# CVE-2026-46051: md/raid5: fix soft lockup in retry_aligned_read()

> A logic error in the Linux kernel's RAID5 driver causes an infinite loop and soft lockup when handling overlapped stripes, leading to system unavailability.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 May 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-88734, BELL-CVE-2026-46051, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-46051, GHSA-mgf2-2rm5-mvrf, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-46051, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-46051, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-46051, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-46051, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46051

## What is CVE-2026-46051?

CVE-2026-46051 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 May 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

md/raid5: fix soft lockup in retry_aligned_read()

When retry_aligned_read() encounters an overlapped stripe, it releases
the stripe via raid5_release_stripe() which puts it on the lockless
released_stripes llist. In the next raid5d loop iteration,
release_stripe_list() drains the stripe onto handle_list (since
STRIPE_HANDLE is set by the original IO), but retry_aligned_read()
runs before handle_active_stripes() and removes the stripe from
handle_list via find_get_stripe() -> list_del_init(). This prevents
handle_stripe() from ever processing the stripe to resolve the
overlap, causing an infinite loop and soft lockup.

Fix this by using __release_stripe() with temp_inactive_list instead
of raid5_release_stripe() in the failure path, so the stripe does not
go through the released_stripes llist. This allows raid5d to break out
of its loop, and the overlap will be resolved when the stripe is
eventually processed by handle_stripe().

Weakness: CWE-667 (Improper Locking)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-46051?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-46051?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-46051 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46051 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-46051 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-46051 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 May 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46051 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46051/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46051/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-46051
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46051
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-46051

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46051/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.