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CVE-2026-89970: nvmet-auth: Synchronize timeout work during SQ teardown

• Severity: critical (CVSS 9.8 v3.1)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 0.8% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: none known
• Published: 2026-09-16 · updated 2026-10-19

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvmet-auth: Synchronize timeout work during SQ teardown nvmet_auth_sq_free() cancels auth_expired_work with cancel_delayed_work(). If the work has already started, cancellation does not wait for the callback. Transport teardown can consequently free or reuse the queue containing struct nvmet_sq while nvmet_auth_expired_work() still accesses that SQ. Add a teardown-specific helper that synchronously drains the delayed work before freeing authentication state, and use it from nvmet_sq_destroy(). Keep the non-synchronous helper for in-band authentication state cleanup, where the SQ owner remains alive.

Affected products

• Linux kernel: 6.0 — fixed in 7.3

How to fix

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

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/664022fa1c93f4eba09ef5ee02411b9709dd7a93
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7555ddd60af72df2862dd8f9b730a9848577edda
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c17c87bde6d6f5252a6a6f0a94b2430164aa28d5
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c3c126a6142a1335bc8c34a5607c39cf01daf295
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eaa948c0e19b1bb2d93262207bca0c3d19cc3406
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eb4f9127a2b8a152743f1ee597627e2f69cb54fe

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