Improper locking in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-72155
Published: August 16, 2026
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
Ubuntu
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
How to mitigate CVE-2026-72155
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
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/12d4d69221159e6d0e72400ec81195d691169b53
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6110ab5ffd84e8daa654652446a03ce2f77580a7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9a0d8dec3d11ca95d67537ea8fa6ee2730a5038a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c0806df5cf806545160f3fdac3c888926ceac557
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dc341272cf8e15a2c511db3c4df5dab8adf70ad0
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e1d456b26bf23e30db305a6184e8abd9ab68bbf2