What is CVE-2026-72440?

CVE-2026-72440 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.1 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 5.17 onward and patched in 7.1.5 and 7.2. CVE-2026-72440 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-72440?

CVE-2026-72440 has a CVSS score of 7.1 out of 10, rated High severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72440?

Yes, CVE-2026-72440 has been patched. Fixed versions include 7.1.5 and 7.2. If you are running Linux kernel 5.17 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-72440 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-72440 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2026-72440

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: md/raid1: fix writes_pending and barrier reference leaks on write failures raid1_make_request() acquires a writes_pending reference with md_write_start() before calling raid1_write_request(). Several failure paths in raid1_write_request() complete the bio and return without reaching the normal write completion path, causing the corresponding md_write_end() to be skipped. Make raid1_write_request() return a status indicating whether the write request was successfully queued. This allows raid1_make_request() to call md_write_end() when raid1_write_request() fails. Additionally, if wait_blocked_rdev() fails after wait_barrier() succeeds, the associated barrier reference is not released. Call allow_barrier() before returning from that path to keep the barrier accounting balanced.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-08-15

Last modified 2026-08-17

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

7.1

out of 10

High

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

Low

Availability

High

Vector string

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

Affected versions

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

Affected from

≥ 5.17

Fixed in

✓ 7.1.5 7.1.x ✓ 7.2

References

2 total

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-72440

Severity High

CVSS score 7.1 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-08-15

Modified 2026-08-17

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-72440?

CVE-2026-72440 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.1 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.17 onward and has been patched in 7.1.5 and 7.2. CVE-2026-72440 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-72440?

CVE-2026-72440 has a CVSS score of 7.1 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72440?

Yes. CVE-2026-72440 has been patched. Fixed versions include 7.1.5 and 7.2. If you are running Linux kernel 5.17 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-72440 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2026-72440 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.