What is CVE-2026-72438?

CVE-2026-72438 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.5 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 5.15.111 onward and patched in 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.1.5 and others. CVE-2026-72438 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-72438?

CVE-2026-72438 has a CVSS score of 7.5 out of 10, rated High severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72438?

Yes, CVE-2026-72438 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.1.5 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.15.111 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-72438 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-72438 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2026-72438

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: md/raid10: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on discard failures raid10_make_request() acquires a writes_pending reference with md_write_start() before calling raid10_handle_discard(). Several failure paths in raid10_handle_discard() complete the bio and return without releasing the corresponding reference, causing md_write_end() to be skipped. Call md_write_end() before returning from these failure paths to keep writes_pending accounting balanced. Additionally, discard split allocation failures can occur after wait_barrier() succeeds. Those paths return without calling allow_barrier(), leaking the associated barrier reference. Release the barrier before returning from those paths.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-08-15

Last modified 2026-09-21

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

7.5

out of 10

High

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Vector string

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

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.15.111, 5.17 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.1.5, 7.2 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 5.15.111 ≥ 5.17

Fixed in

✓ 6.12.111 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.53 6.18.x ✓ 7.1.5 7.1.x ✓ 7.2

References

4 total

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-72438

Severity High

CVSS score 7.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-08-15

Modified 2026-09-21

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-72438?

CVE-2026-72438 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.15.111 onward and has been patched in 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.1.5 and others. CVE-2026-72438 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-72438?

CVE-2026-72438 has a CVSS score of 7.5 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72438?

Yes. CVE-2026-72438 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.1.5 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.15.111 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-72438 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2026-72438 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.