Local kernel hang via premature mddev release
Published Jun 24, 2026 · Updated Jun 24, 2026
Improper locking in the md subsystem of Linux Kernel allows local users to hang the kernel by clearing an active RAID array through sysfs. The md_attr_store() path drops the mddev reference before restoring sysfs active protection, allowing teardown to recurse into kernfs while the writer still holds the same active-node lock. Triggering the deadlock requires local access that can write clear to array_state on an existing active md array; the reported consequence is an availability-only kernel hang.
Summary
What happened
Improper locking in the md subsystem of Linux Kernel allows local users to hang the kernel by clearing an active RAID array through sysfs. The md_attr_store() path drops the mddev reference before restoring sysfs active protection, allowing teardown to recurse into kernfs while the writer still holds the same active-node lock. Triggering the deadlock requires local access that can write clear to array_state on an existing active md array; the reported consequence is an availability-only kernel hang.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-53125
- Published
- Jun 24, 2026
- Updated
- Jun 24, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-667, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jun 24, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jun 24, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=6.17
- Affected versionversion=9e59d609763f70a992a8f3808dabcce60f14eb5c <2aa72276fab9851dbd59c2daeb4b590c5a113908
- Affected versionversion=9e59d609763f70a992a8f3808dabcce60f14eb5c <62c44566da7493ee48ef17e8507bb798338a07cb
- Affected versionversion=9e59d609763f70a992a8f3808dabcce60f14eb5c <92ad0ec509ffb188d8f849b63148664df37b4a52
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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