Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

dm cache: fix issue with background work locking

dm cache used a rw_semaphore for background_work_lock. Write locks on
rw_semaphores have strict owner semantics, but there was no guarantee
that the process that locked background_work_lock was the same process
that unlocked it. This can be easily seen using a kernel compiled with
CONFIG_DEBUG_RWSEMS. Given a dm cache device <cache>, run: 'dmsetup
suspend <cache> && dmsetup resume <cache>'. This will trigger a kernel
warning:

DEBUG_RWSEMS_WARN_ON((rwsem_owner(sem) != current) && !rwsem_test_oflags(sem, RWSEM_NONSPINNABLE))

triggered by cache_resume(). To fix this, switch from a rw_semaphore to
a spinlock and a wait queue. dm cache already has a wait queue and
associated counter, migration_wait and nr_allocated_migrations, that was
getting woken up when background work was getting completed, but wasn't
actually used by anything. This is replaced by the background_work queue
and counter.
Published: 2026-11-03
Score: n/a
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
AI Analysis

Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.

Remediation

No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.

Additional remediation guidance may be available on OpenCVE Cloud.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Tue, 03 Nov 2026 11:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dm cache: fix issue with background work locking dm cache used a rw_semaphore for background_work_lock. Write locks on rw_semaphores have strict owner semantics, but there was no guarantee that the process that locked background_work_lock was the same process that unlocked it. This can be easily seen using a kernel compiled with CONFIG_DEBUG_RWSEMS. Given a dm cache device <cache>, run: 'dmsetup suspend <cache> && dmsetup resume <cache>'. This will trigger a kernel warning: DEBUG_RWSEMS_WARN_ON((rwsem_owner(sem) != current) && !rwsem_test_oflags(sem, RWSEM_NONSPINNABLE)) triggered by cache_resume(). To fix this, switch from a rw_semaphore to a spinlock and a wait queue. dm cache already has a wait queue and associated counter, migration_wait and nr_allocated_migrations, that was getting woken up when background work was getting completed, but wasn't actually used by anything. This is replaced by the background_work queue and counter.
Title dm cache: fix issue with background work locking
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Subscriptions

Linux Linux Kernel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-11-03T11:40:45.109Z

Reserved: 2026-09-25T10:25:14.404Z

Link: CVE-2026-99256

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-11-03T12:17:32.437

Modified: 2026-11-03T12:17:32.437

Link: CVE-2026-99256

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses

No weakness.