Bug 2536554 (CVE-2026-90284)

Summary: CVE-2026-90284 kernel: firmware_loader: do not queue completed sysfs fallback requests
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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Fixed In Version: Doc Type: ---
Doc Text:
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's firmware loader. Due to improper handling of sysfs fallback requests, a race condition can occur where a userspace helper completes a request before it is properly queued. This can lead to the system retaining a pointer to freed memory, potentially causing a system crash or denial of service when processing subsequent firmware requests.
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oVirt Team: --- RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team: --- Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-09-17 18:23:14 UTC 
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

firmware_loader: do not queue completed sysfs fallback requests

fw_load_sysfs_fallback() calls device_add() before adding the fw_priv to
pending_fw_head. device_add() publishes the fallback loading interface, so
a userspace helper which discovers the device by scanning sysfs can write 0
to the loading attribute and complete the request before it is queued as
pending.

In that interleaving firmware_loading_store() calls fw_state_done() while
pending_list still points to itself, so it cannot remove an entry from
pending_fw_head. The subsequent unconditional list_add() then queues an
already-completed fw_priv. Once the request is released, pending_fw_head
can retain a pointer to freed memory and the next fallback request can
fault while validating the list.

Only in-flight fallback requests need suspend or reboot abort handling. If
the request is already DONE after device_add(), return success from the
fallback path without sending another uevent, waiting again, or queueing it
as pending. This preserves the invariant that pending_fw_head contains only
active fallback requests.
Comment 1 gkamathe 2026-09-22 17:30:22 UTC 
Upstream advisory:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-90284.mbox