CVE-2026-90389: md: scope memalloc_noio to allocation critical sections

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: 2026-09-17 · updated 2026-10-19

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: md: scope memalloc_noio to allocation critical sections Storing a memalloc_noio_save() token in mddev->noio_flags lets one task save the token and another task restore it. With concurrent suspend sysfs writes, task A can enter PF_MEMALLOC_NOIO, return to userspace still in that scope, and later task B can restore A's saved token. Avoid tying the token lifetime to mddev. Keep mddev_suspend() and mddev_resume() only responsible for array suspension, and enter PF_MEMALLOC_NOIO only in the MD paths that allocate memory after the array has been suspended. Restore the token before resuming the array. A reproducer repeatedly writes suspend_lo and suspend_hi from concurrent workers and checks each worker's /proc/self/stat flags before and after the sysfs write.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 5.8 — fixed in 7.3

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 7.3. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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