High severity · published Sep 11, 2026
CVE-2026-89707
nfsd: release path refs on follow_down() error
7.5
CVSS
0.6%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
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.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.6% · higher than 49% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
LI
Linux · Linux
cc53ce53c86924bfe98a12ea20b7465038a08792 before 085cfde7c2186acaad103f02d2c25435ad5224e9; cc53ce53c86924bfe98a12ea20b7465038a08792 before 194316df81263519156ebe714c4a286bee00e5be; cc53ce53c86924bfe98a12ea20b7465038a08792 before 467d56fd3ff57447a790c6dc3ede2d02a947d224; cc53ce53c86924bfe98a12ea20b7465038a08792 before 2bc4343308d85ee4e0dd3877b384306c96f114c2; cc53ce53c86924bfe98a12ea20b7465038a08792 before 6cba08dc1922140d260cfeb30bbda4ee1bf869d8; 2.6.38 · source: vendor