Improper resource shutdown or release in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-72438
Published: August 15, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU143006
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4: 6.8 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-72438
CWE-ID: CWE-404
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a local user to cause a denial of service.
The vulnerability exists due to improper resource shutdown in raid10_handle_discard() in drivers/md/raid10.c when handling discard requests and discard split allocation failures. A local user can trigger discard failure paths to cause a denial of service.
The issue is caused by missing releases of writes_pending and barrier references on certain error paths.
Affected software
Linux kernel
Debian Linux
linux (Debian package)
Debian Linux
linux (Debian package)
How to mitigate CVE-2026-72438
Install security update from vendor's repository.
Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux (Debian package) - update to 6.12.111-1
linux (Debian package) - update to 6.12.111-1