CVE-2026-72377
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]
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Severity & attack characteristics
CVSS vector:Not supplied
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Technical explanation & impact
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Affected products and versions
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Remediation & validation
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- Validate the remediation with a version check and vulnerability rescan, then retain change evidence.
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Vendor advisories, patches & exploit references
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