GHSA-MRW4-8PGR-V6W5
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-09-17 18:31 – Updated: 2026-09-17 18:31In 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.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-90129"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-09-17T17:17:05Z",
"severity": null
},
"details": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nvirtio_balloon: quiesce balloon work before device shutdown\n\nCommit 8bd2fa086a04 (\"virtio: break and reset virtio devices on\ndevice_shutdown()\") added a generic virtio bus .shutdown handler that\nbreaks and resets every virtio device during device_shutdown(), i.e. on\nreboot and kexec.\n\nvirtio_balloon provides no .shutdown of its own, so that generic path\nruns while the balloon\u0027s asynchronous work is still armed. Once the\ndevice has been broken, virtqueue_add_inbuf() in\nvirtballoon_free_page_report() returns -EIO and trips its\nWARN_ON_ONCE(). On a kernel booted with panic_on_warn that turns an\nordinary reboot, for example a kexec based upgrade, into a fatal panic\nin the middle of device_shutdown(), so the machine never reaches the\nnew kernel.\n\nRelaxing that single WARN_ON_ONCE() would only hide the symptom: the\ninflate/deflate and OOM paths do not warn, they call\nwait_event(vb-\u003eacked, ...) and would instead block forever on a broken\nqueue that can no longer complete. The device has to be quiesced, not\njust kept quiet.\n\nAdd a .shutdown handler that quiesces the balloon via the shared\nvirtballoon_quiesce() helper while the device is still alive, and only\nthen breaks and resets it via virtio_device_shutdown(). Unlike\nvirtballoon_remove() the balloon workqueue is not destroyed, as shutdown\ndoes not free the device and cancel_work_sync() together with stop_update\nalready prevent any further work from being queued.",
"id": "GHSA-mrw4-8pgr-v6w5",
"modified": "2026-09-17T18:31:51Z",
"published": "2026-09-17T18:31:51Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90129"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6dd28e32f4d81a0d57c732b9900de24184e60a7d"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7e17eef04600c399c7e0f5ce765da5cf9d40d8e1"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bdef50a8226fc04899ef6815dd08a002247d47d5"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": []
}
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