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CVE-2026-90400
md: recheck spare changes before starting sync
Published 2026-09-17 (31 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/md. Debian urgency: unimportant.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-90400 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
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | not affected | 6.1.190-1 | Nothing to do. bookworm never shipped the vulnerable code. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixedDSA-6528-1 · 2026-09-29 · text | 6.12.111-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6528-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-29, in 6.12.111-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12 | fixedDLA-4817-1 · 2026-10-04 · text | 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4817-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-04, in 6.12.111-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
remove_spares() and remove_and_add_spares() modify the array's rdev configuration. These operations are only safe after the array has been suspended. md_start_sync() checks whether spare configuration changes are needed before taking reconfig_mutex. However, the rdev state can change before the mutex is acquired, so the initial check can become stale. In that case, md_choose_sync_action() may remove or replace rdevs while normal I/O is still accessing them. The race can occur as follows: raid10d Worker Normal IO ____________ _______________________ ______________________ raid10_write_request() wait_blocked_dev() set Blocked set Faulty Skip Faulty rdev rrdev->nr_pending++ .repl_bio = bio removeable_rdev = false . array not suspended . lock mddev goto err_handle lock mddev (wait) . update sb . clear Blocked . . unlock mddev . lock mddev (acquires) remove_spares() removeable_rdev = true raid10_remove_disk() rdev = replacement replacement = NULL rdev_dec_pending(NULL) unlock mddev (NULL)->nr_pending-- In this case, rdev_dec_pending() is called with a NULL pointer, resulting in a NULL pointer dereference when attempting to decrement nr_pending. Fix this by suspending the array when spare configuration changes are needed, including for non-read-write arrays, and checking again after taking reconfig_mutex. If the array was not already suspended and a change is now needed, release the mutex, suspend the array, and reacquire the mutex before continuing.
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/md/md.c
- What this is
- SOFTWARE RAID (Multiple Disks) SUPPORTMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/md/md* · linux-raid@vger.kernel.org · Supported
- Kernel module
- md_mod
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_BLK_DEV_MD|CONFIG_MD' /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 md_modPrints 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 builds this as a loadable module. Every release below compiles it as a module on every flavour, so whether the code is in the running kernel depends on whether that module is loaded.
- bookworm, trixie, forky, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12m
- m
- a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted
- Build switches
- CONFIG_BLK_DEV_MD, CONFIG_MD
- Reads as
- all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.
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
- 2026-09-17 (31 days ago)source
- CVSS
- no vector published, unrated
- Attack vector
- not published
- EPSS
- 0.17%, higher than 5.7% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- unimportantsource
- Subsystem
- drivers/md
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 6.7 | 6.12.110 | c3777d16bc33 |
| 6.7 | 6.18.52 | e5ac7ab78467 |
| 6.7 | 7.2.6 | 81b39df5d701 |
| 6.7 | 7.3 | c7d34d17ea43 |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4817-1 | 2026-10-04 | bookworm 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | tracker |
| DSA-6528-1 | 2026-09-29 | trixie 6.12.111-1 | tracker |
Why the CNA scored it this way
The kernel CNA published no CVSS vector and no reasoning for CVE-2026-90400, which is why it is shown as unrated rather than given an invented score. 6,405 of the 20,413 CVEs here carry reasoning; this is not one of them.