VulnerabilityPublished 15 Aug 2026Updated 21 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-72440: Linux kernel · md/raid1: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on write failures

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.1 High · fixed in bffbbfcbd9393e315a7a4286dcd70e875265db9a : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.1High

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

EPSS

0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 41% 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: Limited control over the software or limited information exposure

CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-10-16.

Patch

Available – fixed in bffbbfcbd9393e315a7a4286dcd70e875265db9a, a846affa813013204d0cce0cfdaeb99e8fcce188, 921e2baa626d1504bf30295816aaeb90ac8c82f4 +2

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: Low
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: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on 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 ≥ 5aa705039c4fca84575539bfa2b8a28454a3d2ca, < bffbbfcbd9393e315a7a4286dcd70e875265db9a	Fixed in bffbbfcbd9393e315a7a4286dcd70e875265db9a
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 5aa705039c4fca84575539bfa2b8a28454a3d2ca, < a846affa813013204d0cce0cfdaeb99e8fcce188	Fixed in a846affa813013204d0cce0cfdaeb99e8fcce188
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 5aa705039c4fca84575539bfa2b8a28454a3d2ca, < 921e2baa626d1504bf30295816aaeb90ac8c82f4	Fixed in 921e2baa626d1504bf30295816aaeb90ac8c82f4
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 5aa705039c4fca84575539bfa2b8a28454a3d2ca, < 8e065a1602511282fc0da2dc89445e0eb71a681c	Fixed in 8e065a1602511282fc0da2dc89445e0eb71a681c
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 5aa705039c4fca84575539bfa2b8a28454a3d2ca, < 7a450460687919e79b5f8503bdeb13ecf4cca311	Fixed in 7a450460687919e79b5f8503bdeb13ecf4cca311
LinuxLinux	Affected =5.17	Fixed in–

Description

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.

References

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