In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
kasan: fix cache shrink race with CPU hotplug
kasan_quarantine_remove_cache() first invokes per_cpu_remove_cache() on
all online CPUs. Each callback moves objects belonging to the cache from
cpu_quarantine to the CPU's shrink_qlist, where they can later be freed
from task context.
kmem_cache_destroy() invokes the quarantine removal path while holding
cpus_read_lock(), but kmem_cache_shrink() does not. The latter can
therefore race with CPU offlining as follows:
kmem_cache_shrink() CPU hotplug
------------------- -----------
on_each_cpu()
CPU1 moves objects to
CPU1's shrink_qlist
on_each_cpu() returns
CPU1 goes offline
kasan_cpu_offline()
drains cpu_quarantine
leaves shrink_qlist untouched
for_each_online_cpu()
skips CPU1
The objects left on CPU1's shrink_qlist are not returned to the slab
allocator. This may prevent kmem_cache_shrink() from releasing slabs that
would otherwise become empty. If CPU1 remains offline, a later
kmem_cache_destroy() also skips the list and can report that the cache
still contains objects.
An intermittent occurrence was observed with a virtio-9p filesystem. The
mount and umount commands both returned 0, but the kernel logged the
following during the userspace-triggered teardown:
[ 2994.380134][ T111] BUG 9p-fcall-cache-1 (Tainted: G B ): Objects remaining on __kmem_cache_shutdown()
[ 2994.381140][ T111] Object 0xff11000004361118 @offset=4376
[ 2994.381607][ T111] Allocated in p9_fcall_init+0x201/0x400 age=19564 cpu=1 pid=104
[ 2994.382591][ T111] p9_fcall_init+0x201/0x400
[ 2994.382810][ T111] p9_tag_alloc+0x12f/0x700
[ 2994.382982][ T111] p9_client_prepare_req+0x102/0x3e0
[ 2994.383165][ T111] p9_client_rpc+0x1ab/0xa50
[ 2994.383334][ T111] p9_client_getattr_dotl+0xb0/0x1a0
[ 2994.383515][ T111] v9fs_vfs_getattr_dotl+0x115/0x360
[ 2994.383719][ T111] vfs_getattr_nosec+0x22c/0x3a0
[ 2994.383910][ T111] vfs_statx+0xd7/0x170
[ 2994.384062][ T111] vfs_fstatat+0x45/0x80
[ 2994.384215][ T111] __do_sys_newfstatat+0x84/0xe0
[ 2994.384386][ T111] do_syscall_64+0x115/0x6a0
[ 2994.384566][ T111] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
[ 2994.399720][ T111] WARNING: mm/slub.c:1244 at __kmem_cache_shutdown+0x363/0x500, CPU#0: busybox/111
[ 2994.405655][ T111] Call Trace:
[ 2994.406325][ T111] kmem_cache_destroy+0x73/0x1b0
[ 2994.406630][ T111] p9_client_destroy+0x271/0x3c0
[ 2994.407210][ T111] v9fs_session_close+0x3c/0x260
[ 2994.407409][ T111] v9fs_kill_super+0x48/0x90
[ 2994.407584][ T111] deactivate_locked_super+0xa3/0x160
[ 2994.407778][ T111] cleanup_mnt+0x1dd/0x3e0
Thus, a successful umount left objects in the 9p fcall cache and prevented
the cache from being destroyed cleanly.
Per-CPU shrink_qlist storage exists for every possible CPU, and each list
is protected by its own raw spinlock. Iterate over possible CPUs so that
a list populated before its CPU went offline is drained as well.
for_each_possible_cpu() can do more work than for_each_online_cpu(), but
this change only affects CONFIG_KASAN_GENERIC kernels. The extra work is
limited to cache shrink and cache destruction paths and does not affect
the normal allocation/free fast path. It adds one raw-spinlock-protected
scan of each possible CPU's shrink list. These lists are normally empty;
a non-empty list is traversed to remove objects belonging to the cache
being shrunk or destroyed.
