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TI-2023-29402 Aliases CVE-2023-53101GHSA-j8pm-fwxh-cj2q

ext4: zero i_disksize when initializing the bootloader inode

Priority LOW 24Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Local
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
—
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
None · None · High
Fix status
Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: zero i_disksize when initializing the bootloader inode If the boot loader inode has never been used before, the EXT4_IOC_SWAP_BOOT inode will initialize it, including setting the i_size to 0. However, if the "never before used" boot loader has a non-zero i_size, then i_disksize will be non-zero, and the inconsistency between i_size and i_disksize can trigger a kernel warning: WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 2580 at fs/ext4/file.c:319 CPU: 0 PID: 2580 Comm: bb Not tainted 6.3.0-rc1-00004-g703695902cfa RIP: 0010:ext4_file_write_iter+0xbc7/0xd10 Call Trace: vfs_write+0x3b1/0x5c0 ksys_write+0x77/0x160 __x64_sys_write+0x22/0x30 do_syscall_64+0x39/0x80 Reproducer: 1. create corrupted image and mount it: mke2fs -t ext4 /tmp/foo.img 200 debugfs -wR "sif <5> size 25700" /tmp/foo.img mount -t ext4 /tmp/foo.img /mnt cd /mnt echo 123 > file 2. Run the reproducer program: posix_memalign(&buf, 1024, 1024) fd = open("file", O_RDWR | O_DIRECT); ioctl(fd, EXT4_IOC_SWAP_BOOT); write(fd, buf, 1024); Fix this by setting i_disksize as well as i_size to zero when initiaizing the boot loader inode.

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00204 10th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 4.14.310, 4.19.278, 5.4.237 +5Red Hat: 4 without a fix

SSVC decision points

CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3

Exploitation
None
Automatable
No
Technical impact
Partial

The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
LinuxLinux3.10 and later4.14.310, 4.19.278, 5.4.237, 5.10.175, 5.15.103, 6.1.20, 6.2.7, 6.3Patch availableCNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 3.10 and later Fixed in 4.14.310, 4.19.278, 5.4.237, 5.10.175, 5.15.103, 6.1.20, 6.2.7, 6.3 Patch available CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 2

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*before 4.14.310; 4.15 to before 4.19.278; 4.20 to before 5.4.237; 5.5 to before 5.10.175; 5.11 to before 5.15.103; 5.16 to before 6.1.20; 6.2 to before 6.2.7VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.3:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*6.3 rc1VulnerableLinux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 4.14.310; 4.15 to before 4.19.278; 4.20 to before 5.4.237; 5.5 to before 5.10.175; 5.11 to before 5.15.103; 5.16 to before 6.1.20; 6.2 to before 6.2.7 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.3:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.3 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux

Remediation

  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 4.14.310, 4.19.278, 5.4.237, 5.10.175, 5.15.103, 6.1.20, 6.2.7, 6.3

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6AffectedNo fix planned: Out of support scope
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7AffectedNo fix planned: Out of support scope
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8AffectedNo fix planned: Out of support scope
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9AffectedNo fix yet: Fix deferred
Not affected: 1 product
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-53101
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-j8pm-fwxh-cj2q
  3. 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed

References

  • TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
  • TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
See all 15278 →

Sources