CRITICAL
nvmet-tcp ICReq Race
CVE-2026-46135
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
KernelScan AI5.9MEDIUM
01Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvmet-tcp: fix race between ICReq handling and queue teardown nvmet_tcp_handle_icreq() updates queue->state after sending an Initialization Connection Response (ICResp), but it does so without serializing against target-side queue teardown. If an NVMe/TCP host sends an Initialization Connection Request (ICReq) and immediately closes the connection, target-side teardown may start in softirq context before io_work drains the already buffered ICReq. In that case, nvmet_tcp_schedule_release_queue() sets queue->state to NVMET_TCP_Q_DISCONNECTING and drops the queue reference under state_lock. If io_work later processes that ICReq, nvmet_tcp_handle_icreq() can still overwrite the state back to NVMET_TCP_Q_LIVE. That defeats the DISCONNECTING-state guard in nvmet_tcp_schedule_release_queue() and allows a later socket state change to re-enter teardown and issue a second kref_put() on an already released queue. The ICResp send failure path has the same problem. If teardown has already moved the queue to DISCONNECTING, a send error can still overwrite the state with NVMET_TCP_Q_FAILED, again reopening the window for a second teardown path to drop the queue reference. Fix this by serializing both post-send state transitions with state_lock and bailing out if teardown has already started. Use -ESHUTDOWN as an internal sentinel for that bail-out path rather than propagating it as a transport error like -ECONNRESET. Keep nvmet_tcp_socket_error() setting rcv_state to NVMET_TCP_RECV_ERR before honoring that sentinel so receive-side parsing stays quiesced until the existing release path completes.
02KernelScan AI Analysis
Risk summary
A race condition in the NVMe/TCP target driver allows remote attackers to trigger a double-free by sending an Initialization Connection Request and immediately closing the connection. This can cause kernel crashes on systems running NVMe/TCP storage targets.
Vulnerability analysis
The vulnerability stems from unserialized state updates in nvmet_tcp_handle_icreq() during ICResp processing. When a host sends an ICReq and immediately disconnects, teardown can set queue state to DISCONNECTING while the ICReq handler later overwrites it back to LIVE, defeating the teardown guard and allowing multiple kref_put() calls on the same queue object. The fix adds proper locking around state transitions and uses -ESHUTDOWN as a sentinel to bail out when teardown is already in progress. This is network-reachable but requires precise timing to exploit the race window.
03Fix Versions
| Branch | Fixed in | Patch commit |
|---|---|---|
| 6.12 | 6.12.88 | 49891c8fe0cb |
| 6.18 | 6.18.30 | 67e1aaf93b49 |
| 7.0 | 7.0.7 | dcfe4d1f7960 |
| mainline | 7.1-rc2 | 5293a8882c54 |