ext4: drop extent cache after doing PARTIAL_VALID1 zeroout
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: 5 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: drop extent cache after doing PARTIAL_VALID1 zeroout When splitting an unwritten extent in the middle and converting it to initialized in ext4_split_extent() with the EXT4_EXT_MAY_ZEROOUT and EXT4_EXT_DATA_VALID2 flags set, it could leave a stale unwritten extent. Assume we have an unwritten file and buffered write in the middle of it without dioread_nolock enabled, it will allocate blocks as written extent. 0 A B N [UUUUUUUUUUUU] on-disk extent U: unwritten extent [UUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree [--DDDDDDDD--] D: valid data |<- ->| ----> this range needs to be initialized ext4_split_extent() first try to split this extent at B with EXT4_EXT_DATA_PARTIAL_VALID1 and EXT4_EXT_MAY_ZEROOUT flag set, but ext4_split_extent_at() failed to split this extent due to temporary lack of space. It zeroout B to N and leave the entire extent as unwritten. 0 A B N [UUUUUUUUUUUU] on-disk extent [UUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree [--DDDDDDDDZZ] Z: zeroed data ext4_split_extent() then try to split this extent at A with EXT4_EXT_DATA_VALID2 flag set. This time, it split successfully and leave an written extent from A to N. 0 A B N [UUWWWWWWWWWW] on-disk extent W: written extent [UUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree [--DDDDDDDDZZ] Finally ext4_map_create_blocks() only insert extent A to B to the extent status tree, and leave an stale unwritten extent in the status tree. 0 A B N [UUWWWWWWWWWW] on-disk extent W: written extent [UUWWWWWWWWUU] extent status tree [--DDDDDDDDZZ] Fix this issue by always cached extent status entry after zeroing out the second part.
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
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.168
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 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-45892
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-xq2x-f6m4-2hrp
- 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/28db4bfc6f82fd20e2aadb7fc162244109a4eb31
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f0931a5c17005a0c4fc35bd1a001245effc3354b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d8ee559fccdef713f058cfe5f2c03dc9b18be3b1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c2ee51d684adca7645e4aa74adca13f6750390bc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a1b962a821e7a52d48212ae269b45808b4411267
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6d882ea3b0931b43530d44149b79fcd4ffc13030
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Sources
- CVE-2026-45892 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-45892 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-xq2x-f6m4-2hrp · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-45892 · 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