Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ext4: drop extent cache after doing PARTIAL_VALID1 zeroout
When splitting an unwritten extent in the middle and converting it to
initialized in ext4_split_extent() with the EXT4_EXT_MAY_ZEROOUT and
EXT4_EXT_DATA_VALID2 flags set, it could leave a stale unwritten extent.
Assume we have an unwritten file and buffered write in the middle of it
without dioread_nolock enabled, it will allocate blocks as written
extent.
0 A B N
[UUUUUUUUUUUU] on-disk extent U: unwritten extent
[UUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree
[--DDDDDDDD--] D: valid data
|<- ->| ----> this range needs to be initialized
ext4_split_extent() first try to split this extent at B with
EXT4_EXT_DATA_PARTIAL_VALID1 and EXT4_EXT_MAY_ZEROOUT flag set, but
ext4_split_extent_at() failed to split this extent due to temporary lack
of space. It zeroout B to N and leave the entire extent as unwritten.
0 A B N
[UUUUUUUUUUUU] on-disk extent
[UUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree
[--DDDDDDDDZZ] Z: zeroed data
ext4_split_extent() then try to split this extent at A with
EXT4_EXT_DATA_VALID2 flag set. This time, it split successfully and
leave an written extent from A to N.
0 A B N
[UUWWWWWWWWWW] on-disk extent W: written extent
[UUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree
[--DDDDDDDDZZ]
Finally ext4_map_create_blocks() only insert extent A to B to the extent
status tree, and leave an stale unwritten extent in the status tree.
0 A B N
[UUWWWWWWWWWW] on-disk extent W: written extent
[UUWWWWWWWWUU] extent status tree
[--DDDDDDDDZZ]
Fix this issue by always cached extent status entry after zeroing out
the second part.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.1.167 – < 6.1.168 | 6.1.168 |
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 14 | linux | 6.18.14-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.12.85-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +18 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.14 | No fix yet | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | kernel-livepatch-6.1.168-202.320 | 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-1681 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf +14 | 1:6.1.168-202.320.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-1681 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | kernel | 6.6.139.1-1 | — |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 9 | kernel-uek +34 | 6.12.0-204.92.4.2.el10uek | ELSA-2026-50372 |
Advisories 3
- WID-SEC-2026-1700 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 11, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-1681 Important: kernel security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Aug 29, 2026
- ELSA-2026-50372 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Jul 2, 2026
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/28db4bfc6f82fd20e2aadb7fc162244109a4eb31
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f0931a5c17005a0c4fc35bd1a001245effc3354b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d8ee559fccdef713f058cfe5f2c03dc9b18be3b1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c2ee51d684adca7645e4aa74adca13f6750390bc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a1b962a821e7a52d48212ae269b45808b4411267
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6d882ea3b0931b43530d44149b79fcd4ffc13030