CVE-2026-72377afs: Remove setting of AS_RELEASE_ALWAYS for symlinks and mountpoints

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: afs: Remove setting of AS_RELEASE_ALWAYS for symlinks and mountpoints Regular AFS files correctly use afs_file_aops which have release_folio set as netfs_release_folio, so AS_RELEASE_ALWAYS is valid for them when fscache is enabled (set via afs_vnode_set_cache()). Symlinks and mountpoints in AFS use afs_dir_aops, which does not provide a release_folio callback. However, afs_apply_status() unconditionally calls mapping_set_release_always() for these. In such case when memory management code attempts to release folios, filemap_release_folio() checks folio_needs_release() which returns true due to AS_RELEASE_ALWAYS being set. Since there is no release_folio callback, it falls through to try_to_free_buffers(), which at present expects buffer_heads to be not null. For symlinks and mountpoints without buffer_heads, this causes pointer dereference. [dh: Added more bits that were missed]

CVSS

Not yet scored

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

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