Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ceph: cap delegated inode count in ceph_parse_deleg_inos()

ceph_parse_deleg_inos() decodes interval sets of delegated inode numbers
from an MDS create-with-delegation reply. For each set it reads a 64-bit
start and a 64-bit len with ceph_decode_64_safe(), which only validates
that the eight bytes are present in the message, not the value, and then
loops over len while inserting entries into s_delegated_inos.

len is fully attacker controlled. A malicious or compromised MDS can send
one huge interval, many intervals in one reply, duplicate intervals, or
repeated replies that accumulate delegated inodes on the same session.
The original code bounded none of these and could spin the insert loop or
grow the xarray without limit.

Bound both dimensions with a single enforcement point. Track the number
of delegated inodes held by each MDS session in an atomic counter and
grow it only in ceph_insert_deleg_ino(), which uses atomic_add_unless()
to refuse to push the count past CEPH_MAX_DELEG_INOS. Because that helper
is the only place the counter grows, the per-session population can never
exceed the cap, so no separate per-session pre-check is needed. The
counter is decremented when async create consumes a delegated inode or
when an insert fails, incremented when a delegated inode is restored,
initialized with the session xarray, and reset when reconnect destroys
the xarray.

A per-session cap alone still lets one reply spin the insert loop on
duplicate ranges without growing the counter, so also cap the aggregate
interval length accepted from a single reply. Together these bound both
the loop trip count per reply and the xarray population across replies.

The cap is a fixed, client-chosen constant rather than a value derived
from the MDS. mds_client_prealloc_inos is a userspace MDS configuration
option; it is never sent to the kernel client on the wire, and a
server-supplied bound could not be trusted for a defensive limit in any
case. The constant is set well above that option's documented default of
1000 (a generous multiple), so legitimate refill behavior is unaffected
while the CPU and xarray memory a malformed delegation stream can consume
stays bounded.

Impact: a malicious or compromised Ceph MDS can no longer make a client
spin through an unbounded delegated-inode interval or grow one session's
delegated-inode xarray without limit.
Published: 2026-09-11
Score: 5.9 Medium
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

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Remediation

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History

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-606
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.9, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

threat_severity

Moderate


Fri, 11 Sep 2026 23:45:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ceph: cap delegated inode count in ceph_parse_deleg_inos() ceph_parse_deleg_inos() decodes interval sets of delegated inode numbers from an MDS create-with-delegation reply. For each set it reads a 64-bit start and a 64-bit len with ceph_decode_64_safe(), which only validates that the eight bytes are present in the message, not the value, and then loops over len while inserting entries into s_delegated_inos. len is fully attacker controlled. A malicious or compromised MDS can send one huge interval, many intervals in one reply, duplicate intervals, or repeated replies that accumulate delegated inodes on the same session. The original code bounded none of these and could spin the insert loop or grow the xarray without limit. Bound both dimensions with a single enforcement point. Track the number of delegated inodes held by each MDS session in an atomic counter and grow it only in ceph_insert_deleg_ino(), which uses atomic_add_unless() to refuse to push the count past CEPH_MAX_DELEG_INOS. Because that helper is the only place the counter grows, the per-session population can never exceed the cap, so no separate per-session pre-check is needed. The counter is decremented when async create consumes a delegated inode or when an insert fails, incremented when a delegated inode is restored, initialized with the session xarray, and reset when reconnect destroys the xarray. A per-session cap alone still lets one reply spin the insert loop on duplicate ranges without growing the counter, so also cap the aggregate interval length accepted from a single reply. Together these bound both the loop trip count per reply and the xarray population across replies. The cap is a fixed, client-chosen constant rather than a value derived from the MDS. mds_client_prealloc_inos is a userspace MDS configuration option; it is never sent to the kernel client on the wire, and a server-supplied bound could not be trusted for a defensive limit in any case. The constant is set well above that option's documented default of 1000 (a generous multiple), so legitimate refill behavior is unaffected while the CPU and xarray memory a malformed delegation stream can consume stays bounded. Impact: a malicious or compromised Ceph MDS can no longer make a client spin through an unbounded delegated-inode interval or grow one session's delegated-inode xarray without limit.
Title ceph: cap delegated inode count in ceph_parse_deleg_inos()
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Subscriptions

Linux Linux Kernel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-09-11T19:45:39.375Z

Reserved: 2026-09-11T19:38:34.742Z

Link: CVE-2026-89648

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-09-11T20:19:50.760

Modified: 2026-09-11T20:19:50.760

Link: CVE-2026-89648

cve-icon Redhat

Severity : Moderate

Publid Date: 2026-09-11T19:45:39Z

Links: CVE-2026-89648 - Bugzilla

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses
  • CWE-606

    Unchecked Input for Loop Condition