kasan: fix cache shrink race with CPU hotplug
kasan_quarantine_remove_cache() first invokes per_cpu_remove_cache() on
all online CPUs. Each callback moves objects belonging to the cache from
cpu_quarantine to the CPU's shrink_qlist, where they can later be freed
from task context.
kmem_cache_destroy() invokes the quarantine removal path while holding
cpus_read_lock(), but kmem_cache_shrink() does not. The latter can
therefore race with CPU offlining as follows:
kmem_cache_shrink() CPU hotplug
------------------- -----------
on_each_cpu()
CPU1 moves objects to
CPU1's shrink_qlist
on_each_cpu() returns
CPU1 goes offline
kasan_cpu_offline()
drains cpu_quarantine
leaves shrink_qlist untouched
for_each_online_cpu()
skips CPU1
The objects left on CPU1's shrink_qlist are not returned to the slab
allocator. This may prevent kmem_cache_shrink() from releasing slabs that
would otherwise become empty. If CPU1 remains offline, a later
kmem_cache_destroy() also skips the list and can report that the cache
still contains objects.
An intermittent occurrence was observed with a virtio-9p filesystem. The
mount and umount commands both returned 0, but the kernel logged the
following during the userspace-triggered teardown:
[ 2994.380134][ T111] BUG 9p-fcall-cache-1 (Tainted: G B ): Objects remaining on __kmem_cache_shutdown()
[ 2994.381140][ T111] Object 0xff11000004361118 @offset=4376
[ 2994.381607][ T111] Allocated in p9_fcall_init+0x201/0x400 age=19564 cpu=1 pid=104
[ 2994.382591][ T111] p9_fcall_init+0x201/0x400
[ 2994.382810][ T111] p9_tag_alloc+0x12f/0x700
[ 2994.382982][ T111] p9_client_prepare_req+0x102/0x3e0
[ 2994.383165][ T111] p9_client_rpc+0x1ab/0xa50
[ 2994.383334][ T111] p9_client_getattr_dotl+0xb0/0x1a0
[ 2994.383515][ T111] v9fs_vfs_getattr_dotl+0x115/0x360
[ 2994.383719][ T111] vfs_getattr_nosec+0x22c/0x3a0
[ 2994.383910][ T111] vfs_statx+0xd7/0x170
[ 2994.384062][ T111] vfs_fstatat+0x45/0x80
[ 2994.384215][ T111] __do_sys_newfstatat+0x84/0xe0
[ 2994.384386][ T111] do_syscall_64+0x115/0x6a0
[ 2994.384566][ T111] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
[ 2994.399720][ T111] WARNING: mm/slub.c:1244 at __kmem_cache_shutdown+0x363/0x500, CPU#0: busybox/111
[ 2994.405655][ T111] Call Trace:
[ 2994.406325][ T111] kmem_cache_destroy+0x73/0x1b0
[ 2994.406630][ T111] p9_client_destroy+0x271/0x3c0
[ 2994.407210][ T111] v9fs_session_close+0x3c/0x260
[ 2994.407409][ T111] v9fs_kill_super+0x48/0x90
[ 2994.407584][ T111] deactivate_locked_super+0xa3/0x160
[ 2994.407778][ T111] cleanup_mnt+0x1dd/0x3e0
Thus, a successful umount left objects in the 9p fcall cache and prevented
the cache from being destroyed cleanly.
Per-CPU shrink_qlist storage exists for every possible CPU, and each list
is protected by its own raw spinlock. Iterate over possible CPUs so that
a list populated before its CPU went offline is drained as well.
for_each_possible_cpu() can do more work than for_each_online_cpu(), but
this change only affects CONFIG_KASAN_GENERIC kernels. The extra work is
limited to cache shrink and cache destruction paths and does not affect
the normal allocation/free fast path. It adds one raw-spinlock-protected
scan of each possible CPU's shrink list. These lists are normally empty;
a non-empty list is traversed to remove objects belonging to the cache
being shrunk or destroyed.
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Linux | Linux | affected |
|
No data.
No data.
