CVE-2026-72368cachefiles: Fix double unlock in nomem_d_alloc error path
Updated under an hour ago ()
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No exploitation reported and no EPSS estimate yet.
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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).
- CVSS
- 7.8 HIGH (v3.1, CNA)CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Weakness (CWE)
- Not given
- Known exploited
- Not in CISA's KEV catalog
- EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days)
- Not loaded for this CVE
- Assigned by
- Linux
- NVD analysis
- Received
- Record last updated
- Aug 17, 2026
- First seen by InfoSec Signals
- Oct 9, 2026
Affected products
Linux Linux linux:linux (from the name) | from 7ab96df840e60eb933abfe65fc5fe44e72f16dc0 before 26757dac15175f2a42e3537f1ba86e62456d48f1; from 7ab96df840e60eb933abfe65fc5fe44e72f16dc0 before 8c256fba2b46020004201c500b2a1fbc707a33ef | CNA record |
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/26757dac15175f2a42e3537f1ba86e62456d48f1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8c256fba2b46020004201c500b2a1fbc707a33ef
The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry
The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.