Evidence-led vulnerability intelligence · 2026-05-27 19:47 IST

CVE-2026-46050

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: md/raid10: fix deadlock with check operation and nowait requests When an array check is running it will raise the barrier at which point normal requests will become blocked and increment the nr_pending value to signal there is work pending inside of wait_barrier(). NOWAIT requests do not block and so will return immediately with an error, and additionally do not increment nr_pending in wait_barrier(). Upstream change commit 43806c3d5b9b ("raid10: cleanup memleak at raid10_make_request") added a call to raid_end_bio_io() to fix a memory leak when NOWAIT requests hit this condition. raid_end_bio_io() eventually calls allow_barrier() and it will unconditionally do an atomic_dec_and_test(&conf->nr_pending) even though the corresponding increment on nr_pending didn't happen in the NOWAIT case. This can be easily seen by starting a check operation while an application is doing nowait IO on the same array. This results in a deadlocked state due to nr_pending value underflowing and so the md resync thread gets stuck waiting for nr_pending to == 0. Output of r10conf state of the array when we hit this condition: crash> struct r10conf barrier = 1, nr_pending = { counter = -41 }, nr_waiting = 15, nr_queued = 0, Example of md_sync thread stuck waiting on raise_barrier() and other requests stuck in wait_barrier(): md1_resync [<0>] raise_barrier+0xce/0x1c0 [<0>] raid10_sync_request+0x1ca/0x1ed0 [<0>] md_do_sync+0x779/0x1110 [<0>] md_thread+0x90/0x160 [<0>] kthread+0xbe/0xf0 [<0>] ret_from_fork+0x34/0x50 [<0>] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 kworker/u1040:2+flush-253:4 [<0>] wait_barrier+0x1de/0x220 [<0>] regular_request_wait+0x30/0x180 [<0>] raid10_make_request+0x261/0x1000 [<0>] md_handle_request+0x13b/0x230 [<0>] __submit_bio+0x107/0x1f0 [<0>] submit_bio_noacct_nocheck+0x16f/0x390 [<0>] ext4_io_submit+0x24/0x40 [<0>] ext4_do_writepages+0x254/0xc80 [<0>] ext4_writepages+0x84/0x120 [<0>] do_writepages+0x7a/0x260 [<0>] __writeback_single_inode+0x3d/0x300 [<0>] writeback_sb_inodes+0x1dd/0x470 [<0>] __writeback_inodes_wb+0x4c/0xe0 [<0>] wb_writeback+0x18b/0x2d0 [<0>] wb_workfn+0x2a1/0x400 [<0>] process_one_work+0x149/0x330 [<0>] worker_thread+0x2d2/0x410 [<0>] kthread+0xbe/0xf0 [<0>] ret_from_fork+0x34/0x50 [<0>] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30

MEDIUM · 5.5Linux

Executive briefing

The source record describes: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: md/raid10: fix deadlock with check operation and nowait requests When an array check is running it will raise the barrier at which point normal requests will become blocked and increment the nr_pending value to signal there is work pending inside of wait_barrier(). NOWAIT requests do not block and so will return immediately with an error, and additionally do not increment nr_pending in wait_barrier(). Upstream change commit 43806c3d5b9b ("raid10: cleanup memleak at raid10_make_request") added a call to raid_end_bio_io() to fix a memory leak when NOWAIT requests hit this condition. raid_end_bio_io() eventually calls allow_barrier() and it will unconditionally do an atomic_dec_and_test(&conf->nr_pending) even though the corresponding increment on nr_pending didn't happen in the NOWAIT case. This can be easily seen by starting a check operation while an application is doing nowait IO on the same array. This results in a deadlocked state due to nr_pending value underflowing and so the md resync thread gets stuck waiting for nr_pending to == 0. Output of r10conf state of the array when we hit this condition: crash> struct r10conf barrier = 1, nr_pending = { counter = -41 }, nr_waiting = 15, nr_queued = 0, Example of md_sync thread stuck waiting on raise_barrier() and other requests stuck in wait_barrier(): md1_resync [<0>] raise_barrier+0xce/0x1c0 [<0>] raid10_sync_request+0x1ca/0x1ed0 [<0>] md_do_sync+0x779/0x1110 [<0>] md_thread+0x90/0x160 [<0>] kthread+0xbe/0xf0 [<0>] ret_from_fork+0x34/0x50 [<0>] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 kworker/u1040:2+flush-253:4 [<0>] wait_barrier+0x1de/0x220 [<0>] regular_request_wait+0x30/0x180 [<0>] raid10_make_request+0x261/0x1000 [<0>] md_handle_request+0x13b/0x230 [<0>] __submit_bio+0x107/0x1f0 [<0>] submit_bio_noacct_nocheck+0x16f/0x390 [<0>] ext4_io_submit+0x24/0x40 [<0>] ext4_do_writepages+0x254/0xc80 [<0>] ext4_writepages+0x84/0x120 [<0>] do_writepages+0x7a/0x260 [<0>] __writeback_single_inode+0x3d/0x300 [<0>] writeback_sb_inodes+0x1dd/0x470 [<0>] __writeback_inodes_wb+0x4c/0xe0 [<0>] wb_writeback+0x18b/0x2d0 [<0>] wb_workfn+0x2a1/0x400 [<0>] process_one_work+0x149/0x330 [<0>] worker_thread+0x2d2/0x410 [<0>] kthread+0xbe/0xf0 [<0>] ret_from_fork+0x34/0x50 [<0>] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 The practical risk depends on whether an affected product/version is present, reachable and configured in an exploitable way. Review the affected-product evidence and linked vendor advisories before assigning exposure status.

Assessment: Potential exposure only — validate the installed product, exact version, configuration and vendor applicability before treating an asset as confirmed vulnerable.

Evidence confidence: Moderate Evidence-derived, not an exploitability verdict

Severity & attack characteristics

5.5 / 10 · 3.1

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

Attack vectorL
Attack complexityL
Privileges requiredL
User interactionN
ScopeU
Confidentiality impactN
Integrity impactN
Availability impactH

Technical explanation & impact

The technical mechanism is not expanded beyond the source description unless a referenced advisory supplies additional evidence. Read the linked vendor/CERT advisories for root-cause detail.

Potential impact must be interpreted from the published CVSS impact metrics and the affected component. A CVSS impact score is not proof that a particular asset is exploitable.

Weakness classification

CWE-667

Affected products and versions

Products below are parsed from NVD vulnerable CPE configuration entries. Version boundaries are shown as published; verify applicability with the vendor.

VendorProductVersion evidence
linuxlinux_kernelfrom (inclusive) 6.19; before 7.0.4 · CPE version 6.16 · CPE version 6.16 · CPE version 6.16

Remediation & validation

  1. Identify exposure by comparing the affected product and version ranges with your asset inventory, SBOM and externally exposed services.
  2. Review the linked vendor security advisory or patch notes. Upgrade to a vendor-confirmed fixed release; do not infer a fixed version from the CVE description.
  3. Until patched, consider restricting network access or disabling the affected feature where operationally safe. These are temporary controls, not a substitute for a vendor fix.
  4. Validate the remediation with a version check and vulnerability rescan, then retain change evidence.

No fixed version is displayed unless it is explicitly established by a vendor advisory. Follow the vendor's release notes for exact product and branch applicability.

Vendor advisories, patches & exploit references

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