CVE-2026-90301 — Kernel
HIGHCVE-2026-90301 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) vulnerability in Kernel. A fix is available for Kernel — see the affected versions and patch details below.
ocfs2: o2hb: quiesce negotiate handlers and timeout work
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-2026-90301 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 377,166 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:
ocfs2: o2hb: quiesce negotiate handlers and timeout work
Heartbeat regions publish struct o2hb_region as the private data for the NEGO_TIMEOUT and NEGO_APPROVE o2net handlers as soon as make_item() creates the configfs region. The approve handler can call o2hb_arm_timeout(), so a peer can touch the region timeout work before dev_store() has finished building the heartbeat runtime, or after teardown has started to shut that runtime back down.
The final configfs put also has to keep reg alive until the last in-flight o2net callback drops its handler reference. o2net_unregister_handler_list() blocks future handler lookups, but it does not wait for sc_rx_work that already passed o2net_handler_get(). That drain needs to cover local listener teardown as well, where the o2net ordered workqueue may already be inside destroy_workqueue().
Fix the lifetime rule in both directions. Initialize the region delayed works before publishing reg through the o2net handler table, keep new or stopping regions non-armable with hr_stopping, and quiesce both delayed works on failed-start and teardown paths even when no heartbeat thread is left to call o2hb_disarm_timeout(). Then unregister handlers before tearing down handler-visible region state and make the drain wait for the active or destroying o2net ordered workqueue before release frees reg.
The buggy scenario involves two paths, with each column showing the order within that path:
region lifecycle: late negotiate callback:
- make_item() registers the 1. o2net_process_message() gets a region handlers before heartbeat handler for reg. dev_store() has built a 2. The callback runs after the lookup runnable heartbeat context. lock is dropped and dereferences reg.
- A failed start or rmdir 3. An approve or timeout path tries to stops the heartbeat thread, queue reg's delayed work, or release quiesces existing work, and races the callback body after handler drops the final configfs ref. unregister.
- region_release() must drain 4. The callback or delayed work can handler-visible o2net rx work outlive reg unless lifecycle code before freeing reg. keeps the region non-armable and drains the active-or-destroying o2net workqueue.
Validation reproduced this kernel report: KASAN slab-use-after-free in __run_timers+0x22c/0x5b0 Write of size 8 Call trace: dump_stack_lvl+0x66/0xa0 print_report+0xce/0x630 __run_timers+0x22c/0x5b0 kasan_report+0xe0/0x110 _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore+0x27/0x60 try_to_wake_up+0x191/0xf70 timer_expire_remote+0xae/0xf0 run_timer_softirq+0x19b/0x1a0 handle_softirqs+0x156/0x660 __irq_exit_rcu+0xc4/0x160 irq_exit_rcu+0xe/0x20 sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0x6c/0x80 asm_sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0x1a/0x20
Allocated by task stack: kasan_save_stack+0x33/0x60 kasan_save_track+0x14/0x30 __kasan_kmalloc+0xaa/0xb0 o2hb_heartbeat_group_make_item+0x3c/0x600
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐧Linux | Kernel | ≥ 4.7.0&&< 7.2.6 | 7.2.6 |
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 7.2.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-90301 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-2026-90301 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-90301. 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-2026-90301 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-90301 across Linux dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.