Bug 2516484 (CVE-2026-72082)

Summary: CVE-2026-72082 kernel: scsi: elx: efct: Fix refcount leak in efct_hw_io_abort()
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
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Priority: medium    
Version: unspecifiedCC: rhel-process-autobot, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
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Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) `elx: efct` module. This vulnerability occurs when an I/O abort operation fails to properly release a resource reference. This can lead to a permanent resource leak, which prevents subsequent attempts to abort the same I/O operation. Consequently, this issue can block system recovery and potentially result in a denial of service (DoS) condition.
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-08-15 06:14:58 UTC 
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

scsi: elx: efct: Fix refcount leak in efct_hw_io_abort()

When efct_hw_reqtag_alloc() fails in efct_hw_io_abort(), the error path
returns -ENOSPC without releasing the reference obtained via
kref_get_unless_zero() earlier in the function. All other error paths
correctly drop the reference. This causes a permanent reference leak on the
io_to_abort object.

Additionally, the abort_in_progress flag is left set to true on this path,
which means future abort attempts for the same I/O will immediately return
-EINPROGRESS even though the abort was never submitted, effectively
blocking recovery.

Fix this by adding the missing kref_put() call and reset abort_in_progress
to false, matching the cleanup done in the efct_hw_wq_write() failure path
below.
Comment 1 Keith Grant 2026-08-17 20:21:57 UTC 
Upstream advisory:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2026081521-CVE-2026-72082-f0be@gregkh/T