CVE-2026-31448
CriticalCVSS 9.4Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk35th percentile - higher than 35% of all known CVEs
Summary
In the Linux kernel ext4 filesystem, a vulnerability causes an infinite loop during mkdir/mknod operations. When mapping logical blocks to physical blocks fails after inserting a new extent, the freed physical block is reused by an xattr block, leading to a deadlock and thread blocking for 143 seconds.
Risk Assessment
An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to cause prolonged filesystem operation blocking, resulting in denial of service (DoS) for processes using ext4. Corrupted metadata may lead to further data integrity degradation.
Recommendation
Immediately update the Linux kernel to a version containing the fix that distinguishes ENOSPC/EDQUOT errors from others, limiting modifications in case of metadata corruption. Monitor systems for unusual blocking of mkdir/mknod operations.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
See all- CVE-2026-90049Unknown
In the Linux kernel, a vulnerability in skb_zerocopy() was fixed: it incorrectly called skb_tx_error() on the source skb when copying frags. This completed the zerocopy uarg and cleared the SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG flag on an skb still in use by the network stack. Specifically on the OVS_ACTION_ATTR_USERSPACE path, the skb was not freed on error, which could lead to ESP data being decrypted in place where the skb did not privately own frags, potentially causing data corruption or other issues.
- CVE-2026-90046Unknown
In the Linux kernel, free_pages_nolock() uses spin_trylock() in NMI context on uniprocessor (UP) systems, which is unsafe. The bug affects the page freeing path and can crash the kernel. It is likely exploitable by local attackers for privilege escalation.
- CVE-2026-90045Unknown
In the Linux kernel USB gadget ffs driver, the io_data structure stores a pointer to the submitting task's mm_struct but does not hold a reference while async requests are pending. This can cause a use-after-free if the task exits before completion handling finishes. The fix takes a reference with mmgrab() when queuing and releases it with mmdrop() on completion.
- CVE-2026-90044Unknown
In the Linux kernel USB gadget f_fs driver, a use-after-free exists in the AIO error path. When ffs_epfile_io() fails with an error other than -EIOCBQUEUED, the io_data structure is freed, but the kiocb cancel function remains armed and points to the freed pointer. A concurrent cancel (e.g., sys_io_cancel()) can cause a use-after-free. The fix safely disarms the cancellation via kiocb->ki_complete() and returns -EIOCBQUEUED.
- CVE-2026-90043Unknown
In the Linux kernel zram module, the slot lock bit is set in the wrong position on 64-bit big-endian systems. Instead of landing in the flags field, it lands in ac_time, so with ZRAM_TRACK_ENTRY_ACTIME enabled, storing the access time wipes out the held lock bit and lets another CPU take the same slot lock. An access time value with that bit set can make the slot appear locked forever. The fix shifts the lock bit into the flags half on big-endian 64-bit.
- CVE-2026-90042Unknown
A vulnerability was found in the Linux kernel's Ceph filesystem where ceph_fname_to_usr() passed vmalloc() buffers to the fscrypt crypto API, which requires linear memory. This can cause kernel oopses, especially on non-x86 platforms. The fix adds support for vmalloc() buffers using a bounce buffer.
- CVE-2026-90041Unknown
In the Linux kernel, the HID sony driver fails to remove a controller from the device list when HID core input device registration fails. The devres-managed sony_sc is freed while its list node remains linked, leading to use-after-free when the next matching controller is handled.
- CVE-2026-90039Unknown
In the Linux kernel, NFSD admin state-revocation handlers (unlock_filesystem, NFSD_CMD_UNLOCK_FILESYSTEM, NFSD_CMD_UNLOCK_EXPORT) only check nn->nfsd_serv, which is set before nn->conf_id_hashtbl is allocated. This leads to a NULL dereference when the server has not yet started.
- CVE-2026-90038Unknown
In the Linux kernel, nfsd4_revoke_export_states() drops nn->client_lock but the held stateid reference does not pin the client. A concurrent client teardown can free the client while revoke_one_stid() still dereferences it, causing a use-after-free.
- CVE-2026-90037Unknown
In the Linux kernel, an nfs4_openowner left on nn->close_lru holds only a raw pointer to its nfs4_client. When the laundromat reaps entries, drops client_lock and calls nfs4_put_stid(), a concurrent force_expire_client() can free the client, causing a use-after-free.
Original NVD description (English source)
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]