Improper locking in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-72155

 

Improper locking in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-72155

Published: August 16, 2026


Vulnerability identifier: #VU143433
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-2026-72155
CWE-ID: CWE-667
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 lock state handling in the spi_nor_sr_unlock() function in the spi-nor software protection logic when processing unlock requests for locked blocks at the beginning of the device. A local user can request unlocking of the currently locked block or blocks to cause a denial of service.

The issue occurs when the first block, or a few first blocks, are locked and both top and bottom unlocking paths can achieve the same result.


Affected software

Linux kernel
Ubuntu
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-7.0 (Ubuntu package)

How to mitigate CVE-2026-72155

Install security update from vendor's repository.

Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-38.38~24.04.4, 7.0.0-1013.13~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1014.14~24.04.1
linux-azure-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-1016.16~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1017.17~24.04.1

External References

Related Security Bulletins