CVE-2026-53391
HIGH 7.5In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: NFSv4/pNFS: reject zero-length r_addr in nfs4_decode_mp_ds_addr nfs4_decode_mp_ds_addr() decodes the r_netid and r_addr opaques of a netaddr4 from a GETDEVICEINFO multipath-DS body, then immediately calls strrchr(buf, '.') to locate the port separator. Both decodes use xdr_stream_decode_string_dup(), and the current code checks only "nlen < 0" / "rlen < 0" before dereferencing the returned string. When the on-wire opaque has length zero, xdr_stream_decode_opaque_inline() returns 0 and xdr_stream_decode_string_dup() falls through to its "*str = NULL; return ret" tail, leaving buf NULL with a return value of 0. The "< 0" check does not catch this, and the next line is strrchr(NULL, '.'), a kernel NULL pointer dereference reachable from any pNFS-flexfile client mounted against a malicious or compromised metadata server. Reject the zero-length cases explicitly so the decoder fails with -EBADMSG (treated as a malformed GETDEVICEINFO body) instead of panicking the client.
Severe if exploited (CVSS 7.5), but no known exploitation and low modeled probability. Patch on a normal cadence.
Exploitation likelihood
0.5%chance of exploitation in 30 days · 39th percentile
Impact if exploited
7.5CVSS 3.1 · HIGH
- ConfidentialityNone
- IntegrityNone
- AvailabilityHigh
What an attacker needs
- ✓Access: Reachable over the network — no local access needed
- ✓Privileges: No account or privileges required
- ✓User interaction: No user interaction needed
- ✓Complexity: No special conditions — reliably repeatable
✓ lowers the bar for an attacker · ⚠ raises it
Proof of concept & exploit code
- github-search Search GitHub for public PoC repos
Test against your own equipment
curl -s https://vulnpedia.com/cve/CVE-2026-53391/poc.jsonMachine-readable PoC index for this CVE (for automation).Listed for defensive triage, patch verification, and authorized testing on systems you own. Machine-readable: /cve/CVE-2026-53391/poc.json
Weakness (CWE)
Not classified.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
All CVSS metrics
- HIGH 7.5 v3.1 · CNA Primary
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - HIGH 7.5 v3.1 · NVD Secondary
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
References
Technical & other
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/76b94cbd32aacf36a641956385a852635c6802b9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c8e4e0c701d0192a2efb6df059c0f9e19678c23d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6c344fff2feff9d4d716d8e4ad40e9b5040ee5ea
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/427ab81a811dab4bca9d19f82eec5847ae42646e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/012d37a568bfbb2c9686f03ade75560bc7139956
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/30aae62e50b4e074a90a9a5e15246548fbdc1182
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/41fe0f7b84f0cb822ae10ab08592996a592b2a25