CVE-2026-53061
Published: June 24, 2026· Updated: Jun 24, 2026
Official Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
dm cache: fix dirty mapping checking in passthrough mode switching
As mentioned in commit 9b1cc9f251af ("dm cache: share cache-metadata
object across inactive and active DM tables"), dm-cache assumed table
reload occurs after suspension, while LVM's table preload breaks this
assumption. The dirty mapping check for passthrough mode was designed
around this assumption and is performed during table creation, causing
the check to fail with preload while metadata updates are ongoing. This
risks loading dirty mappings into passthrough mode, resulting in data
loss.
Reproduce steps:
1. Create a writeback cache with zero migration_threshold to produce
dirty mappings
dmsetup create cmeta --table "0 8192 linear /dev/sdc 0"
dmsetup create cdata --table "0 131072 linear /dev/sdc 8192"
dmsetup create corig --table "0 262144 linear /dev/sdc 262144"
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/mapper/cmeta bs=4k count=1 oflag=direct
dmsetup create cache --table "0 262144 cache /dev/mapper/cmeta \
/dev/mapper/cdata /dev/mapper/corig 128 2 metadata2 writeback smq \
2 migration_threshold 0"
2. Preload a table in passthrough mode
dmsetup reload cache --table "0 262144 cache /dev/mapper/cmeta \
/dev/mapper/cdata /dev/mapper/corig 128 2 metadata2 passthrough smq 0"
3. Write to the first cache block to make it dirty
fio --filename=/dev/mapper/cache --name=populate --rw=write --bs=4k \
--direct=1 --size=64k
4. Resume the inactive table. Now it's possible to load the dirty block
into passthrough mode.
dmsetup resume cache
Fix by moving the checks to the preresume phase to support table
preloading. Also remove the unused function dm_cache_metadata_all_clean.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-53061 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.
Exploitation requires some privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
All References (8)
Quick Facts
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2026-53061 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts