Linux Kernel up to 6.6.156/6.12.109/6.18.51/7.2.5 FUSE fuse_fill_super_submount nlookup null pointer dereference

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5.5$0-$5k0.00-

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.156/6.12.109/6.18.51/7.2.5. Impacted is the function fuse_fill_super_submount of the component FUSE. Performing a manipulation of the argument nlookup results in null pointer dereference. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-90139. The attack may be initiated remotely. There is no available exploit. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.156/6.12.109/6.18.51/7.2.5. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function fuse_fill_super_submount of the component FUSE. The manipulation of the argument nlookup 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: fuse: check for NULL root inode in fuse_fill_super_submount fuse_iget() can return NULL when its inode allocation fails, but fuse_fill_super_submount() passed the result straight to get_fuse_inode() and decremented fi->nlookup without checking it: root = fuse_iget(sb, parent_fi->nodeid, ...); fi = get_fuse_inode(root); fi->nlookup--; Inside fuse_iget() the inode allocation can fail and return NULL. The submount root takes the iget5_locked() path, whose alloc_inode() can fail under memory pressure (the auto-submount branch can fail the same way in new_inode() or fuse_alloc_submount_lookup()): inode = iget5_locked(sb, nodeid, fuse_inode_eq, fuse_inode_set, &nodeid); if (!inode) return NULL; A NULL root makes get_fuse_inode() a container_of() on NULL and the nlookup decrement a write to a bogus address, oopsing the mount. With CONFIG_KASAN the following null pointer dereference is reported when the root inode allocation of an auto-submount fails (e.g. under memory pressure): ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in fuse_get_tree_submount+0x656/0x8b0 Read of size 8 at addr 00000000000002b0 by task ls/942 CPU: 0 PID: 942 Comm: ls Tainted: G W 6.6 #15 Call Trace: <TASK> fuse_get_tree_submount+0x656/0x8b0 vfs_get_tree+0x48/0x140 fc_mount+0x13/0x50 fuse_dentry_automount+0x7a/0xb0 __traverse_mounts+0xca/0x330 step_into+0x339/0xac0 path_lookupat+0xc5/0x2f0 filename_lookup+0x163/0x2a0 vfs_statx+0xd5/0x200 do_statx+0x83/0xd0 __x64_sys_statx+0xa0/0xc0 do_syscall_64+0x37/0x90 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x78/0xe2 </TASK> ================================================================== Return -ENOMEM instead; the caller tears down the partially built superblock on error, matching the other error returns in this function.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-90139 since 09/11/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/17/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.6.157, 6.12.110, 6.18.52, 7.2.6 or 7.3-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 17120c5bfb16808509ea18d7fab6027802d93eba/e0b7f2922f6bd4c23cbddb7d1fc2bada570d27d1/a5129155ca9fba40d77ff19ffead8244e88d6f9c/509f4a09bae7f03c87f67f053648874a5e177867/928f659a3e3650978a5b4829cc982324f72b474b is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.7
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.5

VulDB Base Score: 5.7
VulDB Temp Score: 5.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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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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Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.6.157/6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc1
Patch: 17120c5bfb16808509ea18d7fab6027802d93eba/e0b7f2922f6bd4c23cbddb7d1fc2bada570d27d1/a5129155ca9fba40d77ff19ffead8244e88d6f9c/509f4a09bae7f03c87f67f053648874a5e177867/928f659a3e3650978a5b4829cc982324f72b474b

Timelineinfo

09/11/2026 CVE reserved
09/17/2026 +6 days Advisory disclosed
09/17/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/17/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-90139 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-90139
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-406653

Entryinfo

Created: 09/17/2026 19:52
Changes: 09/17/2026 19:52 (60)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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