CVE-2026-90037 — Kernel
CRITICALCVE-2026-90037 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) vulnerability in Kernel. A fix is available for Kernel — see the affected versions and patch details below.
NFSD: Prevent client use-after-free during close_lru reaping
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2026-90037 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 374,847 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
KernelReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Linux packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
NFSD: Prevent client use-after-free during close_lru reaping
An nfs4_openowner left on nn->close_lru after its final CLOSE keeps its last closed stateid in oo_last_closed_stid, holding only a raw pointer to its nfs4_client. The laundromat reaps timed-out entries, drops nn->client_lock, and calls nfs4_put_stid(), which dereferences the client through cl_lock. Nothing pins the client across that window, so a concurrent force_expire_client() can free it and nfs4_put_stid() reads freed memory. __destroy_client() hits the same race, walking clp->cl_openowners without cl_lock.
Pin the client with cl_rpc_users before dropping client_lock, and skip clients already expiring. __destroy_client() then cleans up its own close_lru entries through release_last_closed_stateid(), so teardown no longer races the laundromat.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐧Linux | Kernel | ≥ 3.17.0&&< 6.18.51 | 6.18.51 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for Kernel, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update Kernel to 6.18.51 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-90037 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2026-90037 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-90037. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-90037 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-90037 across Linux dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.