KernelScan.io

CRITICAL Introduced in 2.6.38

nfsd BackchannelSession UAF

CVE-2026-89708

CVSS 9.8 / 10.0 NVD

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

KernelScan AI8.1HIGH

01

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: RCU-protect cl_cb_session to fix use-after-free on session teardown After a DESTROY_SESSION the per-session teardown path can free a session while rpciod still holds an inflight callback rpc_task that dereferences clp->cl_cb_session. nfsd4_probe_callback_sync() flushes cl_callback_wq, but once nfsd4_run_cb_work() has called rpc_call_async() the rpc_task lives on rpciod; flushing the workqueue does not wait for it. rpc_shutdown_client() does drain rpciod tasks, but uses a 1-second wait_event_timeout — tasks stuck in rpc_delay() (e.g. 2-second NFS4ERR_DELAY retries) can outlive the drain. destroy path rpciod ------------ ------ unhash_session(ses) nfsd4_probe_callback_sync(clp) flush_workqueue(cl_callback_wq) /* returns; rpc_task still live */ nfsd4_put_session_locked(ses) free_session(ses) -> kfree(ses) nfsd4_cb_sequence_done() reads cb_clp->cl_cb_session /* freed slab */ A second window exists in nfsd4_process_cb_update(). When __nfsd4_find_backchannel() returns NULL because unhash_session() has already removed the destroyed session from cl_sessions, setup_callback_client() takes the v4.1 early return so clp->cl_cb_session = ses never fires and the field retains a pointer to the about-to-be-freed session. Fix both by converting cl_cb_session to an RCU-protected pointer: - Move the cl_cb_session = ses assignment in setup_callback_client() to after rpc_create() succeeds, so it is only published when a working backchannel exists. Clear cl_cb_session on the error return in nfsd4_process_cb_update(). Both stores use rcu_assign_pointer(). - Annotate cl_cb_session with __rcu. All rpciod-side readers use rcu_read_lock()/rcu_dereference() and check for NULL, bailing to the appropriate error or requeue path: encode_cb_sequence4args(), decode_cb_sequence4resok(), nfsd41_cb_get_slot(), nfsd41_cb_release_slot(), nfsd4_cb_prepare(), and nfsd4_cb_sequence_done(). - Switch __free_session() from kfree() to kfree_rcu() so the session slab is not reclaimed until after an RCU grace period, guaranteeing that rpciod readers inside rcu_read_lock() never dereference freed memory. - Pass the session pointer to the nfsd_cb_seq_status and nfsd_cb_free_slot tracepoints instead of having them re-read cl_cb_session. - nfsd4_cb_prepare() calls rpc_exit() when the session is NULL, routing through the done/release path to requeue the callback.

02

Engine v0.6.0

Risk summary

A remote NFSv4.1 client can trigger a use-after-free in the NFS server's callback path by destroying a session while callback operations are still in flight. The race window requires precise timing but can lead to kernel memory corruption, potentially enabling code execution or a kernel crash. Any host running an NFSv4.1 server accessible to clients is at risk.

Affectedfs/nfsd/nfs4callback.c (nfsd NFSv4.1 callback subsystem)

Vulnerability analysis

A use-after-free can occur in the NFSv4.1 server's callback subsystem when a client destroys a session while callback operations are still in flight on the server. The session teardown path can free the session object before an asynchronous callback task running in the RPC worker thread finishes using it, because the workqueue flush does not wait for tasks already handed off and the shutdown drain uses a timeout that delayed retry tasks can outlive. A second race window can leave a stale pointer to an about-to-be-freed session when callback update cannot find a valid backchannel. The fix converts the session pointer to an RCU-protected field, ensuring all readers safely access it under RCU read-side locks with NULL checks, publishes it only after the backchannel client is successfully created, clears it on error paths, and defers session reclamation with RCU so it cannot be freed while readers are still using it. This can be triggered by any NFSv4.1 client that can establish and tear down sessions with the server, requiring only network access to the NFS service.

03

BranchIntroducedFixed inPatch commit
6.122.6.386.12.1112775ec1d617e
6.182.6.386.18.50f164eb52b6f3
7.22.6.387.2.413bdd486c3aa
mainline2.6.387.301c5d5f58a5d
cip/6.122.6.386.12.111-cip322775ec1d617e

04

State of the newest release of each Civil Infrastructure Platform SLTS tree, from CIP's own fix records.

CIP treeState
cip/6.12Fixed in 6.12.111-cip32
cip/6.1Affected — no CIP fix yet (latest 6.1.189-cip61)
cip/6.1-rtAffected — no CIP fix yet (latest 6.1.189-cip61-rt32)
cip/5.10Affected — no CIP fix yet (latest 5.10.271-cip78)
cip/5.10-rtAffected — no CIP fix yet (latest 5.10.268-cip77-rt34)
cip/4.19Affected — no CIP fix yet (latest 4.19.325-cip136)
cip/4.19-rtAffected — no CIP fix yet (latest 4.19.325-cip136-rt50)
cip/4.4Affected — no CIP fix yet (latest 4.4.302-cip115)
cip/4.4-rtAffected — no CIP fix yet (latest 4.4.302-cip115-rt63)