xfs: do not propagate ENODATA disk errors into xattr code
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 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: xfs: do not propagate ENODATA disk errors into xattr code ENODATA (aka ENOATTR) has a very specific meaning in the xfs xattr code; namely, that the requested attribute name could not be found. However, a medium error from disk may also return ENODATA. At best, this medium error may escape to userspace as "attribute not found" when in fact it's an IO (disk) error. At worst, we may oops in xfs_attr_leaf_get() when we do: error = xfs_attr_leaf_hasname(args, &bp); if (error == -ENOATTR) { xfs_trans_brelse(args->trans, bp); return error; } because an ENODATA/ENOATTR error from disk leaves us with a null bp, and the xfs_trans_brelse will then null-deref it. As discussed on the list, we really need to modify the lower level IO functions to trap all disk errors and ensure that we don't let unique errors like this leak up into higher xfs functions - many like this should be remapped to EIO. However, this patch directly addresses a reported bug in the xattr code, and should be safe to backport to stable kernels. A larger-scope patch to handle more unique errors at lower levels can follow later. (Note, prior to 07120f1abdff we did not oops, but we did return the wrong error code to userspace.)
Why it matters now
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
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.9 and later | 5.10.242, 5.15.191, 6.1.150, 6.6.104, 6.12.45, 6.16.5, 6.17 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.9 and later Fixed in 5.10.242, 5.15.191, 6.1.150, 6.6.104, 6.12.45, 6.16.5, 6.17 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 5
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.9 to before 5.10.242; 5.11 to before 5.15.191; 5.16 to before 6.1.150; 6.2 to before 6.6.104; 6.7 to before 6.12.45; 6.13 to before 6.16.5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.17 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.17 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.17 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 11.0 | Vulnerable | Debian |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.9 to before 5.10.242; 5.11 to before 5.15.191; 5.16 to before 6.1.150; 6.2 to before 6.6.104; 6.7 to before 6.12.45; 6.13 to before 6.16.5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.17 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.17 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.17 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:11.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 11.0 Vulnerable ·Debian
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.242, 5.15.191, 6.1.150, 6.6.104, 6.12.45, 6.16.5, 6.17
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2025-39835
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-x6rc-wf46-fv7m
- 2026-11-05 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/157ddfb05961c68ab7d457a462822a698e4e4bf4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/90bae69c2959c39912f0c2f07a9a7894f3fc49f5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e358d4b6225e4c1eb208686a05e360ef8df59e07
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d3cc7476b89fb45b7e00874f4f56f6b928467c60
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dcdf36f1b67884c722abce9b8946e34ffb9f67c8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/39fc2742ca14f7fbc621ce9b43bcbd00248cb9a8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ae668cd567a6a7622bc813ee0bb61c42bed61ba7
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- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2025-39835 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-39835 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-x6rc-wf46-fv7m · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-39835 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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