CVE-2026-72368
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cachefiles: Fix double unlock in nomem_d_alloc error path When start_creating() fails and returns -ENOMEM, it has already released the parent directory lock in __start_dirop(): static struct dentry *__start_dirop(...) { ... inode_lock_nested(dir, I_MUTEX_PARENT); dentry = lookup_one_qstr_excl(name, parent, lookup_flags); if (IS_ERR(dentry)) inode_unlock(dir); <-- Lock released on error return dentry; } However, the nomem_d_alloc error path in cachefiles_get_directory() unconditionally calls inode_unlock(d_inode(dir)) again, causing a double unlock that corrupts the rwsem state. This is a leftover from commit 7ab96df840e60 which replaced manual locking with start_creating() but failed to update the nomem_d_alloc path (while correctly updating mkdir_error and lookup_error paths).
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
6.19
and later are affected. Fixed in
7.1.5,
7.2-rc2
and their respective stable series.
References
2 totalFrequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-72368?
CVE-2026-72368 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.19 onward and has been patched in 7.1.5 and 7.2-rc2. CVE-2026-72368 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72368?
Yes. CVE-2026-72368 has been patched. Fixed versions include 7.1.5 and 7.2-rc2. If you are running Linux kernel 6.19 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-72368 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-72368 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.