Description
The journal_unmap_buffer function in fs/jbd2/transaction.c in the Linux kernel before 3.3.1 does not properly handle the _Delay and _Unwritten buffer head states, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (system crash) by leveraging the presence of an ext4 filesystem that was mounted with a journal.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 6.0 | linux-2.6 | 2.6.32-44 | DSA-2469-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 6 | perf +15 | 2.6.32-220.17.1.el6 | RHSA-2012:0571 |
| RHEL 5 | kernel +12 | 2.6.18-274.18.1.el5 | RHSA-2012:0107 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat MRG 2 | kernel-rt +10 | 3.0.30-rt50.62.el6rt | RHSA-2012:0670 |
Advisories 4
- RHSA-2012:0107 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
- RHSA-2012:0571 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 26, 2026
- DSA-2469-1 linux-2.6 - several Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- RHSA-2012:0670 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel-rt security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Nov 22, 2025
References
- SUSE-SU-2012:0554 vendor-advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=749143
- 48898 third-party-advisory
- https://github.com/torvalds/linux/commit/15291164b22a357cb211b618adfef4fa82fc0de3
- RHSA-2012:0670 vendor-advisory
- DSA-2469 vendor-advisory
- 48964 third-party-advisory
- http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=15291164b22a357cb211b618adfef4fa82fc0de3
- SUSE-SU-2012:0616 vendor-advisory
- RHSA-2012:0571 vendor-advisory
- http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v3.x/ChangeLog-3.3.1