{"id":"CVE-2026-53125","state":"PUBLISHED","title":"md: fix array_state=clear sysfs deadlock","description":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nmd: fix array_state=clear sysfs deadlock\n\nWhen \"clear\" is written to array_state, md_attr_store() breaks sysfs\nactive protection so the array can delete itself from its own sysfs\nstore method.\n\nHowever, md_attr_store() currently drops the mddev reference before\ncalling sysfs_unbreak_active_protection(). Once do_md_stop(..., 0)\nhas made the mddev eligible for delayed deletion, the temporary\nkobject reference taken by sysfs_break_active_protection() can become\nthe last kobject reference protecting the md kobject.\n\nThat allows sysfs_unbreak_active_protection() to drop the last\nkobject reference from the current sysfs writer context. kobject\nteardown then recurses into kernfs removal while the current sysfs\nnode is still being unwound, and lockdep reports recursive locking on\nkn->active with kernfs_drain() in the call chain.\n\nReproducer on an existing level:\n1. Create an md0 linear array and activate it:\n   mknod /dev/md0 b 9 0\n   echo none > /sys/block/md0/md/metadata_version\n   echo linear > /sys/block/md0/md/level\n   echo 1 > /sys/block/md0/md/raid_disks\n   echo \"$(cat /sys/class/block/sdb/dev)\" > /sys/block/md0/md/new_dev\n   echo \"$(($(cat /sys/class/block/sdb/size) / 2))\" > \\\n\t/sys/block/md0/md/dev-sdb/size\n   echo 0 > /sys/block/md0/md/dev-sdb/slot\n   echo active > /sys/block/md0/md/array_state\n2. Wait briefly for the array to settle, then clear it:\n   sleep 2\n   echo clear > /sys/block/md0/md/array_state\n\nThe warning looks like:\n\n  WARNING: possible recursive locking detected\n  bash/588 is trying to acquire lock:\n  (kn->active#65) at __kernfs_remove+0x157/0x1d0\n  but task is already holding lock:\n  (kn->active#65) at sysfs_unbreak_active_protection+0x1f/0x40\n  ...\n  Call Trace:\n   kernfs_drain\n   __kernfs_remove\n   kernfs_remove_by_name_ns\n   sysfs_remove_group\n   sysfs_remove_groups\n   __kobject_del\n   kobject_put\n   md_attr_store\n   kernfs_fop_write_iter\n   vfs_write\n   ksys_write\n\nRestore active protection before mddev_put() so the extra sysfs\nkobject reference is dropped while the mddev is still held alive. The\nactual md kobject deletion is then deferred until after the sysfs\nwrite path has fully returned.","publishedAt":"2026-06-24T16:30:53.934Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-24T16:30:53.934Z","severity":null,"assigner":"Linux","products":["Linux Linux"],"affected":[{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"9e59d609763f70a992a8f3808dabcce60f14eb5c","status":"affected","lessThan":"62c44566da7493ee48ef17e8507bb798338a07cb","versionType":"git"},{"version":"9e59d609763f70a992a8f3808dabcce60f14eb5c","status":"affected","lessThan":"92ad0ec509ffb188d8f849b63148664df37b4a52","versionType":"git"},{"version":"9e59d609763f70a992a8f3808dabcce60f14eb5c","status":"affected","lessThan":"2aa72276fab9851dbd59c2daeb4b590c5a113908","versionType":"git"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/md/md.c"]},{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"affected","versions":[{"version":"6.17","status":"affected"},{"version":"0","status":"unaffected","lessThan":"6.17","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.18.33","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.18.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.0.10","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"7.0.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.1","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"*","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/md/md.c"]}],"references":["https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/62c44566da7493ee48ef17e8507bb798338a07cb","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/92ad0ec509ffb188d8f849b63148664df37b4a52","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2aa72276fab9851dbd59c2daeb4b590c5a113908"],"weaknesses":[],"ingestedAt":"2026-10-29T20:12:16.098Z","source":{"repository":"CVEProject/cvelistV5","path":"cves/2026/53xxx/CVE-2026-53125.json","commit":"556c9d3a8cd17e218bb8e452ba7cd619a384ff47"},"raw":{"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2","cveMetadata":{"cveId":"CVE-2026-53125","state":"PUBLISHED","datePublished":"2026-06-24T16:30:53.934Z","dateUpdated":"2026-06-24T16:30:53.934Z","assignerShortName":"Linux","assignerOrgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","dateReserved":"2026-06-09T07:44:35.386Z"},"containers":{"cna":{"title":"md: fix array_state=clear sysfs deadlock","descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nmd: fix array_state=clear sysfs deadlock\n\nWhen \"clear\" is written to array_state, md_attr_store() breaks sysfs\nactive protection so the array can delete itself from its own sysfs\nstore method.