CVE-2026-98431
RDMA/uverbs: Fix mmap_lock/disassociation_lock circular dependency
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/uverbs: Fix mmap_lock/disassociation_lock circular dependency Commit 51976c6cd786 ("RDMA/core: Provide rdma_user_mmap_disassociate() to disassociate mmap pages") introduced disassociation_lock to protect new mmap registrations against uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate(), but created an ABBA deadlock: Thread A (mmap / fork): mmap_lock -> disassociation_lock Thread B (disassociate): disassociation_lock -> mmap_lock Fix by removing disassociation_lock entirely and using the pre-existing hw_destroy_rwsem instead. hw_destroy_rwsem already provides the same protection: rdma_umap_open() and ib_uverbs_mmap() both use down_read_trylock() before registering a new VMA, so holding hw_destroy_rwsem in uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate() is sufficient to block new registrations. trylock is used in both mmap paths (not blocking down_read) because mmap_lock is already held on entry, and uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate() acquires mmap_lock internally — a blocking read would recreate the same deadlock. The only caller that was not taking hw_destroy_rwsem for write was rdma_user_mmap_disassociate(). Fix it to take the rwsem per-ufile while iterating under lists_mutex. This is safe because ib_uverbs_close() releases hw_destroy_rwsem entirely before acquiring lists_mutex, so the two locks are never held simultaneously. lockdep warning: [ 776.654252] ====================================================== [ 776.655214] WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected [ 776.656167] 6.18.0for-upstream_debug_94e244d9ccab #1 Not tainted [ 776.657114] ------------------------------------------------------ [ 776.658087] devlink/14824 is trying to acquire lock: [ 776.658879] ffff88811170c800 (&mm->mmap_lock){++++}-{4:4}, at: uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate+0x168/0x780 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.660479] [ 776.660479] but task is already holding lock: [ 776.661460] ffff888142d92b08 (&file->disassociation_lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate+0x39/0x780 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.663177] [ 776.663177] which lock already depends on the new lock. [ 776.663177] [ 776.664525] [ 776.664525] the existing dependency chain (in reverse order) is: [ 776.665724] [ 776.665724] -> #2 (&file->disassociation_lock){+.+.}-{4:4}: [ 776.666887] __mutex_lock+0x16d/0x2330 [ 776.667633] rdma_umap_open+0x129/0x280 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.668489] dup_mmap+0xa40/0x1790 [ 776.669170] copy_process+0x5dd2/0x6170 [ 776.669933] kernel_clone+0xb6/0x610 [ 776.670636] __do_sys_clone+0xb5/0xf0 [ 776.671354] do_syscall_64+0x70/0x12e0 [ 776.672083] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 [ 776.672940] [ 776.672940] -> #1 (&mm->mmap_lock/1){+.+.}-{4:4}: [ 776.673985] down_write_nested+0x90/0x1e0 [ 776.674751] dup_mmap+0x201/0x1790 [ 776.675448] copy_process+0x5dd2/0x6170 [ 776.676180] kernel_clone+0xb6/0x610 [ 776.676904] __do_sys_clone+0xb5/0xf0 [ 776.677615] do_syscall_64+0x70/0x12e0 [ 776.678351] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 [ 776.679239] [ 776.679239] -> #0 (&mm->mmap_lock){++++}-{4:4}: [ 776.680253] __lock_acquire+0x18c6/0x2ec0 [ 776.681018] lock_acquire+0x10e/0x2e0 [ 776.681742] down_read+0x95/0x430 [ 776.682395] uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate+0x168/0x780 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.683436] uverbs_destroy_ufile_hw+0x1ae/0x270 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.684416] ib_uverbs_remove_one+0x22b/0x420 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.685371] remove_client_context+0xa6/0xf0 [ib_core] [ 776.686342] disable_device+0x12b/0x240 [ib_core] [ 776.687249] __ib_unregister_device+0x269/0x460 [ib_core] [ 776.688233] ib_unregister_device+0x21/0x30 [ib_core] [ 776.689140] mlx5r_remove+0xd0/0x170 [mlx5_ib] [ 776.689999] device_release_driver_internal+0x3b2/0x5 ---truncated---
INFO
Published Date :
Oct. 14, 2026, 2:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
Oct. 14, 2026, 2:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Solution
- Remove disassociation_lock entirely.
- Use hw_destroy_rwsem for protection.
- Acquire rwsem per-ufile during iteration.
