data built 2026-10-19T13:16:53Z

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CVE-2026-68173

ublk: wait on ublk_dev_ready() instead of ub->completion

7.1 EPSS 0.2% AV:L

Published 2026-08-10 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/block. Debian urgency: unimportant.

What to do, per Debian release

Debian's own status for CVE-2026-68173 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source

ReleaseStatus VersionWhat this means
Debian 12bookwormnot affected6.1.190-1Nothing to do. bookworm never shipped the vulnerable code.
Debian 13trixienot affected6.12.113-1Nothing to do. trixie never shipped the vulnerable code.
Debian 14forkyfixed7.1.6-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian unstablesidfixed7.1.6-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.

The vulnerability

What the bug is

ub->completion is only re-armed by a successful START_USER_RECOVERY. If the ublk server sends END_USER_RECOVERY without one - e.g. its START failed with -EBUSY and the error was ignored - the wait is satisfied by the stale completion of the previous recovery cycle, and the device is marked LIVE and the requeue list kicked while the FETCH stream is still running and ubq->canceling is still set. The kick redispatches a previously requeued request, __ublk_queue_rq_common() sees ->canceling and parks it again via __ublk_abort_rq(), and after the last FETCH clears ->canceling nothing ever kicks the requeue list again: the request is stranded there while holding its tag. If it is the flush machinery's flush_rq, every subsequent fsync piles up in uninterruptible sleep and teardown hangs on tag draining. This matches a report of a lost PREFLUSH with ext4 on top of ublk after daemon crash recovery. ub->completion is an edge-triggered latch used as a proxy for the level condition "every queue has fetched all I/O commands", which can regress (F_BATCH's UNPREP, daemon death) and whose re-arm can be skipped. Drop it and wait on the real condition instead: the new helper ublk_wait_dev_ready_and_lock() waits on ublk_dev_ready() via wait_var_event_interruptible(), woken from ublk_mark_io_ready(), then re-checks it under ub->mutex, waiting again on regression, and returns with the mutex held and readiness guaranteed. Readiness becomes true in the same ub->mutex critical section that clears the last queue's ->canceling, so END_USER_RECOVERY marks the device LIVE and kicks the requeue list strictly after ->canceling clears. The wait stays interruptible, so a server whose daemon died can still be signalled out. For ublk_ctrl_start_dev() this replaces the fail-fast -EINVAL on an F_BATCH ready->UNPREP regression with waiting until the device is ready again.

Where it lives

The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.

drivers/block/ublk_drv.c

What this is
UBLK USERSPACE BLOCK DRIVERMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/block/ublk_drv.c · linux-block@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
Kernel module
ublk_drv

Check it on the machine

grep -w CONFIG_BLK_DEV_UBLK /boot/config-$(uname -r)

Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.

lsmod | grep -w ublk_drv

Prints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.

Show whether Debian builds this, per release

Debian does not build this code in 1 release. It does build it in 3 releases, so the answer depends on which release the machine runs.

  • bookwormn
  • trixie, forky, sidm
n
not enabled on any flavour - this release does not build the code
m
a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted
Build switch
CONFIG_BLK_DEV_UBLK

From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages

Signals

Published
2026-08-10 (2 months ago)source
CVSS
7.1 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it
Attack vector
local (AV:L)source
EPSS
0.16%, higher than 5.0% of all CVEssource
CISA KEV
not listedthe KEV catalogue
Debian urgency
unimportantsource
Subsystem
drivers/block

Upstream fixes

The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source

IntroducedFixed inCommit
6.156.18.427dd26adf7e7d
6.157.1.68f188dd11a1c
6.157.2432a9b2780c0
6.14.600

Why the CNA scored it this way

Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source

AV:LAttack vector, local
The bug is reached only via io_uring commands (UBLK_CMD_END_USER_RECOVERY/UBLK_CMD_START_DEV) on /dev/ublk-control or ublk char devices; there is no network, Bluetooth, or physical-bus entry path to the vulnerable wait/completion logic.
AC:LAttack complexity, low
An actor controlling the ublk server can reliably trigger stale-completion early wakeup by calling END_USER_RECOVERY after START_USER_RECOVERY failed (e.g., -EBUSY) without re-arming completion; the attacker controls both sides of the recovery sequence and needs no uncontrollable timing.
PR:LPrivileges required, low
Recovery requires UBLK_F_USER_RECOVERY devices managed through ublk-control, which needs CAP_SYS_ADMIN for privileged devices; per kernel CNA guidance, CAP_SYS_ADMIN obtainable in a user namespace (unshare -Urn) counts as Low, not High.
UI:NUser interaction, none
Exploitation is driven by the ublk daemon issuing recovery/start control commands during crash recovery or restart; no end-user action such as opening files, mounting media, or clicking prompts is required.
S:UScope, unchanged
Impact is confined to the kernel block/ublk stack and filesystems backed by the affected ublk device; it does not cross VM, container, or IOMMU boundaries into a separate security authority.
C:NConfidentiality impact, none
This is a state-machine/completion synchronization flaw, not memory corruption; it strands block requests and breaks flush barriers but does not read or disclose kernel or user memory.
I:HIntegrity impact, high
Premature END_USER_RECOVERY can strand the block layer flush_rq and lose PREFLUSH ordering (reported with ext4), breaking durability guarantees and allowing arbitrary user data loss or corruption after crash or power loss.
A:HAvailability impact, high
Stranded flush_rq holds its MQ tag indefinitely, causing every subsequent fsync to sleep uninterruptibly (D state) and device teardown to hang on tag draining, producing a persistent kernel-level denial of service on the backing block device.