CVE-2026-98431 RDMA/uverbs: Fix mmap_lock/disassociation_lock circular dependency
A circular locking dependency in the Linux kernel RDMA subsystem can cause a deadlock, leading to a local denial of service.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-98431?
CVE-2026-98431 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 14 Oct 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:
RDMA/uverbs: Fix mmap_lock/disassociation_lock circular dependency
Commit 51976c6cd786 ("RDMA/core: Provide rdma_user_mmap_disassociate() to disassociate mmap pages") introduced disassociation_lock to protect new mmap registrations against uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate(), but created an ABBA deadlock:
Thread A (mmap / fork): mmap_lock -> disassociation_lock
Thread B (disassociate): disassociation_lock -> mmap_lock
Fix by removing disassociation_lock entirely and using the pre-existing hw_destroy_rwsem instead. hw_destroy_rwsem already provides the same protection: rdma_umap_open() and ib_uverbs_mmap() both use down_read_trylock() before registering a new VMA, so holding hw_destroy_rwsem in uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate() is sufficient to block new registrations. trylock is used in both mmap paths (not blocking down_read) because mmap_lock is already held on entry, and uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate() acquires mmap_lock internally — a blocking read would recreate the same deadlock.
The only caller that was not taking hw_destroy_rwsem for write was rdma_user_mmap_disassociate(). Fix it to take the rwsem per-ufile while iterating under lists_mutex. This is safe because ib_uverbs_close() releases hw_destroy_rwsem entirely before acquiring lists_mutex, so the two locks are never held simultaneously.
lockdep warning:
[ 776.654252] ====================================================== [ 776.655214] WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected [ 776.656167] 6.18.0for-upstream_debug_94e244d9ccab #1 Not tainted [ 776.657114] ------------------------------------------------------ [ 776.658087] devlink/14824 is trying to acquire lock: [ 776.658879] ffff88811170c800 (&mm->mmap_lock){++++}-{4:4}, at: uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate+0x168/0x780 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.660479] [ 776.660479] but task is already holding lock: [ 776.661460] ffff888142d92b08 (&file->disassociation_lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate+0x39/0x780 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.663177] [ 776.663177] which lock already depends on the new lock. [ 776.663177] [ 776.664525] [ 776.664525] the existing dependency chain (in reverse order) is: [ 776.665724] [ 776.665724] -> #2 (&file->disassociation_lock){+.+.}-{4:4}: [ 776.666887] __mutex_lock+0x16d/0x2330 [ 776.667633] rdma_umap_open+0x129/0x280 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.668489] dup_mmap+0xa40/0x1790 [ 776.669170] copy_process+0x5dd2/0x6170 [ 776.669933] kernel_clone+0xb6/0x610 [ 776.670636] __do_sys_clone+0xb5/0xf0 [ 776.671354] do_syscall_64+0x70/0x12e0 [ 776.672083] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 [ 776.672940] [ 776.672940] -> #1 (&mm->mmap_lock/1){+.+.}-{4:4}: [ 776.673985] down_write_nested+0x90/0x1e0 [ 776.674751] dup_mmap+0x201/0x1790 [ 776.675448] copy_process+0x5dd2/0x6170 [ 776.676180] kernel_clone+0xb6/0x610 [ 776.676904] __do_sys_clone+0xb5/0xf0 [ 776.677615] do_syscall_64+0x70/0x12e0 [ 776.678351] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 [ 776.679239] [ 776.679239] -> #0 (&mm->mmap_lock){++++}-{4:4}: [ 776.680253] __lock_acquire+0x18c6/0x2ec0 [ 776.681018] lock_acquire+0x10e/0x2e0 [ 776.681742] down_read+0x95/0x430 [ 776.682395] uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate+0x168/0x780 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.683436] uverbs_destroy_ufile_hw+0x1ae/0x270 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.684416] ib_uverbs_remove_one+0x22b/0x420 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.685371] remove_client_context+0xa6/0xf0 [ib_core] [ 776.686342] disable_device+0x12b/0x240 [ib_core] [ 776.687249] __ib_unregister_device+0x269/0x460 [ib_core] [ 776.688233] ib_unregister_device+0x21/0x30 [ib_core] [ 776.689140] mlx5r_remove+0xd0/0x170 [mlx5_ib] [ 776.689999] device_release_driver_internal+0x3b2/0x5 ---truncated---
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98431?
How do I fix CVE-2026-98431?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-98431 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98431 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-98431, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98431, GHSA-chhw-gjhv-85v8, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98431.