md/raid10: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on discard failures (CVE-2026-72438) | HOL Guard CVE

High · CVSS 7.5CVE-2026-72438

md/raid10: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on discard failures

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-72438 records a High severity (CVSS 7.5) vulnerability in md/raid10: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on discard failures. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Aug 15, 2026Updated Sep 21, 2026Source checked Sep 29, 2026First seen by HOL Aug 15, 2026Material review Sep 21, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: High · CVSS 7.5
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 3 mapped packages or products
Fix availability: Available

Why this deserves its current priority

CVSS is 7.5. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
Linux/Linuxgeneric	>=c9aa889b035fca4598ae985a0f0c76ebbb547ad2 <d1324b41dabd26787559efaeb430643c627c1eb0 \|\| >=c9aa889b035fca4598ae985a0f0c76ebbb547ad2 <393d687131d8aa8c7e4de2cb494438e145d20fc2 \|\| 39db562b3fedb93978a7e42dd216b306740959f8 \|\| >=5.15.111 <5.16	d1324b41dabd26787559efaeb430643c627c1eb0, 393d687131d8aa8c7e4de2cb494438e145d20fc2, 5.16
Linux/Linuxgeneric	5.17	Not reported
Linux/Linuxgeneric	>=c9aa889b035fca4598ae985a0f0c76ebbb547ad2 <fea33968592559a55a3f5a96a6386bebcaf988a8 \|\| >=c9aa889b035fca4598ae985a0f0c76ebbb547ad2 <11b35d1906a7277a3d64afe34224133b44327328 \|\| >=c9aa889b035fca4598ae985a0f0c76ebbb547ad2 <d1324b41dabd26787559efaeb430643c627c1eb0 \|\| >=c9aa889b035fca4598ae985a0f0c76ebbb547ad2 <393d687131d8aa8c7e4de2cb494438e145d20fc2 \|\| 39db562b3fedb93978a7e42dd216b306740959f8 \|\| >=5.15.111 <5.16	fea33968592559a55a3f5a96a6386bebcaf988a8, 11b35d1906a7277a3d64afe34224133b44327328, d1324b41dabd26787559efaeb430643c627c1eb0, 393d687131d8aa8c7e4de2cb494438e145d20fc2, 5.16

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for Linux/Linux, Linux/Linux, Linux/Linux.
Review the reported fix. Update Linux/Linux to d1324b41dabd26787559efaeb430643c627c1eb0; Linux/Linux to fea33968592559a55a3f5a96a6386bebcaf988a8 if you use the affected versions. Test the change in a non-production environment first.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Aug 15, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Sep 21, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Aug 15, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

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.

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.