Linux Kernel up to 6.12.108/6.18.49/7.2.3 nfsd nfsd4_putfh null pointer dereference

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
6.2	$0-$5k	0.42+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.108/6.18.49/7.2.3. It has been classified as critical. This impacts the function nfsd4_putfh of the component nfsd. Performing a manipulation results in null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-2026-89696. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. There is no exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.108/6.18.49/7.2.3. This affects the function nfsd4_putfh of the component nfsd. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. This is going to have an impact on availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nfsd: block non-SAVEFH ops after FOREIGN PUTFH to prevent NULL deref When CONFIG_NFSD_V4_2_INTER_SSC is enabled, nfsd4_putfh() can return success with fh_dentry and fh_export both NULL if fh_verify() returns nfserr_stale and putfh->no_verify is true. The NFSD4_FH_FOREIGN flag is set, but the compound dispatch loop only uses this flag to bypass the nfserr_nofilehandle check -- it does not prevent subsequent ops from running with a NULL fh_dentry. A remote client can exploit this by crafting a COMPOUND that includes an inter-SSC COPY (which causes check_if_stalefh_allowed() to set no_verify=true on the saved PUTFH) with an additional op inserted between the source PUTFH and SAVEFH. For example, SETATTR calls fh_want_write() which dereferences fh_export->ex_path.mnt without calling fh_verify() first, causing a NULL pointer dereference in the nfsd kthread. Fix this by gating the dispatch loop: when NFSD4_FH_FOREIGN is set and fh_dentry is NULL, only OP_SAVEFH (needed for the inter-SSC flow) and ops with ALLOWED_WITHOUT_FH (which don't need a resolved filehandle) may proceed. All other ops receive nfserr_stale, per RFC 7862 Section 15.2.3 which specifies that foreign filehandle validation is deferred to the consuming operation and NFS4ERR_STALE returned at that point.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-89696 since 09/11/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/12/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.12.109, 6.18.50, 7.2.4 or 7.3-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 35f248bd40b47b229d4999581df45b97daadd977/311f7d926630940650447cbd1c932b076b40a6c4/bf4d338dc8625d70c7f2cb0657d66851a7ac9154/c59738a00aa51b16adc1b5ceb7c80877168efb4d is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.12.108
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 6.18.40
• 6.18.41
• 6.18.42
• 6.18.43
• 6.18.44
• 6.18.45
• 6.18.46
• 6.18.47
• 6.18.48
• 6.18.49
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 6.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.2

VulDB Base Score: 6.5
VulDB Temp Score: 6.2
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Null pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.12.109/6.18.50/7.2.4/7.3-rc1
Patch: 35f248bd40b47b229d4999581df45b97daadd977/311f7d926630940650447cbd1c932b076b40a6c4/bf4d338dc8625d70c7f2cb0657d66851a7ac9154/c59738a00aa51b16adc1b5ceb7c80877168efb4d

Timelineinfo

09/11/2026 CVE reserved
09/11/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/12/2026 +0 days Advisory disclosed
09/12/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-89696 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-89696
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-402939

Entryinfo

Created: 09/12/2026 01:59
Changes: 09/12/2026 01:59 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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Discussion

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