CVE-2026-89681: nfsd: fix layout fence worker double-reference race

Severity: critical (CVSS 9.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.6% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-09-11 · updated 2026-10-19

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: fix layout fence worker double-reference race The workqueue core clears WORK_STRUCT_PENDING before the callback is invoked, so delayed_work_pending() in lm_breaker_timedout() can return false while the fence worker is already running. This lets the breaker take a duplicate sc_count reference and schedule a new worker that coalesces with the in-progress one. The extra reference is never put, leaking the layout stateid. Replace the racy delayed_work_pending() check with an ls_fence_inflight boolean set atomically with refcount_inc_not_zero() under ls_lock, and cleared under ls_lock before the final nfs4_put_stid() on the dispose path; the retry path intentionally retains it. Remove the self-rearm mod_delayed_work() at the top of the worker.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 7.1 — fixed in 7.3

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 7.3. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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