Bug 2429060 (CVE-2025-71090)

Summary: CVE-2025-71090 kernel: nfsd: fix nfsd_file reference leak in nfsd4_add_rdaccess_to_wrdeleg()
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
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Version: unspecifiedKeywords: Security
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OS: Linux   
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A reference leak flaw was found in the Linux kernel's NFSv4 server (nfsd). The nfsd4_add_rdaccess_to_wrdeleg() function overwrites file pointers without releasing existing references, causing nfsd_file reference leaks. On server shutdown, these leaked references trigger a BUG() in kmem_cache_destroy() as objects cannot be freed.
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-01-13 16:03:51 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

nfsd: fix nfsd_file reference leak in nfsd4_add_rdaccess_to_wrdeleg()

nfsd4_add_rdaccess_to_wrdeleg() unconditionally overwrites
fp->fi_fds[O_RDONLY] with a newly acquired nfsd_file. However, if
the client already has a SHARE_ACCESS_READ open from a previous OPEN
operation, this action overwrites the existing pointer without
releasing its reference, orphaning the previous reference.

Additionally, the function originally stored the same nfsd_file
pointer in both fp->fi_fds[O_RDONLY] and fp->fi_rdeleg_file with
only a single reference. When put_deleg_file() runs, it clears
fi_rdeleg_file and calls nfs4_file_put_access() to release the file.

However, nfs4_file_put_access() only releases fi_fds[O_RDONLY] when
the fi_access[O_RDONLY] counter drops to zero. If another READ open
exists on the file, the counter remains elevated and the nfsd_file
reference from the delegation is never released. This potentially
causes open conflicts on that file.

Then, on server shutdown, these leaks cause __nfsd_file_cache_purge()
to encounter files with an elevated reference count that cannot be
cleaned up, ultimately triggering a BUG() in kmem_cache_destroy()
because there are still nfsd_file objects allocated in that cache.