- Update uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate to take rwsem.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-98431.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/426f54f20b79c5b164a0472ad3f6ba36afcd08c6 | |
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a44a3f175eaee7e5aeb6a8fed381c4a0d5f49236 |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-98431 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-98431
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-98431 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-98431 vulnerability over time.
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
Oct. 14, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/uverbs: Fix mmap_lock/disassociation_lock circular dependency Commit 51976c6cd786 ("RDMA/core: Provide rdma_user_mmap_disassociate() to disassociate mmap pages") introduced disassociation_lock to protect new mmap registrations against uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate(), but created an ABBA deadlock: Thread A (mmap / fork): mmap_lock -> disassociation_lock Thread B (disassociate): disassociation_lock -> mmap_lock Fix by removing disassociation_lock entirely and using the pre-existing hw_destroy_rwsem instead. hw_destroy_rwsem already provides the same protection: rdma_umap_open() and ib_uverbs_mmap() both use down_read_trylock() before registering a new VMA, so holding hw_destroy_rwsem in uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate() is sufficient to block new registrations. trylock is used in both mmap paths (not blocking down_read) because mmap_lock is already held on entry, and uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate() acquires mmap_lock internally — a blocking read would recreate the same deadlock. The only caller that was not taking hw_destroy_rwsem for write was rdma_user_mmap_disassociate(). Fix it to take the rwsem per-ufile while iterating under lists_mutex. This is safe because ib_uverbs_close() releases hw_destroy_rwsem entirely before acquiring lists_mutex, so the two locks are never held simultaneously. lockdep warning: [ 776.654252] ====================================================== [ 776.655214] WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected [ 776.656167] 6.18.0for-upstream_debug_94e244d9ccab #1 Not tainted [ 776.657114] ------------------------------------------------------ [ 776.658087] devlink/14824 is trying to acquire lock: [ 776.658879] ffff88811170c800 (&mm->mmap_lock){++++}-{4:4}, at: uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate+0x168/0x780 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.660479] [ 776.660479] but task is already holding lock: [ 776.661460] ffff888142d92b08 (&file->disassociation_lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate+0x39/0x780 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.663177] [ 776.663177] which lock already depends on the new lock. [ 776.663177] [ 776.664525] [ 776.664525] the existing dependency chain (in reverse order) is: [ 776.665724] [ 776.665724] -> #2 (&file->disassociation_lock){+.+.}-{4:4}: [ 776.666887] __mutex_lock+0x16d/0x2330 [ 776.667633] rdma_umap_open+0x129/0x280 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.668489] dup_mmap+0xa40/0x1790 [ 776.669170] copy_process+0x5dd2/0x6170 [ 776.669933] kernel_clone+0xb6/0x610 [ 776.670636] __do_sys_clone+0xb5/0xf0 [ 776.671354] do_syscall_64+0x70/0x12e0 [ 776.672083] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 [ 776.672940] [ 776.672940] -> #1 (&mm->mmap_lock/1){+.+.}-{4:4}: [ 776.673985] down_write_nested+0x90/0x1e0 [ 776.674751] dup_mmap+0x201/0x1790 [ 776.675448] copy_process+0x5dd2/0x6170 [ 776.676180] kernel_clone+0xb6/0x610 [ 776.676904] __do_sys_clone+0xb5/0xf0 [ 776.677615] do_syscall_64+0x70/0x12e0 [ 776.678351] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x4b/0x53 [ 776.679239] [ 776.679239] -> #0 (&mm->mmap_lock){++++}-{4:4}: [ 776.680253] __lock_acquire+0x18c6/0x2ec0 [ 776.681018] lock_acquire+0x10e/0x2e0 [ 776.681742] down_read+0x95/0x430 [ 776.682395] uverbs_user_mmap_disassociate+0x168/0x780 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.683436] uverbs_destroy_ufile_hw+0x1ae/0x270 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.684416] ib_uverbs_remove_one+0x22b/0x420 [ib_uverbs] [ 776.685371] remove_client_context+0xa6/0xf0 [ib_core] [ 776.686342] disable_device+0x12b/0x240 [ib_core] [ 776.687249] __ib_unregister_device+0x269/0x460 [ib_core] [ 776.688233] ib_unregister_device+0x21/0x30 [ib_core] [ 776.689140] mlx5r_remove+0xd0/0x170 [mlx5_ib] [ 776.689999] device_release_driver_internal+0x3b2/0x5 ---truncated--- Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98431.json">CVE-2026-98431</a> Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/426f54f20b79c5b164a0472ad3f6ba36afcd08c6 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a44a3f175eaee7e5aeb6a8fed381c4a0d5f49236