CVE-2026-72438 json
md/raid10: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on discard failures
published 2mo ago modified 12d ago also EUVD-2026-59337
- cvss
- 7.5
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.5%
- EPSS 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 43%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
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.
Patch / fix
- Linux Linux 5.16, 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.1.5, 7.2
- linux Debian 13 6.12.111-1
- linux Debian 14 7.1.5-1
- linux-6.12 Debian 12 6.12.111-1~deb12u1
debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72438
- linux Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-149.149
- linux Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-38.38
- linux-aws Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-1069.74
- linux-aws Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-1014.14
- linux-gcp Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-1073.81
- linux-gcp Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-1014.14
- linux-gke Ubuntu 24.04 LTS 6.8.0-1068.77
- linux-gke Ubuntu 26.04 LTS 7.0.0-1008.9
ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72438
Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0
- kernel-64kb SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 6.4.0-150700.53.84.1
- kernel-syms SLE Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 6.4.0-150700.53.84.1
- kernel-azure SLE Module for Public Cloud 15 SP7 6.4.0-150700.53.84.1
- kernel-source SLE Module for Development Tools 15 SP7, SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 6.4.0-150700.53.84.1
- kernel-default SLE Workstation Extension 15 SP7, SLE Module for Legacy 15 SP7, SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 +2 more 6.4.0-150700.53.84.1
- kernel-zfcpdump SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 6.4.0-150700.53.84.1
- kernel-obs-build SLE Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 6.4.0-150700.53.84.1
- kernel-default-base SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 6.4.0-150700.53.84.1.150700.17.47.1
suse advisories SUSE-SU-2026:4706-1SUSE-SU-2026:4640-1SUSE-SU-2026:24316-1SUSE-SU-2026:24315-1SUSE-SU-2026:24181-1SUSE-SU-2026:24182-1
- kernel-rt openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.38.1
- dtb-aarch64 openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.38.1
- kernel-64kb openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.38.1
- kernel-syms openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.38.1
- kernel-azure openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.38.1
- kernel-obs-qa openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.38.1
- kernel-source openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.38.1
- kernel-default openSUSE Leap 16.0 6.12.0-160000.38.1
opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2026:21910-1
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/2d264c00beadcc67f16d683ab27eed28c047ba2e commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/80ac31cce55432034a9eb98262c92ace7866e494 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/fea33968592559a55a3f5a96a6386bebcaf988a8 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/11b35d1906a7277a3d64afe34224133b44327328 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/d1324b41dabd26787559efaeb430643c627c1eb0 commit
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/393d687131d8aa8c7e4de2cb494438e145d20fc2 commit
Is CVE-2026-72438 in your stack? Fencer shows which of your repositories are affected as soon as an advisory lands, and opens the fix as a pull request.
Check with FencerVendor advisories
What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.
red hat product security vex CVE-2026-72438 updated cvss 5.5
kernel: md/raid10: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on discard failures
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 perf, kernel, python-perf, kernel-kdump, kernel-firmware, kernel-bootwrapper, +1 moreaffected: workaround, no fix planned “Out of support scope”
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, kernel-core, kernel-tools, +29 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 rv, perf, rtla, kernel, bpftool, libperf, +83 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 kernelaffected: workaround, no fix available “Fix deferred”
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 perf, kernel, bpftool, kernel-rt, python-perf, kernel-kdump, +8 morenot affected: vulnerable code not present
Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf
CISA SSVC
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- partial
- Assessed
- 26d ago
Exploit prediction
0.50% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 43% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-11).
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | 3.1 | 7.5 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
Affected products
- Linux Linux
Classification
- Technology feeds
References
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/2d264c00beadcc67f16d683ab27eed28c047ba2e
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/80ac31cce55432034a9eb98262c92ace7866e494
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/fea33968592559a55a3f5a96a6386bebcaf988a8
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/11b35d1906a7277a3d64afe34224133b44327328
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/d1324b41dabd26787559efaeb430643c627c1eb0
- git.kernel.org /stable/c/393d687131d8aa8c7e4de2cb494438e145d20fc2
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2026-72438
- NVD CVE-2026-72438
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