CVE-2026-98119: netfs: break unbuffered write when netfs_alloc_subrequest() fails

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-09-25 · updated 2026-10-26
Weakness: CWE-476

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfs: break unbuffered write when netfs_alloc_subrequest() fails syzbot reported a null-ptr-deref below [1] following a fault injection in netfs_alloc_subrequest(). [0] When netfs_alloc_subrequest() fails, subreq is NULL. Later, netfs_prepare_write() tries to initialize members of subreq(e.g., source), the issue in [1] is triggered. Let's handle the error of netfs_prepare_write() properly. [0] FAULT_INJECTION: forcing a failure. name failslab, interval 1, probability 0, space 0, times 0 Call Trace: netfs_alloc_subrequest+0x116/0x3f0 netfs_prepare_write+0x76/0x7b0 netfs_unbuffered_write+0x75c/0x2020 netfs_unbuffered_write_iter_locked+0x7d6/0xa80 netfs_unbuffered_write_iter+0x442/0x720 v9fs_file_write_iter+0xbf/0x100 vfs_write+0x6ac/0x1050 [1] KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x00000000000000a8-0x00000000000000af] RIP: 0010:netfs_prepare_write+0xbc/0x7b0 fs/netfs/write_issue.c:173 Call Trace: netfs_unbuffered_write+0x75c/0x2020 fs/netfs/direct_write.c:111 netfs_unbuffered_write_iter_locked+0x7d6/0xa80 fs/netfs/direct_write.c:290 netfs_unbuffered_write_iter+0x442/0x720 fs/netfs/direct_write.c:382 v9fs_file_write_iter+0xbf/0x100 fs/9p/vfs_file.c:409 new_sync_write fs/read_write.c:595 [inline]

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 6.10 before 6.18.53; from 6.19 before 7.2.7; 7.3-rc1, 7.3-rc2 — fixed in 6.18.53, 7.2.7
Linux kernel: 6.10 — fixed in 7.3

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.18.53, 7.2.7; Linux kernel 7.3. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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