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TI-2026-33726 Aliases CVE-2026-46002GHSA-7x9q-gpxg-j6xg

ext2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget()

Priority LOW 24Published · Updated

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: 1 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: ext2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget() ext2_iget() already rejects inodes with i_nlink == 0 when i_mode is zero or i_dtime is set, treating them as deleted. However, the case of i_nlink == 0 with a non-zero mode and zero dtime slips through. Since ext2 has no orphan list, such a combination can only result from filesystem corruption - a legitimate inode deletion always sets either i_dtime or clears i_mode before freeing the inode. A crafted image can exploit this gap to present such an inode to the VFS, which then triggers WARN_ON inside drop_nlink() (fs/inode.c) via ext2_unlink(), ext2_rename() and ext2_rmdir(): WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 609 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336 CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 609 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1 Call Trace: <TASK> inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline] ext2_unlink+0x26c/0x300 fs/ext2/namei.c:295 vfs_unlink+0x2fc/0x9b0 fs/namei.c:4477 do_unlinkat+0x53e/0x730 fs/namei.c:4541 __x64_sys_unlink+0xc6/0x110 fs/namei.c:4587 do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f </TASK> WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 646 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 646 Comm: syz.0.17 Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1 Call Trace: <TASK> inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline] ext2_rename+0x35e/0x850 fs/ext2/namei.c:374 vfs_rename+0xf2f/0x2060 fs/namei.c:5021 do_renameat2+0xbe2/0xd50 fs/namei.c:5178 __x64_sys_rename+0x7e/0xa0 fs/namei.c:5223 do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f </TASK> WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 634 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 634 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1 Call Trace: <TASK> inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline] ext2_rmdir+0xca/0x110 fs/ext2/namei.c:311 vfs_rmdir+0x204/0x690 fs/namei.c:4348 do_rmdir+0x372/0x3e0 fs/namei.c:4407 __x64_sys_unlinkat+0xf0/0x130 fs/namei.c:4577 do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f </TASK> Extend the existing i_nlink == 0 check to also catch this case, reporting the corruption via ext2_error() and returning -EFSCORRUPTED. This rejects the inode at load time and prevents it from reaching any of the namei.c paths. Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.00123 2nd percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175 +5Red Hat: 1 without a fix

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
LinuxLinux2.6.12 and later5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.140, 6.12.86, 6.18.27, 7.0.4, 7.1Patch availableCNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.12 and later Fixed in 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.140, 6.12.86, 6.18.27, 7.0.4, 7.1 Patch available CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 6

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*2.6.12.1 to before 5.10.258; 5.11 to before 5.15.209; 5.16 to before 6.1.175; 6.2 to before 6.6.140; 6.7 to before 6.12.86; 6.13 to before 6.18.27; 6.19 to before 7.0.4VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.12:-:*:*:*:*:*:*2.6.12VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.12:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*2.6.12 rc2VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.12:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*2.6.12 rc3VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.12:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*2.6.12 rc4VulnerableLinux
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.12:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*2.6.12 rc5VulnerableLinux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.12.1 to before 5.10.258; 5.11 to before 5.15.209; 5.16 to before 6.1.175; 6.2 to before 6.6.140; 6.7 to before 6.12.86; 6.13 to before 6.18.27; 6.19 to before 7.0.4 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.12:-:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.12 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.12:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.12 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.12:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.12 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.12:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.12 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:2.6.12:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.6.12 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux

Remediation

  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.140, 6.12.86, 6.18.27, 7.0.4, 7.1

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6AffectedNo fix planned: Out of support scope
Not affected: 4 products
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-46002
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-7x9q-gpxg-j6xg

References

  • 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
See all 15278 →

Sources