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CVE-2026-72438 (GCVE-0-2026-72438)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-08-15 05:56 – Updated: 2026-08-17 05:44
VLAI
Title
md/raid10: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on discard failures
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: md/raid10: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on discard failures raid10_make_request() acquires a writes_pending reference with md_write_start() before calling raid10_handle_discard(). Several failure paths in raid10_handle_discard() complete the bio and return without releasing the corresponding reference, causing md_write_end() to be skipped. Call md_write_end() before returning from these failure paths to keep writes_pending accounting balanced. Additionally, discard split allocation failures can occur after wait_barrier() succeeds. Those paths return without calling allow_barrier(), leaking the associated barrier reference. Release the barrier before returning from those paths.
Severity
7.5 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Assigner
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
Linux Linux Affected: c9aa889b035fca4598ae985a0f0c76ebbb547ad2 , < d1324b41dabd26787559efaeb430643c627c1eb0 (git)
Affected: c9aa889b035fca4598ae985a0f0c76ebbb547ad2 , < 393d687131d8aa8c7e4de2cb494438e145d20fc2 (git)
Affected: 39db562b3fedb93978a7e42dd216b306740959f8 (git)
Affected: 5.15.111 , < 5.16 (semver)
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Linux Linux Affected: 5.17
Unaffected: 0 , < 5.17 (semver)
Unaffected: 7.1.5 , ≤ 7.1.* (semver)
Unaffected: 7.2 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix)
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{
  "containers": {
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        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "drivers/md/raid10.c"
          ],
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          "vendor": "Linux",
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              "operator": "OR"
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          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nmd/raid10: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on discard failures\n\nraid10_make_request() acquires a writes_pending reference with\nmd_write_start() before calling raid10_handle_discard(). Several failure\npaths in raid10_handle_discard() complete the bio and return without\nreleasing the corresponding reference, causing md_write_end() to be\nskipped.\n\nCall md_write_end() before returning from these failure paths to keep\nwrites_pending accounting balanced.\n\nAdditionally, discard split allocation failures can occur after\nwait_barrier() succeeds. Those paths return without calling\nallow_barrier(), leaking the associated barrier reference.\n\nRelease the barrier before returning from those paths."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
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            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
            "version": "3.1"
          },
          "scenarios": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "AV:N - RAID10 is commonly used on network-facing storage servers; discard/TRIM/UNMAP from remote iSCSI initiators or NFS clients reaches raid10_make_request() through the block layer without local host login.\nAC:L - An attacker can reliably trigger the bug by issuing large, stripe-misaligned discards to force bio_split() and inducing GFP_NOIO allocation failure via self-created memory pressure; no rare timing or victim state is required.\nPR:N - Exploitation requires only network reachability to a storage service that accepts discard/UNMAP/DEALLOCATE on the RAID10 LUN or exported filesystem, not Linux host administrator privileges or capabilities.\nUI:N - Discard, TRIM, punch-hole, and SCSI UNMAP are programmatic storage operations that do not require any interactive action by a human victim beyond normal automated I/O.\nS:U - The leaked writes_pending and barrier/nr_pending counters only corrupt RAID10/md internal accounting within the kernel storage stack and do not cross VM, container, or IOMMU security boundaries.\nC:N - The flaw is reference-count leakage on writes_pending and nr_pending with no out-of-bounds access, use-after-free, or memory disclosure; no confidential data is exposed.\nI:N - No memory corruption or unauthorized modification of user or filesystem data occurs; impact is limited to incorrect internal IO/barrier accounting rather than integrity compromise.\nA:H - Leaked nr_pending prevents raise_barrier() and freeze_array() from ever completing, causing indefinite kernel thread hangs during recovery/reshape/error handling and persistent denial of storage service on the array."
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T05:44:13.101Z",
        "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "shortName": "Linux"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d1324b41dabd26787559efaeb430643c627c1eb0"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/393d687131d8aa8c7e4de2cb494438e145d20fc2"
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      "title": "md/raid10: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on discard failures",
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    "assignerShortName": "Linux",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-72438",
    "datePublished": "2026-08-15T05:56:51.384Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-08-09T03:40:39.929Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T05:44:13.101Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2",
  "vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
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      "date": "2026-09-04",
      "epss": "0.00359",
      "percentile": "0.28914"
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      "product_status:known_affected": "1",
      "source": "Microsoft CSAF VEX",
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      "title": "md/raid10: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on discard failures",
      "url": "https://msrc.microsoft.com/csaf/vex/2026/msrc_cve-2026-72438.json",
      "version": "1"
    },
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    "redhat_vex": {
      "aggregate_severity": "Moderate",
      "current_release_date": "2026-08-18T10:55:52+00:00",
      "cve": "CVE-2026-72438",
      "id": "CVE-2026-72438",
      "initial_release_date": "2026-08-15T00:00:00+00:00",
      "product_status:known_affected": "246",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "28",
      "source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "kernel: md/raid10: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on discard failures",
      "url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-72438.json",
      "version": "3"
    }
  }
}



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Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

Sightings

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Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
  • Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.


Detection rules are retrieved from Rulezet.