CVE-2026-72104: dm-pcache: reject option groups without values

Severity: unknown
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: 2026-08-15 · updated 2026-08-17

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dm-pcache: reject option groups without values The pcache target parses optional arguments as name/value pairs. A table that advertises one optional argument and supplies only a recognized option name, for example "cache_mode", reaches parse_cache_opts() with argc == 1. The parser consumes the name, decrements argc to zero, then calls dm_shift_arg() again for the value. dm_shift_arg() returns NULL when no arguments remain, and the following strcmp() dereferences that NULL pointer. Check that each recognized option has a value before consuming it. This keeps valid "cache_mode writeback" and "data_crc true/false" tables unchanged while making malformed tables fail during target construction with a precise missing-value error.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 6.18 — fixed in 7.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 7.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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