md/raid1: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on write failures
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · Low · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
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.
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 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.114, 6.18.57, 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: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-72440
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-jh9h-wfxq-pfm4
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@7a450460687919e79b5f8503bdeb13ecf4cca311 · CNA
- 2026-10-16 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-21 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@921e2baa626d1504bf30295816aaeb90ac8c82f4 +1 · CNA
- 2026-10-21 2 new references · CNA
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@874f54243d881fde1890849000beb88a7880d1ec · CNA
- 2026-10-30 1 new reference · CNA
References
Other 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/874f54243d881fde1890849000beb88a7880d1ec
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/921e2baa626d1504bf30295816aaeb90ac8c82f4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a846affa813013204d0cce0cfdaeb99e8fcce188
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7a450460687919e79b5f8503bdeb13ecf4cca311
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bffbbfcbd9393e315a7a4286dcd70e875265db9a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8e065a1602511282fc0da2dc89445e0eb71a681c
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Sources
- CVE-2026-72440 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-72440 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-jh9h-wfxq-pfm4 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-72440 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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