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Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Thu, 24 Sep 2026 15:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: kasan: fix cache shrink race with CPU hotplug kasan_quarantine_remove_cache() first invokes per_cpu_remove_cache() on all online CPUs. Each callback moves objects belonging to the cache from cpu_quarantine to the CPU's shrink_qlist, where they can later be freed from task context. kmem_cache_destroy() invokes the quarantine removal path while holding cpus_read_lock(), but kmem_cache_shrink() does not. The latter can therefore race with CPU offlining as follows: kmem_cache_shrink() CPU hotplug ------------------- ----------- on_each_cpu() CPU1 moves objects to CPU1's shrink_qlist on_each_cpu() returns CPU1 goes offline kasan_cpu_offline() drains cpu_quarantine leaves shrink_qlist untouched for_each_online_cpu() skips CPU1 The objects left on CPU1's shrink_qlist are not returned to the slab allocator. This may prevent kmem_cache_shrink() from releasing slabs that would otherwise become empty. If CPU1 remains offline, a later kmem_cache_destroy() also skips the list and can report that the cache still contains objects. An intermittent occurrence was observed with a virtio-9p filesystem. The mount and umount commands both returned 0, but the kernel logged the following during the userspace-triggered teardown: [ 2994.380134][ T111] BUG 9p-fcall-cache-1 (Tainted: G B ): Objects remaining on __kmem_cache_shutdown() [ 2994.381140][ T111] Object 0xff11000004361118 @offset=4376 [ 2994.381607][ T111] Allocated in p9_fcall_init+0x201/0x400 age=19564 cpu=1 pid=104 [ 2994.382591][ T111] p9_fcall_init+0x201/0x400 [ 2994.382810][ T111] p9_tag_alloc+0x12f/0x700 [ 2994.382982][ T111] p9_client_prepare_req+0x102/0x3e0 [ 2994.383165][ T111] p9_client_rpc+0x1ab/0xa50 [ 2994.383334][ T111] p9_client_getattr_dotl+0xb0/0x1a0 [ 2994.383515][ T111] v9fs_vfs_getattr_dotl+0x115/0x360 [ 2994.383719][ T111] vfs_getattr_nosec+0x22c/0x3a0 [ 2994.383910][ T111] vfs_statx+0xd7/0x170 [ 2994.384062][ T111] vfs_fstatat+0x45/0x80 [ 2994.384215][ T111] __do_sys_newfstatat+0x84/0xe0 [ 2994.384386][ T111] do_syscall_64+0x115/0x6a0 [ 2994.384566][ T111] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f [ 2994.399720][ T111] WARNING: mm/slub.c:1244 at __kmem_cache_shutdown+0x363/0x500, CPU#0: busybox/111 [ 2994.405655][ T111] Call Trace: [ 2994.406325][ T111] kmem_cache_destroy+0x73/0x1b0 [ 2994.406630][ T111] p9_client_destroy+0x271/0x3c0 [ 2994.407210][ T111] v9fs_session_close+0x3c/0x260 [ 2994.407409][ T111] v9fs_kill_super+0x48/0x90 [ 2994.407584][ T111] deactivate_locked_super+0xa3/0x160 [ 2994.407778][ T111] cleanup_mnt+0x1dd/0x3e0 Thus, a successful umount left objects in the 9p fcall cache and prevented the cache from being destroyed cleanly. Per-CPU shrink_qlist storage exists for every possible CPU, and each list is protected by its own raw spinlock. Iterate over possible CPUs so that a list populated before its CPU went offline is drained as well. for_each_possible_cpu() can do more work than for_each_online_cpu(), but this change only affects CONFIG_KASAN_GENERIC kernels. The extra work is limited to cache shrink and cache destruction paths and does not affect the normal allocation/free fast path. It adds one raw-spinlock-protected scan of each possible CPU's shrink list. These lists are normally empty; a non-empty list is traversed to remove objects belonging to the cache being shrunk or destroyed. | |
| Title | kasan: fix cache shrink race with CPU hotplug | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
|
Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-09-24T15:10:31.888Z
Reserved: 2026-09-17T16:02:15.093Z
Link: CVE-2026-93208
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-09-24T16:17:15.497
Modified: 2026-09-24T16:17:15.497
Link: CVE-2026-93208
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.