CVE-2026-90151: NFSv4: remove callback IDR entry on client allocation failure

Severity: critical (CVSS 9.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.7% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-09-17 · updated 2026-10-19

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: NFSv4: remove callback IDR entry on client allocation failure nfs4_alloc_client() allocates an NFSv4.0 callback identifier before it finishes setting up the client. If any later initialization step fails, the error path frees the nfs_client directly with nfs_free_client(). That bypasses nfs_put_client(), which is where the callback IDR entry is removed during normal teardown. A failed allocation can therefore leave cb_ident_idr pointing at a freed nfs_client. A later NFSv4.0 callback lookup by cb_ident would find the stale pointer and take a reference to it. Make the callback IDR removal helper callable by the allocation failure path, and remove the callback identifier before freeing the client. This was found by a local static-analysis checker for publish-before-free lifetime bugs and confirmed by manual inspection.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 2.6.38 — fixed in 7.3

How to fix

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

References

Get alerted when CVE-2026-90151 or the next vulnerability affects your stack