Kernel-level remote/ network-accessible nvmet flaw can corrupt memory and enable privilege escalation across many servers; affects widely deployed Linux kernels.
CVE-2026-89970
Use-after-free in Linux nvmet auth allows kernel memory corruption (CVSS 9.8)
do firstUpgrade to a fixed release: < 6.0, >= 6.1.188 and <= 6.1.*, >= 6.6.157 and <= 6.6.*, >= 6.12.110 and <= 6.12.* (+3 more below).
Is CVE-2026-89970 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-89970 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.80% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-89970?
CVE-2026-89970 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2026-89970?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-89970. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-89970 affect?
CVE-2026-89970 affects Linux kernel (nvmet - NVMe over Fabrics target), Systems exposing NVMe/TCP, NVMe/RDMA, or NVMe-FC targets. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-89970?
Apply kernel updates with nvmet fix or vendor patch immediately; restrict NVMe target access until patched.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Race in nvmet auth teardown can cause use-after-free, leading to kernel memory corruption and potential privilege escalation or system crash by clients with NVMe target access.
Immediate action required
- affected>= 1a70200f404ae210b4f0334e3936e84f8edb6bc8 and < 664022fa1c93f4eba09ef5ee02411b9709dd7a93
- affected>= 1a70200f404ae210b4f0334e3936e84f8edb6bc8 and < c3c126a6142a1335bc8c34a5607c39cf01daf295
- affected>= 1a70200f404ae210b4f0334e3936e84f8edb6bc8 and < c17c87bde6d6f5252a6a6f0a94b2430164aa28d5
- affected>= 1a70200f404ae210b4f0334e3936e84f8edb6bc8 and < 7555ddd60af72df2862dd8f9b730a9848577edda
- affected>= 1a70200f404ae210b4f0334e3936e84f8edb6bc8 and < eb4f9127a2b8a152743f1ee597627e2f69cb54fe
- affected>= 1a70200f404ae210b4f0334e3936e84f8edb6bc8 and < eaa948c0e19b1bb2d93262207bca0c3d19cc3406
- affected6.0
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
timeline
- 16 Sept 2026Published
- 18 Sept 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com · 2 days later
- 19 Oct 2026CVE record last updated · 31 days later
- Linkgit.kernel.org /stable/c/664022fa1c93f4eba09ef5ee02411b9709dd7a93
- Linkgit.kernel.org /stable/c/c3c126a6142a1335bc8c34a5607c39cf01daf295
- Linkgit.kernel.org /stable/c/c17c87bde6d6f5252a6a6f0a94b2430164aa28d5
- Linkgit.kernel.org /stable/c/7555ddd60af72df2862dd8f9b730a9848577edda
- Linkgit.kernel.org /stable/c/eb4f9127a2b8a152743f1ee597627e2f69cb54fe
- Linkgit.kernel.org /stable/c/eaa948c0e19b1bb2d93262207bca0c3d19cc3406
sources
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.