CRITICAL Introduced in 2.6.13
nfsd SetAcl Bypass
CVE-2026-89671
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
KernelScan AI4.6MEDIUM
01Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: gate nfs3 setacl by argp->mask nfsd3_proc_setacl() calls set_posix_acl() unconditionally for both ACL_TYPE_ACCESS and ACL_TYPE_DEFAULT, passing argp->acl_access and argp->acl_default verbatim. The NFSv3 ACL decoder only populates those pointers when the corresponding mask bit is set: nfs3svc_decode_setaclargs() if (args->mask & NFS_ACL) decode into acl_access if (args->mask & NFS_DFACL) decode into acl_default /* otherwise the pointer stays NULL (pc_argzero) */ nfsd3_proc_setacl() set_posix_acl(.., ACL_TYPE_ACCESS, argp->acl_access) set_posix_acl(.., ACL_TYPE_DEFAULT, argp->acl_default) set_posix_acl(idmap, dentry, type, NULL) is the VFS "remove this ACL type" operation. A NULL pointer that means "the client did not send this arm" is therefore indistinguishable from "the client asked to remove this ACL". A SETACL with mask=NFS_ACL silently drops the directory's default ACL; mask=0 drops both. The sibling nfsd3_proc_getacl() already consults argp->mask before touching each arm; mirror that in setacl. Fix by wrapping each set_posix_acl() call in the matching mask bit check and initializing error to 0 before inode_lock so that a request with neither bit set leaves the on-disk ACLs untouched and returns nfs_ok. The out_drop_lock path and the unconditional posix_acl_release() at out: are preserved; both NULL-tolerate the skipped arms.
02KernelScan AI Analysis
Risk summary
An NFSv3 client can send a SETACL RPC with a partial or empty mask, causing the server to silently remove ACLs the client never intended to change. This weakens file access controls on the exported filesystem. Any deployment running an NFSv3 server with ACL support is affected.
Vulnerability analysis
The NFSv3 SETACL handler unconditionally applies both access and default ACLs from the client request, but the request decoder only populates an ACL pointer when the corresponding mask bit is set. When the bit is absent the pointer is NULL, and passing NULL to the VFS set-ACL call is interpreted as "remove this ACL" rather than "leave it unchanged." A client that sends a SETACL requesting only the access ACL therefore silently strips the directory's default ACL, and a request with no bits set removes both. The fix gates each ACL-setting call on its mask bit so only ACLs the client explicitly sent are modified, and a request with neither bit set returns success without touching on-disk ACLs. The vulnerability is reachable by any NFSv3 client that can send a SETACL RPC to the server over the network.
Lifecycle
03Fix Versions
| Branch | Introduced | Fixed in | Patch commit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.12 | 2.6.13 | 6.12.109 | 68a80b26efdf |
| 6.18 | 2.6.13 | 6.18.50 | b3bff820d068 |
| 6.6 | 2.6.13 | 6.6.157 | 3be1d8611dae |
| 7.2 | 2.6.13 | 7.2.4 | ff99ed007f06 |
| mainline | 2.6.13 | 7.3 | 453d7198a0ab |
| cip/6.12 | 2.6.13 | 6.12.111-cip32 | 68a80b26efdf |
04CIP Kernels
State of the newest release of each Civil Infrastructure Platform SLTS tree, from CIP's own fix records.
| CIP tree | State |
|---|---|
| cip/6.12 | Fixed in 6.12.111-cip32 |
| cip/6.1 | Affected — no CIP fix yet (latest 6.1.189-cip61) |
| cip/6.1-rt | Affected — no CIP fix yet (latest 6.1.189-cip61-rt32) |
| cip/5.10 | Affected — no CIP fix yet (latest 5.10.271-cip78) |
| cip/5.10-rt | Affected — no CIP fix yet (latest 5.10.268-cip77-rt34) |
| cip/4.19 | Affected — no CIP fix yet (latest 4.19.325-cip136) |
| cip/4.19-rt | Affected — no CIP fix yet (latest 4.19.325-cip136-rt50) |
| cip/4.4 | Affected — no CIP fix yet (latest 4.4.302-cip115) |
| cip/4.4-rt | Affected — no CIP fix yet (latest 4.4.302-cip115-rt63) |