nvmet: avoid recursive nvmet-wq flush in nvmet_ctrl_free
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-667 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvmet: avoid recursive nvmet-wq flush in nvmet_ctrl_free nvmet_tcp_release_queue_work() runs on nvmet-wq and can drop the final controller reference through nvmet_cq_put(). If that triggers nvmet_ctrl_free(), the teardown path flushes ctrl->async_event_work on the same nvmet-wq. Call chain: nvmet_tcp_schedule_release_queue() kref_put(&queue->kref, nvmet_tcp_release_queue) nvmet_tcp_release_queue() queue_work(nvmet_wq, &queue->release_work) <--- nvmet_wq process_one_work() nvmet_tcp_release_queue_work() nvmet_cq_put(&queue->nvme_cq) nvmet_cq_destroy() nvmet_ctrl_put(cq->ctrl) nvmet_ctrl_free() flush_work(&ctrl->async_event_work) <--- nvmet_wq Previously Scheduled by :- nvmet_add_async_event queue_work(nvmet_wq, &ctrl->async_event_work); This trips lockdep with a possible recursive locking warning. [ 5223.015876] run blktests nvme/003 at 2026-04-07 20:53:55 [ 5223.061801] loop0: detected capacity change from 0 to 2097152 [ 5223.072206] nvmet: adding nsid 1 to subsystem blktests-subsystem-1 [ 5223.088368] nvmet_tcp: enabling port 0 (127.0.0.1:4420) [ 5223.126086] nvmet: Created discovery controller 1 for subsystem nqn.2014-08.org.nvmexpress.discovery for NQN nqn.2014-08.org.nvmexpress:uuid:0f01fb42-9f7f-4856-b0b3-51e60b8de349. [ 5223.128453] nvme nvme1: new ctrl: NQN "nqn.2014-08.org.nvmexpress.discovery", addr 127.0.0.1:4420, hostnqn: nqn.2014-08.org.nvmexpress:uuid:0f01fb42-9f7f-4856-b0b3-51e60b8de349 [ 5233.199447] nvme nvme1: Removing ctrl: NQN "nqn.2014-08.org.nvmexpress.discovery" [ 5233.227718] ============================================ [ 5233.231283] WARNING: possible recursive locking detected [ 5233.234696] 7.0.0-rc3nvme+ #20 Tainted: G O N [ 5233.238434] -------------------------------------------- [ 5233.241852] kworker/u192:6/2413 is trying to acquire lock: [ 5233.245429] ffff888111632548 ((wq_completion)nvmet-wq){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: touch_wq_lockdep_map+0x26/0x90 [ 5233.251438] but task is already holding lock: [ 5233.255254] ffff888111632548 ((wq_completion)nvmet-wq){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work+0x5cc/0x6e0 [ 5233.261125] other info that might help us debug this: [ 5233.265333] Possible unsafe locking scenario: [ 5233.269217] CPU0 [ 5233.270795] ---- [ 5233.272436] lock((wq_completion)nvmet-wq); [ 5233.275241] lock((wq_completion)nvmet-wq); [ 5233.278020] *** DEADLOCK *** [ 5233.281793] May be due to missing lock nesting notation [ 5233.286195] 3 locks held by kworker/u192:6/2413: [ 5233.289192] #0: ffff888111632548 ((wq_completion)nvmet-wq){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work+0x5cc/0x6e0 [ 5233.294569] #1: ffffc9000e2a7e40 ((work_completion)(&queue->release_work)){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work+0x1c5/0x6e0 [ 5233.300128] #2: ffffffff82d7dc40 (rcu_read_lock){....}-{1:3}, at: __flush_work+0x62/0x530 [ 5233.304290] stack backtrace: [ 5233.306520] CPU: 4 UID: 0 PID: 2413 Comm: kworker/u192:6 Tainted: G O N 7.0.0-rc3nvme+ #20 PREEMPT(full) [ 5233.306524] Tainted: [O]=OOT_MODULE, [N]=TEST [ 5233.306525] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.17.0-0-gb52ca86e094d-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 [ 5233.306527] Workqueue: nvmet-wq nvmet_tcp_release_queue_work [nvmet_tcp] [ 5233.306532] Call Trace: [ 5233.306534] <TASK> [ 5233.306536] dump_stack_lvl+0x73/0xb0 [ 5233.306552] print_deadlock_bug+0x225/0x2f0 [ 5233.306556] __lock_acquire+0x13f0/0x2290 [ 5233.306563] lock_acquire+0xd0/0x300 [ 5233.306565] ? touch_wq_lockdep_map+0x26/0x90 [ 5233.306571] ? __flush_work+0x20b/0x530 [ 5233.306573] ? touch_wq_lockdep_map+0x26/0x90 [ 5233.306577] touch_wq_lockdep_map+0x3b/0x90 [ 5233.306580] ? touch_wq_lockdep_map+0x26/0x90 [ 52 ---truncated---
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- 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 | 4.9.68 to before 4.10 | 4.10 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 4.10 and later | 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.140, 6.12.88, 6.18.30, 7.0.7, 7.1 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.9.68 to before 4.10 Fixed in 4.10 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.10 and later Fixed in 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.140, 6.12.88, 6.18.30, 7.0.7, 7.1 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 6
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.9.68 to before 4.10; 4.10.1 to before 5.10.258; 5.11 to before 5.15.209; 5.16 to before 6.1.175; 6.2 to before 6.6.140; 6.7 to before 6.12.88; 6.13 to before 6.18.30; 6.19 to before 7.0.7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.10:-:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.10 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.10:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.10 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.10:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.10 rc7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.10:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:* | 4.10 rc8 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.1 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.9.68 to before 4.10; 4.10.1 to before 5.10.258; 5.11 to before 5.15.209; 5.16 to before 6.1.175; 6.2 to before 6.6.140; 6.7 to before 6.12.88; 6.13 to before 6.18.30; 6.19 to before 7.0.7 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.10:-:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.10 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.10:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.10 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.10:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.10 rc7 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.10:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 4.10 rc8 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.10
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.140, 6.12.88, 6.18.30, 7.0.7, 7.1
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. 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 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-46304
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-jrgh-545x-2m82
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-19 Weakness changed · CISA ADP
References
Patch 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ae5b0cad163833e10b271e9becc05d81dae56e5f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8d66ba89480ff098a58d79003a505f383aa4e920
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a696fbbd5240b4ac9b166f7bd4c550882ff543f1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9a4d7222c0955b221e38bb66d10e6bccb672c8a1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ee6e20c4bc9eae542a0954a368449532383169d4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/781f47d641432c26c19625b2cdd7f40825097592
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/551f445a56a11a6457550cddcf39c9ebb8bcacc6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aade8abd8b868b6ffa9697aadaea28ec7f65bee6
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- 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-2026-46304 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-46304 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-jrgh-545x-2m82 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-46304 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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