Bug 2444389 (CVE-2026-23238)

Summary: CVE-2026-23238 kernel: romfs: check sb_set_blocksize() return value
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
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Priority: medium    
Version: unspecifiedKeywords: Security
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Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's romfs filesystem implementation. The romfs_fill_super() function ignores the return value of sb_set_blocksize(). When mounting a romfs filesystem on a device with an incompatible block size (larger than PAGE_SIZE), the mount proceeds with an incorrect block size, eventually triggering a kernel BUG in folio_set_bh() when attempting I/O operations.
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-03-04 15:01:36 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

romfs: check sb_set_blocksize() return value

romfs_fill_super() ignores the return value of sb_set_blocksize(), which
can fail if the requested block size is incompatible with the block
device's configuration.

This can be triggered by setting a loop device's block size larger than
PAGE_SIZE using ioctl(LOOP_SET_BLOCK_SIZE, 32768), then mounting a romfs
filesystem on that device.

When sb_set_blocksize(sb, ROMBSIZE) is called with ROMBSIZE=4096 but the
device has logical_block_size=32768, bdev_validate_blocksize() fails
because the requested size is smaller than the device's logical block
size. sb_set_blocksize() returns 0 (failure), but romfs ignores this and
continues mounting.

The superblock's block size remains at the device's logical block size
(32768). Later, when sb_bread() attempts I/O with this oversized block
size, it triggers a kernel BUG in folio_set_bh():

    kernel BUG at fs/buffer.c:1582!
    BUG_ON(size > PAGE_SIZE);

Fix by checking the return value of sb_set_blocksize() and failing the
mount with -EINVAL if it returns 0.