Executive brief
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's multipath device mapper could allow a local user to cause a system resource leak. This component is responsible for managing redundant storage paths to ensure data availability. If exploited, the leak could eventually lead to system instability or a denial-of-service condition, impacting the reliability of storage operations.
Technical details
A reference counting error exists in the 'dm-mpath' driver within the Linux kernel. Specifically, the 'parse_path' function in 'drivers/md/dm-mpath.c' fails to call 'dm_put_device' when 'scsi_dh_attached_handler_name' returns an -ENOMEM error. This results in a leaked reference to the path device. An attacker with local access could potentially trigger this error path to exhaust system resources, leading to a denial of service. The issue has been resolved by streamlining the error paths in 'parse_path' to ensure 'dm_put_device' is called appropriately.
Affected products
- Linux Linux Kernel 6.19 to 6.19.6
Timeline
- 2026-01-27: other: Patch authored
- 2026-05-06: disclosed: CVE published
- 2026-05-06: patched: Fix merged into stable branches