ext4: stop retrying saturated xattr cache entries
Key facts
- Attack vector
- —
- Privileges required
- —
- User interaction
- —
- Attack complexity
- —
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- —
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 6 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: stop retrying saturated xattr cache entries ext4_xattr_block_set() retries when a cache entry selected for reuse has a saturated reference count after taking the buffer lock. The retry returns to the mbcache lookup without making that entry ineligible, so it can select the same unusable entry indefinitely. A task spinning there can hold the parent directory's i_rwsem and leave concurrent rmdir callers blocked. Normally a reusable entry has a reference count below EXT4_XATTR_REFCOUNT_MAX because the count and MBE_REUSABLE_B are updated under the same buffer lock. A corrupted filesystem can violate that invariant. The syzbot reproducer reports allocator and xattr corruption before triggering this retry loop. Check the untrusted on-disk count before incrementing it, avoiding overflow, and clear MBE_REUSABLE_B when it is already saturated. The next lookup then skips the entry that was just proven unusable. This mirrors the normal transition at EXT4_XATTR_REFCOUNT_MAX; the release path marks the entry reusable again on the exact 1024-to-1023 transition. Using the same QEMU harness and guest parameters, current unpatched Linux hung in 6 of 8 420-second trials with the do_rmdir signature; representative NMI backtraces caught the owner spinning in ext4_xattr_block_set(). The patched kernel completed 28 of 28 trials without a hung-task report; the final twelve trials exercised the reviewed overflow-safe form of the change. syzbot's patch testing also completed without reproducing the hang.
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 | 5.10.163 to before 5.10.267; 5.15.61 to before 5.15.218; 4.19.270 to before 4.20; 5.4.229 to before 5.5; 5.18.18 to before 5.19; 5.19.2 to before 5.20 | 5.10.267, 5.15.218, 4.20, 5.5, 5.19, 5.20 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 6.0 and later | 5.10.267, 5.15.218, 6.1.185, 6.6.154, 6.12.106, 6.18.47, 7.1.11, 7.2.1, 7.3 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.10.163 to before 5.10.267; 5.15.61 to before 5.15.218; 4.19.270 to before 4.20; 5.4.229 to before 5.5; 5.18.18 to before 5.19; 5.19.2 to before 5.20 Fixed in 5.10.267, 5.15.218, 4.20, 5.5, 5.19, 5.20 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.0 and later Fixed in 5.10.267, 5.15.218, 6.1.185, 6.6.154, 6.12.106, 6.18.47, 7.1.11, 7.2.1, 7.3 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.267, 5.15.218, 4.20, 5.5, 5.19, 5.20
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.267, 5.15.218, 6.1.185, 6.6.154, 6.12.106, 6.18.47, 7.1.11, 7.2.1, 7.3
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 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 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-80808
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-wr3h-qp2h-x6vf
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-11-01 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-11-01 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Other 9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/119a2f053242ed75bdd2ebc95baf3ae7db6ccacf
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/61631352a5b405c89be579de00903b72e6888aa4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8865cd664484517703df5c18a965dc3227572b87
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a40c45268f4358207aa9c53764fed2e05f62986a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/889ec86464d261f026f6c334040cfc6c58c99d58
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4902a5cba21aeaf91e6b29e20e0967a5f6abdcd9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/55ee6533c1db7f7656fa8dd19637f3f8b8c08dc5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dbd4aea175ad3c46436acb251e817b4374628072
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/54b6bd40898de7906acb2bccc9a96d1b8e6b4323
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Sources
- CVE-2026-80808 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-80808 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-wr3h-qp2h-x6vf · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-80808 · 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