Bug 2454860 (CVE-2026-31404)

Summary: CVE-2026-31404 kernel: NFSD: Defer sub-object cleanup in export put callbacks
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 flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Network File System Daemon (NFSD) component. This vulnerability occurs because certain sub-objects are freed prematurely while still being accessed by other parts of the system. A local attacker could potentially trigger a Use-After-Free (UAF) condition, leading to a NULL pointer dereference and causing a system crash, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-04-03 16:04:46 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

NFSD: Defer sub-object cleanup in export put callbacks

svc_export_put() calls path_put() and auth_domain_put() immediately
when the last reference drops, before the RCU grace period. RCU
readers in e_show() and c_show() access both ex_path (via
seq_path/d_path) and ex_client->name (via seq_escape) without
holding a reference. If cache_clean removes the entry and drops the
last reference concurrently, the sub-objects are freed while still
in use, producing a NULL pointer dereference in d_path.

Commit 2530766492ec ("nfsd: fix UAF when access ex_uuid or
ex_stats") moved kfree of ex_uuid and ex_stats into the
call_rcu callback, but left path_put() and auth_domain_put() running
before the grace period because both may sleep and call_rcu
callbacks execute in softirq context.

Replace call_rcu/kfree_rcu with queue_rcu_work(), which defers the
callback until after the RCU grace period and executes it in process
context where sleeping is permitted. This allows path_put() and
auth_domain_put() to be moved into the deferred callback alongside
the other resource releases. Apply the same fix to expkey_put(),
which has the identical pattern with ek_path and ek_client.

A dedicated workqueue scopes the shutdown drain to only NFSD
export release work items; flushing the shared
system_unbound_wq would stall on unrelated work from other
subsystems. nfsd_export_shutdown() uses rcu_barrier() followed
by flush_workqueue() to ensure all deferred release callbacks
complete before the export caches are destroyed.

Reviwed-by: Jeff Layton <jlayton>