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Response snapshot Oct 30, 2026, 17:36 UTC

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VulnerabilityCVE-2026-90229

Linux kernel: nvme-apple: Destroy the admin queue on removal

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.

At a glance

Exploited
Not known
Severity
7.4 High (CVSS 3.1)
Chance of exploitation
0.2% in the next 30 days
Sources
1 source

What to do

Check the vendor advisory for affected versions and fixes.

Read NVD CVE-2026-90229 (opens a new tab)

What happened

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.

Continue reading

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---

Scores and how they were measured

CVSS base severity

7.4

Version 3.1As of

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Measurement source (opens a new tab)

How bad it is if exploited. Not a prediction of exploitation or proof you are exposed.

EPSS probability

0.2%

Scored Percentile 6.8%

Model and measurement source (opens a new tab)

A model's estimate of exploitation in the next 30 days, not certainty or your own risk.

Related technology

Sources

  1. Primary source

    NVD CVE-2026-90229 (opens a new tab)

    NVD record: description, CVSS (the CNA score is preferred), affected products, and publication date. Not evidence of exploitation.

    Published Checked

  2. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  3. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  4. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  5. Primary source

    FIRST measured EPSS score (opens a new tab)

    Measured EPSS probability and percentile for CVE-2026-90229, scored 2026-10-30. This is a model estimate, not proof of exposure.

    Published Checked

Cite this record

For factual claims, cite the primary sources above; cite KEVWire for its compilation, dates, and classifications.

APA

KEVWire. (2026, October 30). Linux kernel: nvme-apple: Destroy the admin queue on removal (CVE-2026-90229). https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-90229

MLA

"Linux kernel: nvme-apple: Destroy the admin queue on removal (CVE-2026-90229)." KEVWire, 30 Oct. 2026, kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-90229.

Chicago

KEVWire. "Linux kernel: nvme-apple: Destroy the admin queue on removal (CVE-2026-90229)." Last modified October 30, 2026. https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-90229.

Evidence summary (plain text)

Linux kernel: nvme-apple: Destroy the admin queue on removal (Sep 17, 2026).
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().
CVSS 7.4 (version 3.1; evidence as of Oct 30, 2026; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90229).
EPSS 0.2% for the following 30 days, scored Oct 30, 2026 (https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-90229&date=2026-10-30).
Sources:
NVD CVE-2026-90229: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90229
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?lastModStartDate=2026-10-30T13:06:45.042Z&lastModEndDate=2026-10-30T14:50:57.069Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=1000
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?lastModStartDate=2026-10-30T12:22:16.957Z&lastModEndDate=2026-10-30T14:05:57.373Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=500
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?lastModStartDate=2026-10-30T11:45:59.009Z&lastModEndDate=2026-10-30T13:20:57.281Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=500
FIRST measured EPSS score: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-90229&date=2026-10-30
Record ID: CVE-2026-90229.
Record origin: Ingested record.
AI evidence: Not assessed.
Known exploitation: Not assessed.
Zero-day status: Not assessed. KEV membership alone does not establish zero-day status.
About this data

This record was ingested from a data source. Retrieved: Oct 30, 2026, 14:52 UTC. Ingestion is not an independent editorial investigation.

NVD status: Received. Publication in the NVD is not evidence of exploitation.

A CISA KEV listing documents known exploitation, not necessarily a zero-day; absence from the catalog does not prove a vulnerability has never been exploited.

Technology tags indicate possible relevance, not verified exposure. Confirm the affected product, version, and configuration against your own inventory; KEVWire does not scan your systems.

A personal reading checklist on this device, not verified remediation.

Record JSON

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Record details

Record detail