In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: blk-cgroup: fix race between policy activation and blkg destruction When switching an IO scheduler on a block device, blkcg_activate_policy() allocates blkg_policy_dat…

Overview

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

blk-cgroup: fix race between policy activation and blkg destruction

When switching an IO scheduler on a block device, blkcg_activate_policy() allocates blkg_policy_data (pd) for all blkgs attached to the queue. However, blkcg_activate_policy() may race with concurrent blkcg deletion, leading to use-after-free and memory leak issues.

The use-after-free occurs in the following race:

T1 (blkcg_activate_policy):

• Successfully allocates pd for blkg1 (loop0->queue, blkcgA)
• Fails to allocate pd for blkg2 (loop0->queue, blkcgB)
• Enters the enomem rollback path to release blkg1 resources

T2 (blkcg deletion):

• blkcgA is deleted concurrently
• blkg1 is freed via blkg_free_workfn()
• blkg1->pd is freed

T1 (continued):

• Rollback path accesses blkg1->pd->online after pd is freed
• Triggers use-after-free

In addition, blkg_free_workfn() frees pd before removing the blkg from q->blkg_list. This allows blkcg_activate_policy() to allocate a new pd for a blkg that is being destroyed, leaving the newly allocated pd unreachable when the blkg is finally freed.

Fix these races by extending blkcg_mutex coverage to serialize blkcg_activate_policy() rollback and blkg destruction, ensuring pd lifecycle is synchronized with blkg list visibility.

Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

Vendor advisories

• Red Hat VEX · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · updated 2026-10-23 · vex