CVE-2026-64326: block: skip sync_blockdev() on surprise removal in bdev_mark_dead()

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-07-25 · updated 2026-09-04

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: block: skip sync_blockdev() on surprise removal in bdev_mark_dead() bdev_mark_dead()'s @surprise == true means the device is already gone. The filesystem callback fs_bdev_mark_dead() honours this and skips sync_filesystem(), but the bare block device path (no ->mark_dead op) lost its !surprise guard when the holder ->mark_dead callback was wired up (see Fixes), and now calls sync_blockdev() unconditionally, which can hang forever waiting on writeback that can no longer complete. syzkaller hit this via nvme_reset_work()'s "I/O queues lost" path: nvme_mark_namespaces_dead() -> blk_mark_disk_dead() -> bdev_mark_dead(bdev, true) -> sync_blockdev() blocks in folio_wait_writeback(), wedging the reset worker and every task waiting on it. Skip the sync on surprise removal, matching fs_bdev_mark_dead(); invalidate_bdev() still runs. Orderly removal (surprise == false) is unchanged. Found by FuzzNvme(Syzkaller with FEMU fuzzing framework).

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 6.6 before 6.6.145; from 6.7 before 6.12.96; from 6.13 before 6.18.39; from 6.19 before 7.1.4 — fixed in 6.12.96, 6.18.39, 6.6.145, 7.1.4

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.12.96, 6.18.39, 6.6.145, 7.1.4. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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