CVE-2026-72218: Linux

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: lockd: Plug nlm_file refcount leak on cached nlm_do_fopen() failure The cached-file path in nlm_lookup_file() reaches the found: label unconditionally, even when nlm_do_fopen() fails. At that label *result and file->f_count are updated before the error is returned. The wrappers nlm3svc_lookup_file() and nlm4svc_lookup_file() then bail out of their switch without copying *result back to their caller, so the proc handler's local nlm_file pointer remains NULL and the cleanup path skips nlm_release_file(). The f_count increment is never released, and nlm_traverse_files() can no longer reap the file because its refcount never returns to zero between requests. Short-circuit the cached path so neither *result nor f_count is touched when nlm_do_fopen() fails on a hashed nlm_file.

Affected products

• Linux Linux: from 5.10.220, before 5.10.261 (fixed in 5.10.261); from 5.15, before 5.15.212 (fixed in 5.15.212); from 5.16, before 6.1.178 (fixed in 6.1.178); from 6.2, before 6.6.145 (fixed in 6.6.145); from 6.7, before 6.12.97 (fixed in 6.12.97); from 6.13, before 6.18.40 (fixed in 6.18.40); …

Published 2026-08-15. Last modified 2026-08-17.