ext4: fix use-after-free in update_super_work when racing with umount
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Code execution
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 4 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-416 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix use-after-free in update_super_work when racing with umount Commit b98535d09179 ("ext4: fix bug_on in start_this_handle during umount filesystem") moved ext4_unregister_sysfs() before flushing s_sb_upd_work to prevent new error work from being queued via /proc/fs/ext4/xx/mb_groups reads during unmount. However, this introduced a use-after-free because update_super_work calls ext4_notify_error_sysfs() -> sysfs_notify() which accesses the kobject's kernfs_node after it has been freed by kobject_del() in ext4_unregister_sysfs(): update_super_work ext4_put_super ----------------- -------------- ext4_unregister_sysfs(sb) kobject_del(&sbi->s_kobj) __kobject_del() sysfs_remove_dir() kobj->sd = NULL sysfs_put(sd) kernfs_put() // RCU free ext4_notify_error_sysfs(sbi) sysfs_notify(&sbi->s_kobj) kn = kobj->sd // stale pointer kernfs_get(kn) // UAF on freed kernfs_node ext4_journal_destroy() flush_work(&sbi->s_sb_upd_work) Instead of reordering the teardown sequence, fix this by making ext4_notify_error_sysfs() detect that sysfs has already been torn down by checking s_kobj.state_in_sysfs, and skipping the sysfs_notify() call in that case. A dedicated mutex (s_error_notify_mutex) serializes ext4_notify_error_sysfs() against kobject_del() in ext4_unregister_sysfs() to prevent TOCTOU races where the kobject could be deleted between the state_in_sysfs check and the sysfs_notify() call.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
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 | 5.15.38 to before 5.15.203; 5.10.114 to before 5.11; 5.17.6 to before 5.18 | 5.15.203, 5.11, 5.18 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 5.18 and later | 5.15.203, 6.1.168, 6.6.131, 6.12.80, 6.18.21, 6.19.11, 7.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.15.38 to before 5.15.203; 5.10.114 to before 5.11; 5.17.6 to before 5.18 Fixed in 5.15.203, 5.11, 5.18 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.18 and later Fixed in 5.15.203, 6.1.168, 6.6.131, 6.12.80, 6.18.21, 6.19.11, 7.0 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 12
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.10.114 to before 5.11; 5.15.38 to before 5.15.203; 5.17.6 to before 5.18; 5.18.1 to before 6.1.168; 6.2 to before 6.6.131; 6.7 to before 6.12.80; 6.13 to before 6.18.21; 6.19 to before 6.19.11 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.18:-:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.18 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.18:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.18 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.18:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.18 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.18:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.18 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.18:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.18 rc7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.18:rc9:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.18 rc9 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.10.114 to before 5.11; 5.15.38 to before 5.15.203; 5.17.6 to before 5.18; 5.18.1 to before 6.1.168; 6.2 to before 6.6.131; 6.7 to before 6.12.80; 6.13 to before 6.18.21; 6.19 to before 6.19.11 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.18:-:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.18 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.18:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.18 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.18:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.18 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.18:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.18 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.18:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.18 rc7 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.18:rc9:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.18 rc9 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.203, 5.11, 5.18
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.203, 6.1.168, 6.6.131, 6.12.80, 6.18.21, 6.19.11, 7.0
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. 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 7 | 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: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-31446
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-wwvq-j7g5-3qrf
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-19 Weakness changed · CISA ADP
References
Patch 7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c8fe17a1b308c3d8c703ebfb049b325f844342c3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c4d829737329f2290dd41e290b7d75effdb2a7ff
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9449f99ba04f5dd1c8423ad8a90b3651d7240d1d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/034053378dd81837fd6c7a43b37ee2e58d4f0b4e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c97e282f7bfd0c3554c63d289964a5ca6a1d2ffe
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/08b10e6f37fc533a759e9833af0692242e8b3f93
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d15e4b0a418537aafa56b2cb80d44add83e83697
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Sources
- CVE-2026-31446 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-31446 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-wwvq-j7g5-3qrf · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-31446 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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