CVE Intelligence
High

CVE-2026-90229 — In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvme-apple: Destroy…

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvme-apple: Destroy the admin queue on removal The admin queue is allocated with blk_mq_alloc_queue() but never destroyed. nvme_free_ctrl() only drops the last reference and blk_mq_exit_queue() and blk_sync_queue() never run: the hctx is never moved to q->unused_hctx_list and the timeout timer and work stay armed on a queue that is about to be freed which will eventually oops inside blk_mq_timeout_work(). This can only be triggered when the controller fails to come up and is then immediately torn down again which is why no one ever ran into this before. Let's just copy what the pcie driver does: unquiesce and destroy the admin queue before nvme_uninit_ctrl(). With this the following WARN followed by a panic no longer happens: WARNING: block/blk-mq.c:4390 at blk_mq_release+0x194/0x238, CPU#4: kworker/u34:4/119 CPU: 4 UID: 0 PID: 119 Comm: kworker/u34:4 Not tainted 7.2.0-rc1-dirty #248 PREEMPT Hardware name: Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) (DT) Workqueue: nvme-wq apple_nvme_remove_dead_ctrl_work pstate: 61400005 (nZCv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO +DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) pc : blk_mq_release+0x194/0x238 lr : blk_mq_release+0x58/0x238 sp : ffffc000833a3b50 x29: ffffc000833a3b50 x28: ffff80001d0450f8 x27: ffff800020c95200 x26: 0000000000000088 x25: 0000000000000000 x24: ffff800020f36805 x23: 0000000000000000 x22: ffffc00081a86878 x21: ffff800020be9c60 x20: 0000000000000000 x19: ffff800022501698 x18: 000000000000000a x17: 7365757165722066 x16: 666f7265776f7020 x15: 0000000000000000 x14: 0000000000000028 x13: 0000000000004def x12: 0000000000000003 x11: 0000000000000000 x10: 0000000000000000 x9 : ffffc000805b4fc8 x8 : ffffc00081915820 x7 : ffffc00081c4f3c8 x6 : 0000000000000001 x5 : 0000000000000004 x4 : ffff800022498d80 x3 : ffffc000833a3b14 x2 : 0000000000000000 x1 : 0000000000000000 x0 : ffff800022501698 Call trace: blk_mq_release+0x194/0x238 (P) blk_put_queue+0x8c/0xf0 nvme_free_ctrl+0x4c/0x260 device_release+0x44/0x128 kobject_put+0xa0/0x120 put_device+0x1c/0x40 nvme_uninit_ctrl+0x48/0x60 apple_nvme_remove+0x54/0xb0 platform_remove+0x28/0x40 device_remove+0x54/0x98 device_release_driver_internal+ device_release_driver+0x20/0x38 apple_nvme_remove_dead_ctrl_wor process_one_work+0x1f4/0x770 worker_thread+0x1b8/0x360 kthread+0x140/0x160 ret_from_fork+0x10/0x20 irq event stamp: 448 hardirqs last enabled at (447):in_unlock_irqrestore+0x74/0x80 hardirqs last disabled at (448): [<ffffc000811cf5c0>] el1_brk64+0x20/0x60 softirqs last enabled at (0): [ess+0xb28/0x2698 softirqs last disabled at (0): [<0000000000000000>] 0x0 ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000000 Mem abort info: ESR = 0x0000000096000005 EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), SET = 0, FnV = 0 EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 FSC = 0x05: level 1 translation fault Data abort info: ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000005, ISS2 = 0x00000000 CM = 0, WnR = 0, TnD = 0, TagA GCS = 0, Overlay = 0, DirtyBit = 0, Xs = 0 [0000000000000000] user address Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000005 [#1] SMP CPU: 7 UID: 0 PID: 54 Comm: kwor 7.2.0-rc1-dirty #248PREEMPT Tainted: [W]=WARN Hardware name: Apple Mac mini (M1, 2020) (DT) Workqueue: kblockd blk_mq_timeou pstate: 01400005 (nzcv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO +DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) pc : percpu_ref_tryget_many.cons lr : percpu_ref_tryget_many.constprop.0+0xc0/0x168 sp : ffffc000829cbce0 x29: ffffc000829cbce0 x28: ffff800020be9f48 x27: ffff800013e503c0 x26: 0000000000000108 x25: 000009c05 x23: 0000000000000000 x22: ffffc000819f5000 x21: ffff800020be9f48 x20: ffff8001deda4808 x19: ffff8000a x17: 00000000580e1fac x16: ffffc00082bbbb7c x15: 0000000000000000 x14: 0000000000000028 x13: 000000001 x11: 0000000000000000 x10: 0000000000000000 x9 : ffffc000829cbc20 x8 : ---truncated---

Published Sep 17, 2026 · Updated Oct 15, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database · CNA: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
—
No EPSS score.
Affects
—
Affected products not yet identified by the sources.
CVSS base
7.4
High · 1 source(s)

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Affected products have not been identified by the sources yet: follow the vendor advisory and map candidate assets by component name.
  2. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

Affected products not yet identified by the sources.

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
High
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
7.4 CVSS 3.1 High 1.4 5.9 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67)

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Record published
    Oct 15, 2026
  • CVSS changed · 7.4
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Received
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 15, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    Sep 17, 2026 · 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026

References

5 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No FIRST EPSS score.
  • No affected product/version with evidence in the sources.
  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No CISA SSVC assessment.
  • No CWE classification.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-90229 is "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvme-apple: Destroy…", rated High. Affected products have not been identified by the sources yet. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.4 describes technical severity. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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