CVE-2026-90139
fuse: check for NULL root inode in fuse_fill_super_submount
Description
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.
INFO
Published Date :
Sept. 17, 2026, 5:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
Sept. 17, 2026, 5:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Solution
- Apply the provided kernel patch.
- Update the Linux kernel to a fixed version.
- Check inode pointers for NULL before dereferencing.
- Handle memory allocation failures gracefully.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
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CVE-2026-90139.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
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associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
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stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-90139
weaknesses.
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Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
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New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Sep. 17, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description 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. Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/90xxx/CVE-2026-90139.json">CVE-2026-90139</a> Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/17120c5bfb16808509ea18d7fab6027802d93eba Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/509f4a09bae7f03c87f67f053648874a5e177867 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/928f659a3e3650978a5b4829cc982324f72b474b Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a5129155ca9fba40d77ff19ffead8244e88d6f9c Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e0b7f2922f6bd4c23cbddb7d1fc2bada570d27d1