Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
kernfs: fix xattr race condition with multiple superblocks
Multiple superblocks with different namespaces can share the same
kernfs_node when kernfs_test_super() finds a matching root but
different namespace. This means multiple inodes from different
superblocks can reference the same kernfs_node->iattr->xattrs
structure.
The VFS layer only holds per-inode locks during xattr operations,
which is insufficient to serialize concurrent xattr modifications on
the shared kernfs_node. This can lead to race conditions in
simple_xattr_set() where the lookup->replace/remove sequence is not
atomic with respect to operations from other superblocks.
Fix this by protecting xattr operations with the existing hashed
kernfs_locks->open_file_mutex[] array, which is already used to
protect per-node open file data. The hashed mutex array provides
scalable per-node serialization (scaled by CPU count, up to 1024 locks
on 32+ CPU systems) with zero memory overhead.
Changes:
- Rename open_file_mutex[] to node_mutex[] to reflect dual purpose
- Add kernfs_node_lock_ptr() and kernfs_node_lock() helpers
- Protect simple_xattr_set() calls in kernfs_xattr_set() and
kernfs_vfs_user_xattr_set() with the hashed mutex
- Update file.c to use new helpers via compatibility wrappers
- Update documentation to explain the extended lock usage
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 7.1 | 7.1.5 |
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 | 7.1.5-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +22 | 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 +1 | No fix yet | — |
Advisories 1
- WID-SEC-2026-2852 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026