ext4: avoid infinite loops caused by residual data
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · 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-835.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: avoid infinite loops caused by residual data On the mkdir/mknod path, when mapping logical blocks to physical blocks, if inserting a new extent into the extent tree fails (in this example, because the file system disabled the huge file feature when marking the inode as dirty), ext4_ext_map_blocks() only calls ext4_free_blocks() to reclaim the physical block without deleting the corresponding data in the extent tree. This causes subsequent mkdir operations to reference the previously reclaimed physical block number again, even though this physical block is already being used by the xattr block. Therefore, a situation arises where both the directory and xattr are using the same buffer head block in memory simultaneously. The above causes ext4_xattr_block_set() to enter an infinite loop about "inserted" and cannot release the inode lock, ultimately leading to the 143s blocking problem mentioned in [1]. If the metadata is corrupted, then trying to remove some extent space can do even more harm. Also in case EXT4_GET_BLOCKS_DELALLOC_RESERVE was passed, remove space wrongly update quota information. Jan Kara suggests distinguishing between two cases: 1) The error is ENOSPC or EDQUOT - in this case the filesystem is fully consistent and we must maintain its consistency including all the accounting. However these errors can happen only early before we've inserted the extent into the extent tree. So current code works correctly for this case. 2) Some other error - this means metadata is corrupted. We should strive to do as few modifications as possible to limit damage. So I'd just skip freeing of allocated blocks. [1] INFO: task syz.0.17:5995 blocked for more than 143 seconds. Call Trace: inode_lock_nested include/linux/fs.h:1073 [inline] __start_dirop fs/namei.c:2923 [inline] start_dirop fs/namei.c:2934 [inline]
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- 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 | 2.6.22 and later | 6.1.168, 6.6.131, 6.12.80, 6.18.21, 6.19.11, 7.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.22 and later Fixed in 6.1.168, 6.6.131, 6.12.80, 6.18.21, 6.19.11, 7.0 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 11
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.6.22.1 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:2.6.22:-:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.6.22 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.22:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.6.22 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.22:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.6.22 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.22:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.6.22 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.22:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.6.22 rc7 | 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:7.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.0 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.22.1 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:2.6.22:-:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.22 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.22:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.22 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.22:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.22 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.22:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.22 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.22:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.22 rc7 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
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.0 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 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-2026-31448
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-m6jj-c3pv-cg65
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-19 Weakness changed · CISA ADP
References
Patch 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c66545e83a802c3851d9be27a41c0479dd29ff0c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ecc50bfca9b5c2ee6aeef998181689b80477367b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3a7667595bcad84da53fc156a418e110267c3412
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/416c86f30f91b4fb2642ef6b102596ca898f41a5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/64f425b06b3bea9abc8977fd3982779b3ad070c9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5422fe71d26d42af6c454ca9527faaad4e677d6c
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- 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
Sources
- CVE-2026-31448 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-31448 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-m6jj-c3pv-cg65 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-31448 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences