gfs2: fix memory leaks in gfs2_fill_super error path
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-401.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gfs2: fix memory leaks in gfs2_fill_super error path Fix two memory leaks in the gfs2_fill_super() error handling path when transitioning a filesystem to read-write mode fails. First leak: kthread objects (thread_struct, task_struct, etc.) When gfs2_freeze_lock_shared() fails after init_threads() succeeds, the created kernel threads (logd and quotad) are never destroyed. This occurs because the fail_per_node label doesn't call gfs2_destroy_threads(). Second leak: quota bitmap buffer (8192 bytes) When gfs2_make_fs_rw() fails after gfs2_quota_init() succeeds but before other operations complete, the allocated quota bitmap is never freed. The fix moves thread cleanup to the fail_per_node label to handle all error paths uniformly. gfs2_destroy_threads() is safe to call unconditionally as it checks for NULL pointers. Quota cleanup is added in gfs2_make_fs_rw() to properly handle the withdrawal case where quota initialization succeeds but the filesystem is then withdrawn. Thread leak backtrace (gfs2_freeze_lock_shared failure): unreferenced object 0xffff88801d7bca80 (size 4480): copy_process+0x3a1/0x4670 kernel/fork.c:2422 kernel_clone+0xf3/0x6e0 kernel/fork.c:2779 kthread_create_on_node+0x100/0x150 kernel/kthread.c:478 init_threads+0xab/0x350 fs/gfs2/ops_fstype.c:611 gfs2_fill_super+0xe5c/0x1240 fs/gfs2/ops_fstype.c:1265 Quota leak backtrace (gfs2_make_fs_rw failure): unreferenced object 0xffff88812de7c000 (size 8192): gfs2_quota_init+0xe5/0x820 fs/gfs2/quota.c:1409 gfs2_make_fs_rw+0x7a/0xe0 fs/gfs2/super.c:149 gfs2_fill_super+0xfbb/0x1240 fs/gfs2/ops_fstype.c:1275
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 | 6.1.16 to before 6.1.191; 5.10.173 to before 5.11; 5.15.99 to before 5.16; 6.2.3 to before 6.3 | 6.1.191, 5.11, 5.16, 6.3 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 6.3 and later | 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.114, 6.18.57, 6.19.4, 7.0 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.1.16 to before 6.1.191; 5.10.173 to before 5.11; 5.15.99 to before 5.16; 6.2.3 to before 6.3 Fixed in 6.1.191, 5.11, 5.16, 6.3 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.3 and later Fixed in 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.114, 6.18.57, 6.19.4, 7.0 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.10.173 to before 5.11; 5.15.99 to before 5.16; 6.1.16 to before 6.2; 6.2.3 to before 6.19.4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.10.173 to before 5.11; 5.15.99 to before 5.16; 6.1.16 to before 6.2; 6.2.3 to before 6.19.4 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.191, 5.11, 5.16, 6.3
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.114, 6.18.57, 6.19.4, 7.0
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| 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 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-45961
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-848w-4wg8-36v4
- 2026-10-16 Fix available: Linux/Linux@4456be93464a599eac0eb2afa63b5d662e1599d8, Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-16 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-10-21 Fix available: Linux/Linux@4db5e4c8f1103b21005ab9e7fe9a5d2554438b74, Linux/[email protected], Linux/[email protected] +1 · CNA
- 2026-10-21 2 new references · CNA
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: Linux/Linux@1fcca0f021ac8e2d19efddb6a733e8b6d4a3fb72, Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-30 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 2
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-2026-45961 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-45961 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-848w-4wg8-36v4 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-45961 · 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