-cq4p-q6c3-fqxh, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97409

## What is CVE-2026-97409?

CVE-2026-97409 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 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:

nvme-fc: Do not cancel requests in io target before it is initialized

A new nvme-fc controller in CONNECTING state sees admin request timeout
schedules ctrl->ioerr_work to abort inflight requests. This ends up
calling __nvme_fc_abort_outstanding_ios() which aborts requests in both
admin and io tagsets. In case fc_ctrl->tag_set was not initialized we
see the warning below. This is because ctrl.queue_count is initialized
early in nvme_fc_alloc_ctrl().

nvme nvme0: NVME-FC{0}: starting error recovery Connectivity Loss
INFO: trying to register non-static key.
The code is fine but needs lockdep annotation, or maybe
lpfc 0000:ab:00.0: queue 0 connect admin queue failed (-6).
you didn't initialize this object before use?
turning off the locking correctness validator.
Workqueue: nvme-reset-wq nvme_fc_ctrl_ioerr_work [nvme_fc]
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 dump_stack_lvl+0x57/0x80
 register_lock_class+0x567/0x580
 __lock_acquire+0x330/0xb90
 lock_acquire.part.0+0xad/0x210
 blk_mq_tagset_busy_iter+0xf9/0xc00
 __nvme_fc_abort_outstanding_ios+0x23f/0x320 [nvme_fc]
 nvme_fc_ctrl_ioerr_work+0x172/0x210 [nvme_fc]
 process_one_work+0x82c/0x1450
 worker_thread+0x5ee/0xfd0
 kthread+0x3a0/0x750
 ret_from_fork+0x439/0x670
 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30
 </TASK>

Update the check in __nvme_fc_abort_outstanding_ios() confirm that io
tagset was created before iterating over busy requests. Also make sure
to cancel ctrl->ioerr_work before removing io tagset.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97409?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-97409?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-97409 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97409 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-97409 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-97409 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 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-2026-97409 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-2026-97409/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97409/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97409
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97409
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97409

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97409/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.