# CVE-2026-72372: afs: Fix lack of locking around modifications of net->cells_dyn_ino

> A race condition in the Linux kernel AFS module due to missing locks can lead to system instability or denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-72372, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72372, GHSA-4c5j-jgfr-26gp, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72372

## What is CVE-2026-72372?

CVE-2026-72372 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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:

afs: Fix lack of locking around modifications of net->cells_dyn_ino

Fix the lack of locking around modifications of net->cells_dyn_ino by
taking net->cells_lock exclusively.  This also requires to cell to be
removed from net->cells_dyn_ino in afs_destroy_cell_work() rather than in
afs_cell_destroy() as the latter runs in RCU cleanup context and sleeping
locks cannot be taken there.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72372?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-72372?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-72372 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72372 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-72372 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-72372 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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-2026-72372 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-72372/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72372/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72372
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72372
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-72372

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72372/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.