Bug 2540316 (CVE-2026-93268)

Summary: CVE-2026-93268 kernel: ext4: skip extra isize expansion during mount to prevent deadlock
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security <prodsec-ir-bot>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: low Docs Contact:
Priority: low    
Version: unspecifiedCC: akhatavk, aos-team-art-private, asdas, dpaolell, jdelft, jupierce, lgarciaa, mbiarnes, ppalepu, ppostler, prdhamdh, rhel-process-autobot, sghai, sidsharm, suppawar, vlaad, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
Target Release: ---   
Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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Fixed In Version: Doc Type: ---
Doc Text:
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's ext4 file system. When mounting a file system, expanding extended attribute storage while holding an active journal lock can create a circular locking dependency. A local user capable of mounting or triggering file system recovery operations could exploit this flaw to cause a system deadlock, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).
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Last Closed: Type: ---
Regression: --- Mount Type: ---
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oVirt Team: --- RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team: --- Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-09-24 16:19:41 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ext4: skip extra isize expansion during mount to prevent deadlock

ext4_try_to_expand_extra_isize() is called from __ext4_mark_inode_dirty()
while holding an active jbd2 handle.  During mount (!SB_ACTIVE), the
expand path may move xattrs to external blocks and release ea_inodes via
iput().  When !SB_ACTIVE, iput() calls write_inode_now() which acquires
s_writepages_rwsem, creating a circular lock dependency:

  s_writepages_rwsem --> jbd2_handle --> xattr_sem --> s_writepages_rwsem

This can be triggered via:

  ext4_process_orphan() -> ext4_truncate() -> ext4_mark_inode_dirty()
    -> ext4_try_to_expand_extra_isize()

or:

  ext4_evict_inode() -> ext4_mark_inode_dirty()
    -> ext4_try_to_expand_extra_isize()

Skip expansion when !SB_ACTIVE.  This is a minor loss of functionality
(extra isize won't grow for these inodes during mount), which e2fsck
can resolve later if needed.