---
id: "CVE-2026-98727"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98727"]
title: "Linux kernel NVMe multipath: zoned devices can crash on zero zone size"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: null
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "infrastructure"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["infrastructure", "kernel", "linux", "nvme", "storage"]
not_affected_if: ["no-nvme-multipath", "no-zoned-nvme"]
published_at: "2026-10-18T16:17:26+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T05:17:18+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98727", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel NVMe multipath: zoned devices can crash on zero zone size

In the Linux NVMe multipath code, the namespace head is marked zoned before the zone size is known, so a zero zone size can be registered on the path while the head still advertises zoned support. Reporting zones or writing to the head then shifts by ilog2(0), which the sources do not say leads to more than a fault or crash.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## How to check

- `uname -r` to get the running kernel version
- `lsblk -o NAME,ZONED` to see whether any NVMe namespace reports a zoned model
- unknown for the exact fixed kernel version

## Fix

- Update the Linux kernel to a release that includes the upstream nvme-multipath fix; the fixed version numbers are unknown from the sources
- Reboot into the updated kernel after installing it

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:16+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98727

## From the sources

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

nvme-multipath: set BLK_FEAT_ZONED only after the zone info is known

The namespace head is marked zoned at allocation time based only on the
command set identifier.  If the zone info query reports a zero zone size,
the path namespace is registered without zoned limits while the head
still advertises the zoned capability with a zone size of zero, and
reporting zones or writing to the head then shifts by ilog2(0).

Drop the zoned feature from the head allocation and let the head limits
refresh stack it in from the path namespace instead.

---

_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_