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CVE-2026-72440 (GCVE-0-2026-72440)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-08-15 05:56 – Updated: 2026-08-17 05:44
VLAI
Title
md/raid1: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on write failures
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: md/raid1: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on write failures raid1_make_request() acquires a writes_pending reference with md_write_start() before calling raid1_write_request(). Several failure paths in raid1_write_request() complete the bio and return without reaching the normal write completion path, causing the corresponding md_write_end() to be skipped. Make raid1_write_request() return a status indicating whether the write request was successfully queued. This allows raid1_make_request() to call md_write_end() when raid1_write_request() fails. Additionally, if wait_blocked_rdev() fails after wait_barrier() succeeds, the associated barrier reference is not released. Call allow_barrier() before returning from that path to keep the barrier accounting balanced.
Severity
7.1 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H
Assigner
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
Linux Linux Affected: 5aa705039c4fca84575539bfa2b8a28454a3d2ca , < bffbbfcbd9393e315a7a4286dcd70e875265db9a (git)
Affected: 5aa705039c4fca84575539bfa2b8a28454a3d2ca , < 8e065a1602511282fc0da2dc89445e0eb71a681c (git)
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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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{
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          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "drivers/md/raid1.c"
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        }
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            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H",
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              "lang": "en",
              "value": "AV:N - The bug is in md/raid1 write handling reached via block-layer writes to RAID1-backed volumes; on storage servers and appliances, remote NFS, SMB (ksmbd), iSCSI, and NVMe-oF clients submit those writes through md_submit_bio() to raid1_make_request() the same as local I/O.\nAC:L - An attacker with write access can reliably trigger the leaks using RWF_NOWAIT during active resync/barriers, against mirrors in BlockedBadBlocks state after prior write errors, or via bio_submit_split_bioset() failure paths; they control I/O timing and concurrency without uncontrollable races.\nPR:L - Exploitation requires only the ability to issue writes to the RAID1 array\u2014via a mounted filesystem, O_RDWR on /dev/mdX, or an authenticated network storage client\u2014not CAP_SYS_ADMIN or other privileges needed to create or reconfigure the md array.\nUI:N - No victim interaction is required; the attacker or their storage client issues the triggering RWF_NOWAIT or failing write requests directly, with no separate mount, file open, or administrator action needed at exploitation time.\nS:U - Impact is confined to kernel md RAID1 write/barrier accounting and array lifecycle state within the same host kernel; it does not cross VM, container, or IOMMU security boundaries.\nC:N - Leaked writes_pending and nr_pending reference counters do not corrupt memory, read out of bounds, or use-after-free; there is no kernel pointer leak or arbitrary memory disclosure primitive.\nI:L - Skipped md_write_end() on failure paths leaves writes_pending inflated and prevents set_in_sync()/clean sysfs transitions, causing persistent incorrect RAID1 dirty/clean metadata state that cannot be corrected until reboot.\nA:H - Leaked conf-\u003enr_pending from the wait_blocked_rdev()+REQ_NOWAIT path inflates get_unqueued_pending() so freeze_array() wait_event never completes, deadlocking array quiesce, reshape, removal, and read-error recovery while array_frozen blocks new I/O."
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        "shortName": "Linux"
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          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bffbbfcbd9393e315a7a4286dcd70e875265db9a"
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    "cveId": "CVE-2026-72440",
    "datePublished": "2026-08-15T05:56:52.662Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-08-09T03:40:39.930Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-08-17T05:44:14.243Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
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    "redhat_vex": {
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      "current_release_date": "2026-08-19T07:27:32+00:00",
      "cve": "CVE-2026-72440",
      "id": "CVE-2026-72440",
      "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/raid1: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on write failures",
      "url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-72440.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

Author Source Type Date Other

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.