lockd: Plug nlm_file refcount leak on cached nlm_do_fopen() failure
Key facts
- Attack vector
- —
- Privileges required
- —
- User interaction
- —
- Attack complexity
- —
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- —
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: lockd: Plug nlm_file refcount leak on cached nlm_do_fopen() failure The cached-file path in nlm_lookup_file() reaches the found: label unconditionally, even when nlm_do_fopen() fails. At that label *result and file->f_count are updated before the error is returned. The wrappers nlm3svc_lookup_file() and nlm4svc_lookup_file() then bail out of their switch without copying *result back to their caller, so the proc handler's local nlm_file pointer remains NULL and the cleanup path skips nlm_release_file(). The f_count increment is never released, and nlm_traverse_files() can no longer reap the file because its refcount never returns to zero between requests. Short-circuit the cached path so neither *result nor f_count is touched when nlm_do_fopen() fails on a hashed nlm_file.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.261
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97, 6.18.40, 7.1.5, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-72218
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-mwwg-vq2v-v2c8
- 2026-10-30 CVSS score changed · Red Hat
- 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6cd84cefd8b73e85b9eda17b319bd40a670f3a38
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fe3b45b56b6c3d4b6b341de27fa291005287a21c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cb3420c047957e565101585bb4f15e1a6e3de6b0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7ce4c23e783e766507b2cef27bbf97e9ca944f1a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/84008bf1860e0ef8059a7583a1163f36b704d08a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/46d59ff421824b6483549d87f14efffbbbd1f6cb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3a5c55a19cad62f2973be25fe96a1a9e7f618e8a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/70a38f87bed7f0694fd07988b47b2db1e10d8df3
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- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
Sources
- CVE-2026-72218 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-72218 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-mwwg-vq2v-v2c8 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-72218 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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