\n\nHowever, md_attr_store() currently drops the mddev reference before\ncalling sysfs_unbreak_active_protection(). Once do_md_stop(..., 0)\nhas made the mddev eligible for delayed deletion, the temporary\nkobject reference taken by sysfs_break_active_protection() can become\nthe last kobject reference protecting the md kobject.\n\nThat allows sysfs_unbreak_active_protection() to drop the last\nkobject reference from the current sysfs writer context. kobject\nteardown then recurses into kernfs removal while the current sysfs\nnode is still being unwound, and lockdep reports recursive locking on\nkn->active with kernfs_drain() in the call chain.\n\nReproducer on an existing level:\n1. Create an md0 linear array and activate it:\n   mknod /dev/md0 b 9 0\n   echo none > /sys/block/md0/md/metadata_version\n   echo linear > /sys/block/md0/md/level\n   echo 1 > /sys/block/md0/md/raid_disks\n   echo \"$(cat /sys/class/block/sdb/dev)\" > /sys/block/md0/md/new_dev\n   echo \"$(($(cat /sys/class/block/sdb/size) / 2))\" > \\\n\t/sys/block/md0/md/dev-sdb/size\n   echo 0 > /sys/block/md0/md/dev-sdb/slot\n   echo active > /sys/block/md0/md/array_state\n2. Wait briefly for the array to settle, then clear it:\n   sleep 2\n   echo clear > /sys/block/md0/md/array_state\n\nThe warning looks like:\n\n  WARNING: possible recursive locking detected\n  bash/588 is trying to acquire lock:\n  (kn->active#65) at __kernfs_remove+0x157/0x1d0\n  but task is already holding lock:\n  (kn->active#65) at sysfs_unbreak_active_protection+0x1f/0x40\n  ...\n  Call Trace:\n   kernfs_drain\n   __kernfs_remove\n   kernfs_remove_by_name_ns\n   sysfs_remove_group\n   sysfs_remove_groups\n   __kobject_del\n   kobject_put\n   md_attr_store\n   kernfs_fop_write_iter\n   vfs_write\n   ksys_write\n\nRestore active protection before mddev_put() so the extra sysfs\nkobject reference is dropped while the mddev is still held alive. The\nactual md kobject deletion is then deferred until after the sysfs\nwrite path has fully returned."}],"affected":[{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"9e59d609763f70a992a8f3808dabcce60f14eb5c","status":"affected","lessThan":"62c44566da7493ee48ef17e8507bb798338a07cb","versionType":"git"},{"version":"9e59d609763f70a992a8f3808dabcce60f14eb5c","status":"affected","lessThan":"92ad0ec509ffb188d8f849b63148664df37b4a52","versionType":"git"},{"version":"9e59d609763f70a992a8f3808dabcce60f14eb5c","status":"affected","lessThan":"2aa72276fab9851dbd59c2daeb4b590c5a113908","versionType":"git"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/md/md.c"]},{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"affected","versions":[{"version":"6.17","status":"affected"},{"version":"0","status":"unaffected","lessThan":"6.17","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.18.33","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.18.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.0.10","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"7.0.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.1","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"*","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["drivers/md/md.c"]}],"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/62c44566da7493ee48ef17e8507bb798338a07cb"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/92ad0ec509ffb188d8f849b63148664df37b4a52"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2aa72276fab9851dbd59c2daeb4b590c5a113908"}],"providerMetadata":{"shortName":"Linux","orgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","dateUpdated":"2026-06-24T16:30:53.934Z"},"cpeApplicability":[{"nodes":[{"operator":"OR","negate":false,"cpeMatch":[{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"6.17","versionEndExcluding":"6.18.33"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"6.17","versionEndExcluding":"7.0.10"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"6.17","versionEndExcluding":"7.1"}]}]}],"x_generator":{"engine":"bippy-1.2.0"}}}}}