CVE-2026-64378

writeback: fix race between cgroup_writeback_umount() and inode_switch_wbs()

HIGH
7.8
CVSS Score
Published: July 25, 2026 at 08:50 AM UTC
Updated: October 19, 2026 at 09:17 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorLinux Kernel

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Severity
HIGH7.8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.1%
SSVC
No known exploit

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: writeback: fix race between cgroup_writeback_umount() and inode_switch_wbs() When a container exits, the following BUG_ON() is occasionally triggered: ================================================================== VFS: Busy inodes after unmount of sdb (ext4) ------------[ cut here ]------------ kernel BUG at fs/super.c:695! CPU: 3 PID: 6 Comm: containerd-shim Tainted: G OE K 6.6 #1 pstate: 63400009 (nZCv daif +PAN -UAO +TCO +DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) pc : generic_shutdown_super+0xf0/0x100 lr : generic_shutdown_super+0xf0/0x100 Call trace: generic_shutdown_super+0xf0/0x100 kill_block_super+0x20/0x48 ext4_kill_sb+0x28/0x60 deactivate_locked_super+0x54/0x130 deactivate_super+0x84/0xa0 cleanup_mnt+0xa4/0x140 __cleanup_mnt+0x18/0x28 task_work_run+0x78/0xe0 do_notify_resume+0x204/0x240 ================================================================== The root cause is a race between cgroup_writeback_umount() and inode_switch_wbs()/cleanup_offline_cgwb(). There is a window between inode_prepare_wbs_switch() returning true and the subsequent wb_queue_isw() call. Following is the process that triggers the issue: CPU A (umount) | CPU B (writeback) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ inode_switch_wbs/cleanup_offline_cgwb atomic_inc(&isw_nr_in_flight) inode_prepare_wbs_switch -> passes SB_ACTIVE check __iget(inode) generic_shutdown_super sb->s_flags &= ~SB_ACTIVE cgroup_writeback_umount(sb) smp_mb() atomic_read(&isw_nr_in_flight) rcu_barrier() -> no pending RCU callbacks flush_workqueue(isw_wq) -> nothing queued, returns evict_inodes(sb) -> Inode skipped as isw still holds a ref. sop->put_super(sb) /* destroys percpu counters */ -> VFS: Busy inodes after unmount! wb_queue_isw() queue_work(isw_wq, ...) /* later in work function */ inode_switch_wbs_work_fn process_inode_switch_wbs iput() -> evict percpu_counter_dec() // UAF! Fix this by extending the RCU read-side critical section in inode_switch_wbs() and cleanup_offline_cgwb() to cover from inode_prepare_wbs_switch() through wb_queue_isw(). Since there is no sleep in this window, rcu_read_lock() can be used. Then add a synchronize_rcu() in cgroup_writeback_umount() before the existing rcu_barrier(), so that all in-flight switchers that have passed the SB_ACTIVE check have completed queue_work() before flush_workqueue() is called. The existing rcu_barrier() is intentionally retained so this fix can be backported unchanged to stable kernels (5.10.y, 6.6.y, ...) that still queue switches via queue_rcu_work(). It is a no-op on current mainline (since commit e1b849cfa6b6 ("writeback: Avoid contention on wb->list_lock when switching inodes")) and is removed in a follow-up patch.

Affected

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

4.4.5 ≤ v < 4.54.5.1 ≤ v < 5.10.2615.11 ≤ v < 6.1.1786.13 ≤ v < 6.18.396.19 ≤ v < 7.1.46.2 ≤ v < 6.6.1456.7 ≤ v < 6.12.964.4.54.54.5 rc7a1a0e23e49037c23ea84bc8cc146a03584d13577c5cbbec54fe71c4de2d34f8c0ec8fbfdd7f17339
Vendor states this is fixed in 087d5b8b501c570f84bf655164e6698c3ce146e0 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 3c9c9648f77e4d14e50676bc51c2174ba9c8d361 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 53eeaf4d63068dbc7708b0c7adb20151c812feca (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5c3265f3252b2ee50707adaaa3f9bd0df3df72de (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 685fc15a410885b6d4dee64de0dce721b9428b12 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in c923cc3cb5cd8945ceaf08252754110643446593 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in cba38ec4cbd3a7b8b942a8d52531a05be8a9ff0d (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 4.5 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.10.261 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.1.178 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.12.96 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.18.39 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.6.145 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.1.4 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.2 (unaffected)

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatableTotal impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

7.8HIGHLinux
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-362

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