Bug 2532441 (CVE-2026-89707)

Summary: CVE-2026-89707 kernel: nfsd: release path refs on follow_down() error
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: medium Docs Contact:
Priority: medium    
Version: unspecifiedCC: akhatavk, aos-team-art-private, asdas, dpaolell, jdelft, jupierce, lgarciaa, mbiarnes, ppalepu, ppostler, prdhamdh, rhel-process-autobot, sghai, sidsharm, suppawar, vlaad, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
Target Release: ---   
Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's nfsd component. An authenticated Network File System (NFS) client can exploit this vulnerability by triggering a failed cross-mount operation through `nfsd_lookup_dentry` or the NFSv4 READDIR encode path. This leads to a reference count leak, which inflates `mnt_count` and `d_count`, blocking unmounting operations and pinning directory entries against the shrinker. This can result in a Denial of Service (DoS) condition.
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-09-11 23:16:28 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

nfsd: release path refs on follow_down() error

nfsd_cross_mnt() initializes a local struct path with mntget() and
dget() before calling follow_down(). On a negative return the error
arm jumps to out without releasing those references:

    err = follow_down(&path, follow_flags);
    if (err < 0)
            goto out;

follow_down() never drops the caller's entry-time refs on any error
sub-case; for example a pre-cross d_manage() failure leaves path
untouched, so the mntget()/dget() taken on entry survive the call.

Every other early-exit arm in nfsd_cross_mnt() (other-namespace
return, IS_ERR(exp2), and the success tail after the swap) already
calls path_put(&path); the err < 0 arm is the lone omission. The
leak inflates mnt_count and d_count on each failed cross-mount,
blocking umount and pinning dentries against the shrinker, and is
reachable by any authenticated NFS client through nfsd_lookup_dentry
or the NFSv4 READDIR encode path.

Fix by calling path_put(&path) before the goto out in the err < 0
arm so the entry-time refs are released on all follow_down() error
returns.