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Linux Kernel NFSD CVE-2026-89664

| EUVDEUVD-2026-76576 HIGH
2026-09-11 Linux GHSA-2mmp-54r9-hmh2
7.5
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Linux
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Severity by source

Vendor (Linux) PRIMARY
7.5 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
vuln.today AI
7.5 HIGH

NFSv4 server reachable over network; malformed OPEN compound requires no race or special timing; impact is availability-only memory exhaustion with no confidentiality or integrity effect.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (Linux).

CVSS VectorVendor: Linux

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

7
Metadata Corrected
Sep 13, 2026 - 09:40 vuln.today
tag: Denial Of Service added
Metadata Corrected
Sep 13, 2026 - 09:40 vuln.today
tag: Information Disclosure removed
Analysis Generated
Sep 13, 2026 - 09:39 vuln.today
CVSS changed
Sep 13, 2026 - 07:22 NVD
7.5 (HIGH)
Patch available
Sep 11, 2026 - 21:18 EUVD
CVE Published
Sep 11, 2026 - 19:45 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)
CVE Published
Sep 11, 2026 - 19:45 cve.org
HIGH 7.5

DescriptionCVE.org

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

nfsd: release OPEN-decoded posix ACLs via op_release

nfsd4_decode_createhow4() calls nfsd4_decode_fattr4(), which allocates refcounted struct posix_acl objects via posix_acl_alloc() and stores them in open->op_pacl and open->op_dpacl. These pointers must be released once the OPEN compound finishes.

When nfsd4_decode_open_claim4() returns a non-seqid-mutating error, the dispatcher short-circuits before op_func runs:

nfsd4_proc_compound() if (op->status && op->opnum == OP_OPEN) op->status = nfsd4_open_omfg(...) if (!seqid_mutating_err(ntohl(op->status))) return op->status; /* nfsd4_open() never runs */ ... opdesc->op_release(&op->u) /* must still release op_pacl/op_dpacl */

Before this change OP_OPEN had no .op_release in nfsd4_ops[], and the release pair lived inside nfsd4_open() at its out_err: label. On the short-circuit path nfsd4_open() is never invoked, so both posix_acl refs leak on every malformed OPEN compound that carries valid POSIX ACL createhow4 attributes.

Add nfsd4_open_release() and wire it as .op_release for OP_OPEN. posix_acl_release() is NULL-safe, so the single release site covers both the normal path and the nfsd4_open_omfg short-circuit. Remove the matching posix_acl_release() pair from nfsd4_open()'s out_err: label to avoid double-releasing.

The compound loop has two encoding branches: nfsd4_encode_operation() for normal ops, and nfsd4_encode_replay() for v4.0 replayed ops. op_release was only called from nfsd4_encode_operation(), so resources attached to op->u leak on the replay path.

Move the op_release() call out of nfsd4_encode_operation() and the replay branch, placing it after the if-else in nfsd4_proc_compound(). This gives a single call site in a fairly obviously-correct place, covering both the normal encoding and replay paths.

AnalysisAI

POSIX ACL reference-count leaks in Linux kernel NFSD allow a remote attacker to exhaust kernel memory via malformed NFSv4 OPEN compound requests. When the NFS server decodes an OPEN compound carrying valid POSIX ACL createhow4 attributes but encounters a non-seqid-mutating error from claim4 decoding, the compound dispatcher short-circuits before nfsd4_open() executes, permanently leaking both op_pacl and op_dpacl references because OP_OPEN lacked an op_release handler; a secondary leak exists on the NFSv4.0 replay path where op_release was never called from nfsd4_encode_replay(). …

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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata

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Vulnerability AssessmentAI

Exploitation The target must be running Linux kernel NFSD as an active NFSv4 server (nfsd module loaded, NFS service exported) with POSIX ACL support compiled into the kernel or available as a module. … Additional conditions and limiting factors are described in the full assessment.
Risk Assessment The CVSS 3.1 score of 7.5 with vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H is broadly appropriate for this class of vulnerability: the leak is reachable over a standard NFSv4 TCP connection, crafting a malformed OPEN compound with POSIX ACL attributes that triggers a non-seqid decode error requires no race condition or timing exploit, and the sole impact is availability via memory exhaustion. … Full risk analysis with EPSS, KEV, and SSVC signal comparison available after sign-in.
Exploit Scenario Full exploit scenario with step-by-step reproduction available after sign-in.
Remediation Vendor-released patches are available via upstream kernel stable commits: 8215892993ea9f5231da4fa9eb42428a286fce8b for the 7.2.x stable tree (Linux 7.2.4) at https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8215892993ea9f5231da4fa9eb42428a286fce8b, and 5b3a7d7c23c071efe12dd1bc1d2e5f97c4892921 for the 7.3 development tree (Linux 7.3-rc1) at https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5b3a7d7c23c071efe12dd1bc1d2e5f97c4892921. … Detailed patch versions, workarounds, and compensating controls in full report.

Recommended ActionAI

Within 24 hours, identify all Linux systems running NFSD and assess network exposure to untrusted clients; prioritize servers handling critical file-sharing workloads. …

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CVE-2026-89664 vulnerability details – vuln.today

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