CVE-2026-90129

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio_balloon: quiesce balloon work before device shutdown Commit 8bd2fa086a04 ("virtio: break and reset virtio devices on device_shutdown()") added a generic virtio bus .shutdown handler that breaks and resets every virtio device during device_shutdown(), i.e. on reboot and kexec. virtio_balloon provides no .shutdown of its own, so that generic path runs while the balloon's asynchronous work is still armed. Once the device has been broken, virtqueue_add_inbuf() in virtballoon_free_page_report() returns -EIO and trips its WARN_ON_ONCE(). On a kernel booted with panic_on_warn that turns an ordinary reboot, for example a kexec based upgrade, into a fatal panic in the middle of device_shutdown(), so the machine never reaches the new kernel. Relaxing that single WARN_ON_ONCE() would only hide the symptom: the inflate/deflate and OOM paths do not warn, they call wait_event(vb->acked, ...) and would instead block forever on a broken queue that can no longer complete. The device has to be quiesced, not just kept quiet. Add a .shutdown handler that quiesces the balloon via the shared virtballoon_quiesce() helper while the device is still alive, and only then breaks and resets it via virtio_device_shutdown(). Unlike virtballoon_remove() the balloon workqueue is not destroyed, as shutdown does not free the device and cancel_work_sync() together with stop_update already prevent any further work from being queued.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2026-09-17
Last modified 2026-09-17
Patch available
Yes

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.14.9, 6.15 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.18.52, 7.2.6, 7.3-rc1 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 6.14.9 ≥ 6.15
Fixed in
✓ 6.18.52 6.18.x ✓ 7.2.6 7.2.x ✓ 7.3-rc1

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2026-90129?

    CVE-2026-90129 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.14.9 onward and has been patched in 6.18.52, 7.2.6 and 7.3-rc1. CVE-2026-90129 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-90129?

    Yes. CVE-2026-90129 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.52, 7.2.6 and 7.3-rc1. If you are running Linux kernel 6.14.9 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2026-90129 actively exploited?

    No. CVE-2026-90129 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.