nfsd: Fix cred ref leak in nfsd_nl_threads_set_doit().
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-401.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: Fix cred ref leak in nfsd_nl_threads_set_doit(). syzbot reported memory leak of struct cred. [0] nfsd_nl_threads_set_doit() passes get_current_cred() to nfsd_svc(), but put_cred() is not called after that. The cred is finally passed down to _svc_xprt_create(), which calls get_cred() with the cred for struct svc_xprt. The ownership of the refcount by get_current_cred() is not transferred to anywhere and is just leaked. nfsd_svc() is also called from write_threads(), but it does not bump file->f_cred there. nfsd_nl_threads_set_doit() is called from sendmsg() and current->cred does not go away. Let's use current_cred() in nfsd_nl_threads_set_doit(). [0]: BUG: memory leak unreferenced object 0xffff888108b89480 (size 184): comm "syz-executor", pid 5994, jiffies 4294943386 hex dump (first 32 bytes): 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................ backtrace (crc 369454a7): kmemleak_alloc_recursive include/linux/kmemleak.h:44 [inline] slab_post_alloc_hook mm/slub.c:4958 [inline] slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:5263 [inline] kmem_cache_alloc_noprof+0x412/0x580 mm/slub.c:5270 prepare_creds+0x22/0x600 kernel/cred.c:185 copy_creds+0x44/0x290 kernel/cred.c:286 copy_process+0x7a7/0x2870 kernel/fork.c:2086 kernel_clone+0xac/0x6e0 kernel/fork.c:2651 __do_sys_clone+0x7f/0xb0 kernel/fork.c:2792 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xa4/0xf80 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.10 and later | 6.12.77, 6.18.17, 6.19.7, 7.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.10 and later Fixed in 6.12.77, 6.18.17, 6.19.7, 7.0 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 3
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.10 to before 6.12.77; 6.13 to before 6.18.17; 6.19 to before 6.19.7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.10 to before 6.12.77; 6.13 to before 6.18.17; 6.19 to before 6.19.7 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.12.77, 6.18.17, 6.19.7, 7.0
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-23297
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-pxcg-3rj5-5gx5
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2026-23297 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-23297 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-pxcg-3rj5-5gx5 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-23297 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences