NFS: fix delegation_hash_table leak when nfs4_server_common_setup() fails
nfs4_server_common_setup() allocates server->delegation_hash_table
first, but server->destroy - the only path that frees the table via
nfs4_destroy_server() - is not assigned until the very end of the
function. If any intermediate step fails (the is_ds_only_client()
check, nfs4_init_session(), nfs4_get_rootfh(), or nfs_probe_server()),
the function returns with server->destroy still NULL, so the caller's
nfs_free_server() skips the destroy callback and the hash table is
leaked (4 KiB per attempt with the default delegation watermark).
This is trivially reachable from userspace: every failed NFSv4 mount
leaks one allocation. A client that persistently retries a mount that
cannot succeed leaks kernel memory without bound. Observed in
production where a Longhorn backup poller retried mount.nfs4 against
an NFSv3-only server roughly 10 times per second, leaking ~3.4 GiB of
unreclaimable slab (kmalloc-rnd-13-4k) per day; the node accumulated
12 GiB of leaked slab before the source was identified via the
kmem:kmalloc tracepoint (call_site=nfs4_delegation_hash_alloc).
Reproducer:
# server exports NFSv3 only (or export path absent for v4)
while :; do mount -t nfs4 <server>:/missing /mnt; done
# watch SUnreclaim in /proc/meminfo grow 4 KiB per iteration
Free the table on the error paths between the allocation and the
assignment of server->destroy.
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Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | CWE-772 | |
| References |
| |
| Metrics |
threat_severity
|
cvssV3_1
|
Fri, 11 Sep 2026 23:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: NFS: fix delegation_hash_table leak when nfs4_server_common_setup() fails nfs4_server_common_setup() allocates server->delegation_hash_table first, but server->destroy - the only path that frees the table via nfs4_destroy_server() - is not assigned until the very end of the function. If any intermediate step fails (the is_ds_only_client() check, nfs4_init_session(), nfs4_get_rootfh(), or nfs_probe_server()), the function returns with server->destroy still NULL, so the caller's nfs_free_server() skips the destroy callback and the hash table is leaked (4 KiB per attempt with the default delegation watermark). This is trivially reachable from userspace: every failed NFSv4 mount leaks one allocation. A client that persistently retries a mount that cannot succeed leaks kernel memory without bound. Observed in production where a Longhorn backup poller retried mount.nfs4 against an NFSv3-only server roughly 10 times per second, leaking ~3.4 GiB of unreclaimable slab (kmalloc-rnd-13-4k) per day; the node accumulated 12 GiB of leaked slab before the source was identified via the kmem:kmalloc tracepoint (call_site=nfs4_delegation_hash_alloc). Reproducer: # server exports NFSv3 only (or export path absent for v4) while :; do mount -t nfs4 <server>:/missing /mnt; done # watch SUnreclaim in /proc/meminfo grow 4 KiB per iteration Free the table on the error paths between the allocation and the assignment of server->destroy. | |
| Title | NFS: fix delegation_hash_table leak when nfs4_server_common_setup() fails | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-09-11T19:46:28.476Z
Reserved: 2026-09-11T19:38:34.751Z
Link: CVE-2026-89714
No data.
Status : Received
Published: 2026-09-11T20:19:58.873
Modified: 2026-09-11T20:19:58.873
Link: CVE-2026-89714
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
