# CVE-2026-72316: dm era: fix NULL pointer dereference in metadata_open()

Status: published. Published: 2026-08-15. Updated: 2026-11-06.

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

dm era: fix NULL pointer dereference in metadata_open()

metadata_open() returns NULL when kzalloc_obj() fails, but the
caller era_ctr() only checks IS_ERR(md).  Since IS_ERR(NULL)
returns false, the NULL pointer is treated as a valid result
and later assigned to era->md, leading to a NULL pointer
dereference when the metadata is accessed.

Fix this by returning ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM) on allocation failure,
consistent with dm-cache-metadata.c, dm-thin-metadata.c, and
dm-clone-metadata.c which all use ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM) for the
same pattern.

## Remediation

No remediation reported in collected sources

## Affected products and versions

- Linux / Linux: ≥ eec40579d84873dfb7021eb24c50360f073237c5; < a705e056c2f3dd067fb2ff414f0537530baa090b (affected, git); ≥ eec40579d84873dfb7021eb24c50360f073237c5; < bd5a80128bdfc93b1cae935a70da000b8c483e6e (affected, git); ≥ eec40579d84873dfb7021eb24c50360f073237c5; < 17eb2ab13edd0b06ce6f996c5fd450d7efabb2e8 (affected, git); ≥ eec40579d84873dfb7021eb24c50360f073237c5; < 889374b8e4a60d13fe4a5a8ae3a311ca93d1a2c3 (affected, git); ≥ eec40579d84873dfb7021eb24c50360f073237c5; < 01c49eae7c6256f2d8cc08210a2bac3ee070e43a (affected, git); ≥ eec40579d84873dfb7021eb24c50360f073237c5; < 14e03ecd3b1b5fc03c082b27a2f8889f8290c30e (affected, git); ≥ eec40579d84873dfb7021eb24c50360f073237c5; < b69ea153d30ce19ca8997eeeca1e2219fae5a29b (affected, git); ≥ eec40579d84873dfb7021eb24c50360f073237c5; < 9ae672606c17891d90b282e3490b817620549599 (affected, git). Source: CNA: Linux
- Linux / Linux: 3.15 (affected); ≥ 0; < 3.15 (unaffected, semver); ≥ 5.10.261; ≤ 5.10.* (unaffected, semver); ≥ 5.15.212; ≤ 5.15.* (unaffected, semver); ≥ 6.1.178; ≤ 6.1.* (unaffected, semver); ≥ 6.6.145; ≤ 6.6.* (unaffected, semver); ≥ 6.12.97; ≤ 6.12.* (unaffected, semver); ≥ 6.18.40; ≤ 6.18.* (unaffected, semver); ≥ 7.1.5; ≤ 7.1.* (unaffected, semver); ≥ 7.2; ≤ * (unaffected, original_commit_for_fix). Source: CNA: Linux

## Severity and prioritization

- CISA KEV: No listing in collected sources

- EPSS: 0.22% as of 2026-11-06; percentile 12.54%

- SSVC: exploitation none; automatable no; technical impact partial; source ADP: CISA-ADP

- Weaknesses: Not reported

## Exploit evidence

No exploit evidence in collected sources. This is not proof of no exploitation.

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a705e056c2f3dd067fb2ff414f0537530baa090b (CNA: Linux)

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bd5a80128bdfc93b1cae935a70da000b8c483e6e (CNA: Linux)

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/17eb2ab13edd0b06ce6f996c5fd450d7efabb2e8 (CNA: Linux)

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/889374b8e4a60d13fe4a5a8ae3a311ca93d1a2c3 (CNA: Linux)

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/01c49eae7c6256f2d8cc08210a2bac3ee070e43a (CNA: Linux)

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/14e03ecd3b1b5fc03c082b27a2f8889f8290c30e (CNA: Linux)

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b69ea153d30ce19ca8997eeeca1e2219fae5a29b (CNA: Linux)

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9ae672606c17891d90b282e3490b817620549599 (CNA: Linux)

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/01c49eae7c6256f2d8cc08210a2bac3ee070e43a (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67)

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/14e03ecd3b1b5fc03c082b27a2f8889f8290c30e (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67)

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/17eb2ab13edd0b06ce6f996c5fd450d7efabb2e8 (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67)

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/889374b8e4a60d13fe4a5a8ae3a311ca93d1a2c3 (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67)

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9ae672606c17891d90b282e3490b817620549599 (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67)

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a705e056c2f3dd067fb2ff414f0537530baa090b (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67)

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b69ea153d30ce19ca8997eeeca1e2219fae5a29b (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67)

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bd5a80128bdfc93b1cae935a70da000b8c483e6e (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67)

## Provenance

- CNA: Linux: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72316; retrieved 2026-11-06; source updated 2026-11-06

- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72316; retrieved 2026-11-06; source updated 2026-11-06

- FIRST EPSS: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-72316; retrieved 2026-11-06; source updated Not reported

Revision: e7ae614f136f0d4236e962f64306fd7bef5d125a90fce77f8f9477cea0ab56fe

Canonical: https://y2.dev/cve/CVE-2026-72316

## Agent and API access

Public CVE pages, Markdown, and JSON are free to read without an account or API key.

- Public catalog: https://y2.dev/cve/index.json. Follow nextCursor with the same search, filters, sort, and limit (1–100). A null cursor marks the end.

- WebMCP: search_cve_disclosures, get_cve_disclosure, get_cve_page_markdown, get_y2_cve_access. Available in compatible browsers.

- Cyber API: https://api.y2.dev/api/v2/cyber/cves and https://api.y2.dev/api/v2/cyber/cves/{cveId}.

- Y2 Pro or Elite: create a workspace API key with the intel:cyber scope and send Authorization: Bearer <Y2_API_KEY>. Setup: https://y2.dev/docs/api/create-key.

- x402: Pay per request without an account or API key. Omit Authorization, read the HTTP 402 PAYMENT-REQUIRED challenge, validate its current requirements, and retry with PAYMENT-SIGNATURE through an authorized payment client. These browser tools never make payments. Guide: https://y2.dev/docs/api/x402.

- OpenAPI: https://y2.dev/api/openapi.yaml. Agent access metadata: https://y2.dev/cve/agent.json.

Collected public records only. Check source status for coverage and freshness.