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Linux Kernel NFSD CVE-2026-90036

| EUVDEUVD-2026-80644 CRITICAL
2026-09-16 Linux GHSA-j6h5-vv56-hq58
9.8
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Linux
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Severity by source

Vendor (Linux) PRIMARY
9.8 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI
6.5 MEDIUM

NFSD is network-reachable and AUTH_SYS clients are effectively unauthenticated (AV:N/PR:N), but the laundromat-vs-force-expire race is a narrow window (AC:H); a UAF crash gives A:H with at most incidental corruption (I:L) and no disclosure (C:N).

3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

7
Metadata Corrected
Sep 16, 2026 - 16:40 vuln.today
tag: Denial Of Service added
Metadata Corrected
Sep 16, 2026 - 16:40 vuln.today
tag: Information Disclosure removed
Analysis Generated
Sep 16, 2026 - 16:34 vuln.today
CVSS changed
Sep 16, 2026 - 15:22 NVD
9.8 (CRITICAL)
Patch available
Sep 16, 2026 - 11:03 EUVD
CVE Published
Sep 16, 2026 - 10:33 cve.org
CRITICAL 9.8
CVE Published
Sep 16, 2026 - 10:33 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)

DescriptionCVE.org

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

NFSD: Prevent client use-after-free during blocked-lock reaping

A bare lock owner -- its only remaining reference a blocked lock on nn->blocked_locks_lru -- holds a raw pointer to its nfs4_client but no reference keeping the client alive. When the per-net laundromat reaps such a lock, freeing the nbl drops the owner reference held through flc_owner, and the final nfs4_put_stateowner() takes the client's cl_lock. Because the laundromat detaches the nbl first, __destroy_client() no longer finds it, so a concurrent force_expire_client() can free the client before nfs4_put_stateowner() runs, dereferencing cl_lock in freed memory.

Pin the client with cl_rpc_users before dropping nn->blocked_locks_lock, and skip clients already expiring, whose blocked locks __destroy_client() frees while holding an owner reference. Take nn->client_lock outside nn->blocked_locks_lock. Every other site holds nn->blocked_locks_lock as a leaf, acquiring no further lock, so placing nn->client_lock outside it cannot form a lock-order cycle.

AnalysisAI

A use-after-free race in the Linux kernel's in-kernel NFS server (NFSD) can crash the kernel when the blocked-lock reaper (the per-net 'laundromat') frees a bare lock owner at the same moment force_expire_client() is tearing down the same nfs4_client, so the final nfs4_put_stateowner() dereferences the client's cl_lock in freed memory. Unpatched kernels from approximately 4.9 up to (but not including) 6.18.51 / 7.2.5 are affected; the flaw is reachable by a remote NFS client that can queue a blocked byte-range lock - unauthenticated per the CVSS vector (PR:N), though in practice gated by NFS export permissions and network reachability of the service. …

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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata

Recon
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Vulnerability AssessmentAI

Exploitation Requires a running Linux in-kernel NFSD server exporting a filesystem to NFS clients, and a client able to create a bare lock owner whose sole reference is a blocked byte-range lock queued on nn->blocked_locks_lru. … Additional conditions and limiting factors are described in the full assessment.
Risk Assessment This is a classic vendor-over-scored Linux kernel race-condition UAF. … 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 Apply the vendor-released patch by upgrading to Linux kernel 6.18.51 or 7.2.5 (or 7.3-rc1 / later mainline), or backport the upstream stable fixes identified by commits 9026932ac8be4d0ae01db47f23619a98cc57b671, cd489b03587378645fe0d20142a33f1ed60bac98, and 6fedb2eaff77554ca7a0deffd2e8bc0d6e8b38b0 (see https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cd489b03587378645fe0d20142a33f1ed60bac98 and the EUVD/NVD records at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90036); distribution kernels should be tracked to their vendor's backported erratum versions. … Detailed patch versions, workarounds, and compensating controls in full report.

Recommended ActionAI

Within 24 hours, inventory all Linux hosts and appliances running the in-kernel NFS server (nfsd) and confirm kernel versions, prioritizing externally reachable and shared-storage systems; where patching cannot be completed immediately, restrict NFS port 2049 exposure to trusted client networks and authorized export ranges per the vendor advisory. …

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CVE-2026-90036 vulnerability details – vuln.today

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