CVE-2026-45985

ext4: don't set EXT4_GET_BLOCKS_CONVERT when splitting before submitting I/O

MEDIUM
5.5
CVSS Score
Published: May 27, 2026 at 12:18 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 10:52 AM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorLinux Kernel

Using Linux by Linux?

Get instant alerts when new vulnerabilities affect Linux - before attackers find them.

Real-time alertsTrack your software stackFree plan available
Severity
MEDIUM5.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.1%

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: don't set EXT4_GET_BLOCKS_CONVERT when splitting before submitting I/O When allocating blocks during within-EOF DIO and writeback with dioread_nolock enabled, EXT4_GET_BLOCKS_PRE_IO was set to split an existing large unwritten extent. However, EXT4_GET_BLOCKS_CONVERT was set when calling ext4_split_convert_extents(), which may potentially result in stale data issues. Assume we have an unwritten extent, and then DIO writes the second half. [UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU] on-disk extent U: unwritten extent [UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree |<- ->| ----> dio write this range First, ext4_iomap_alloc() call ext4_map_blocks() with EXT4_GET_BLOCKS_PRE_IO, EXT4_GET_BLOCKS_UNWRIT_EXT and EXT4_GET_BLOCKS_CREATE flags set. ext4_map_blocks() find this extent and call ext4_split_convert_extents() with EXT4_GET_BLOCKS_CONVERT and the above flags set. Then, ext4_split_convert_extents() calls ext4_split_extent() with EXT4_EXT_MAY_ZEROOUT, EXT4_EXT_MARK_UNWRIT2 and EXT4_EXT_DATA_VALID2 flags set, and it calls ext4_split_extent_at() to split the second half with EXT4_EXT_DATA_VALID2, EXT4_EXT_MARK_UNWRIT1, EXT4_EXT_MAY_ZEROOUT and EXT4_EXT_MARK_UNWRIT2 flags set. However, ext4_split_extent_at() failed to insert extent since a temporary lack -ENOSPC. It zeroes out the first half but convert the entire on-disk extent to written since the EXT4_EXT_DATA_VALID2 flag set, but left the second half as unwritten in the extent status tree. [0000000000SSSSSS] data S: stale data, 0: zeroed [WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW] on-disk extent W: written extent [WWWWWWWWWWUUUUUU] extent status tree Finally, if the DIO failed to write data to the disk, the stale data in the second half will be exposed once the cached extent entry is gone. Fix this issue by not passing EXT4_GET_BLOCKS_CONVERT when splitting an unwritten extent before submitting I/O, and make ext4_split_convert_extents() to zero out the entire extent range to zero for this case, and also mark the extent in the extent status tree for consistency.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

3.15 ≤ v < 5.10.2533.15 ≤ v < 5.15.2033.15 ≤ v < 6.12.773.15 ≤ v < 6.18.173.15 ≤ v < 6.19.43.15 ≤ v < 6.6.1303.15 ≤ v < 7.05.11 ≤ v < 5.15.2035.16 ≤ v < 6.6.1306.13 ≤ v < 6.18.176.19 ≤ v < 6.19.46.7 ≤ v < 6.12.773.15b8a8684502a0fc852afa0056c6bb2a9273f6fcc0
Vendor states this is fixed in 2698731d25823267c29190cb578da9296a0c0d7b (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 2920ec61c98b9476781359f05b94da84e80f54d4 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 37555690f39f78ef69af347d9aff897e07445949 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 67cdb7bd7442bd3cdc6d6088bbb2df9be2fe936c (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 716e7439a5a9b18c3ff882c2f8c834b9ced1aaec (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 77e407967cd872cd75d7e4a691908e49c8e6b4d4 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in feaf2a80e78f89ee8a3464126077ba8683b62791 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 3.15 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.10.253 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.15.203 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.12.77 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.18.17 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.19.4 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.6.130 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.0 (unaffected)

CVSS

Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
NVD-CWE-noinfo

Get alerted

Stop reading CVE feeds looking for your own stack

Track the products you run and VulnTracker tells you when a new CVE affects them — with what is known about fixing it, and nothing about the rest.

Free plan, no card