Bug 2502235 (CVE-2026-63808)

Summary: CVE-2026-63808 kernel: exfat: fix potential use-after-free in exfat_find_dir_entry()
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: medium Docs Contact:
Priority: medium    
Version: unspecifiedCC: rhel-process-autobot, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
Target Release: ---   
Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
Whiteboard:
Fixed In Version: Doc Type: ---
Doc Text:
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's exFAT filesystem driver. A local attacker could exploit a use-after-free vulnerability in the `exfat_find_dir_entry()` function. This occurs because a buffer is prematurely released while still being referenced, which can be triggered by processing a specially crafted exFAT image. Successful exploitation leads to a system crash, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).
Story Points: ---
Clone Of: Environment:
Last Closed: Type: ---
Regression: --- Mount Type: ---
Documentation: --- CRM:
Verified Versions: Category: ---
oVirt Team: --- RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team: --- Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-07-19 13:03:16 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

exfat: fix potential use-after-free in exfat_find_dir_entry()

In exfat_find_dir_entry(), the buffer_head obtained from
exfat_get_dentry() is released with brelse(bh) before the fall-through
TYPE_EXTEND branch reads the directory entry through ep (which points
into bh->b_data):

	brelse(bh);
	if (entry_type == TYPE_EXTEND) {
		...
		len = exfat_extract_uni_name(ep, entry_uniname);
		...
	}

After brelse() drops our reference, nothing guarantees that the
underlying page backing bh->b_data remains valid for the subsequent
exfat_extract_uni_name() read. This is the same pattern fixed in
commit fc961522ddbd ("exfat: Fix potential use after free in
exfat_load_upcase_table()").

Move brelse(bh) so it runs after ep is no longer dereferenced on
each branch.

Confirmed on QEMU x86_64 with CONFIG_KASAN=y + CONFIG_DEBUG_PAGEALLOC=y
+ CONFIG_PAGE_POISONING=y on linux-next, using a crafted exFAT image
(long filename with same-hash collisions forcing the TYPE_EXTEND path).
With a debug-only invalidate_bdev() inserted between brelse(bh) and
the ep read to make the stale-deref window deterministic, the
unpatched kernel faults:

  BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in exfat_find_dir_entry+0x133b/0x15a0
  BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffff88801a5fa0c2
  Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP DEBUG_PAGEALLOC KASAN NOPTI
  RIP: 0010:exfat_find_dir_entry+0x1188/0x15a0

With this patch applied, the same instrumented harness completes
cleanly under the same sanitizer stack. I have not reproduced a
crash on an uninstrumented kernel under ordinary reclaim; the
instrumented A/B establishes the lifetime violation and that the
patch closes it, not an unaided triggerability claim.

Comment 3 errata-xmlrpc 2026-09-04 00:52:55 UTC
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9

Via RHSA-2026:63129 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:63129

Comment 4 errata-xmlrpc 2026-09-04 01:03:02 UTC
This issue has been addressed in the following products:

  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

Via RHSA-2026:63128 https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:63128