VulnerabilityPublished 15 Aug 2026Updated 21 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-72420: Linux kernel · md/raid5: avoid R5_Overlap races while breaking stripe batches

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.8 High · fixed in d684b72dfbd320623ccaab0779aa841190488e7c : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.8High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS

0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 48% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

Exploitation: No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
Automatable: Attackers cannot reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
Technical impact: Total control over the software or total information disclosure

CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-10-16.

Patch

Available – fixed in d684b72dfbd320623ccaab0779aa841190488e7c, 8031b0d02bd221a5f9add4357e291fc2a527b83a, 158a5480d51969adeb727ff20c6fa96f063e9f9e +2

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 15 Aug 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ fb642b92c267beeefd352af9bc461eac93a7552c, < d684b72dfbd320623ccaab0779aa841190488e7c	Fixed in d684b72dfbd320623ccaab0779aa841190488e7c
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ fb642b92c267beeefd352af9bc461eac93a7552c, < 8031b0d02bd221a5f9add4357e291fc2a527b83a	Fixed in 8031b0d02bd221a5f9add4357e291fc2a527b83a
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ fb642b92c267beeefd352af9bc461eac93a7552c, < 158a5480d51969adeb727ff20c6fa96f063e9f9e	Fixed in 158a5480d51969adeb727ff20c6fa96f063e9f9e
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ fb642b92c267beeefd352af9bc461eac93a7552c, < 55b77337bdd088c77461588e5ec094421b89911b	Fixed in 55b77337bdd088c77461588e5ec094421b89911b
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ fb642b92c267beeefd352af9bc461eac93a7552c, < 4d919c9b770996365806b6c8d701912d52baa306	Fixed in 4d919c9b770996365806b6c8d701912d52baa306
LinuxLinux	Affected =4.1	Fixed in–

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: md/raid5: avoid R5_Overlap races while breaking stripe batches KCSAN report a race in break_stripe_batch_list() vs. raid5_make_request() on sh->dev[i].flags (plain word write vs. atomic bit op).. and .. one possible scenario is: CPU1 CPU2 break_stripe_batch_list(sh1) -> handle sh2 -> lock(sh2) -> sh2->batch_head = NULL -> unlock(sh2) -> test_and_clear_bit(R5_Overlap, sh2->dev[i].flags) -> wake_up_bit(sh2->dev[i].flags) raid5_make_request() -> add_all_stripe_bios(sh2) -> lock(sh2) -> stripe_bio_overlaps(sh2) returns true batch_head is NULL, so new bio overlap exist bio on sh2 -> true -> set_bit(R5_Overlap, sh2->dev[i].flags) -> unlock(sh2) -> wait_on_bit(sh2->dev[i].flags) -> sh2->dev[i].flags = sh1->dev[i].flags & ~R5_Overlap No wait_up_bit(), CPU2 could be wait_on_bit() forever... Fix by : - Expand the protect zone. - Use batch_head's device flag's snaphot when no held head_sh->stripe_lock. - Move sh/head_sh->batch_head = NULL to the end of protected zone , and , any concurrent add_all_stripe_bios() grabs sh->stripe_lock now either: - see batch_head != null, and , is rejected by stripe_bio_overlaps() under the lock (no R5_Overlap wait ) , or , - sees batch_head == NULL, only after dev[i].flags has already been set and the prior R5_Overlap waiters worken. KCSAN report: ================================================ BUG: KCSAN: data-race in break_stripe_batch_list / raid5_make_request write (marked) to 0xffff8e89c8117548 of 8 bytes by task 4042 on cpu 0: raid5_make_request+0xea0/0x2930 md_handle_request+0x4a2/0xa40 md_submit_bio+0x109/0x1a0 __submit_bio+0x2ec/0x390 submit_bio_noacct_nocheck+0x457/0x710 submit_bio_noacct+0x2a7/0xc20 submit_bio+0x56/0x250 blkdev_direct_IO+0x54c/0xda0 blkdev_write_iter+0x38f/0x570 aio_write+0x22b/0x490 io_submit_one+0xa51/0xf70 __x64_sys_io_submit+0xf7/0x220 x64_sys_call+0x1907/0x1c60 do_syscall_64+0x130/0x570 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e read to 0xffff8e89c8117548 of 8 bytes by task 4010 on cpu 5: break_stripe_batch_list+0x249/0x480 handle_stripe_clean_event+0x720/0x9b0 handle_stripe+0x32fb/0x4500 handle_active_stripes.isra.0+0x6e0/0xa50 raid5d+0x7e0/0xba0 md_thread+0x15a/0x2d0 kthread+0x1e3/0x220 ret_from_fork+0x37a/0x410 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 value changed: 0x0000000000000019 -> 0x0000000000000099 --> R5_Overlap

References

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