Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ext4: clear stale xarray tags on folios skipped during writeback
In data=journal mode, the writeback thread can hit the
WARN_ON_ONCE(sb_rdonly(sb)) in ext4_journal_check_start() while the
superblock is being remounted read-only during reboot:
Workqueue: writeback wb_workfn (flush-253:0)
RIP: 0010:ext4_journal_check_start+0x8b/0xd0
Call Trace:
__ext4_journal_start_sb+0x3c/0x1e0
mpage_prepare_extent_to_map+0x4af/0x580
ext4_do_writepages+0x3c0/0x1080
ext4_writepages+0xc8/0x1a0
do_writepages+0xc4/0x180
__writeback_single_inode+0x45/0x2f0
writeback_sb_inodes+0x26b/0x5d0
__writeback_inodes_wb+0x54/0x100
wb_writeback+0x1ac/0x320
wb_workfn+0x394/0x470
And followed by the warning:
EXT4-fs warning (device vda1): ext4_evict_inode:195: inode #6263:
comm (sd-umount): data will be lost
This issue is not reproduced every time, but frequently.
The reproduction step is to create a VM with 8 CPUs, 16G memory and
setup data=journal:
sudo tune2fs -o journal_data /dev/vda1
Run fio:
rm -f fiotest
fio --name=fiotest --rw=randwrite --bs=4k --runtime=6 --ioengine=libaio
--iodepth=256 --numjobs=8 --filename=fiotest --filesize=30G
--group_reporting
Reboot the VM, and check the console output from:
virsh console testvm
But there is no dirty inode, folio_clear_dirty_for_io clears PG_dirty
but leaves tags PAGECACHE_TAG_DIRTY and PAGECACHE_TAG_TOWRITE set which
are only cleared by __folio_start_writeback.
In data=journal mode, jbd2 checkpoints the journalled data to its final
location and clears its own dirty flag without touching folio PG_dirty
or xarray dirty flags.
The commit f4a2b42e7891 ("ext4: fix stale xarray tags after writeback")
fixes when PG_dirty is still set but there is no dirty page.
Another case is PG_dirty is cleared, but PAGECACHE_TAG_DIRTY and
PAGECACHE_TAG_TOWRITE is still set. In this case, writeback thread
checks clean folio and skips it in mpage_prepare_extent_to_map:
if (!folio_test_dirty(folio) ||
...
folio_unlcok(folio);
continue
And never reaches ext4_bio_write_folio where the commit f4a2b42e7891
clears the stale xarray tags. Print debug logs after the filesystem
is remounted read-only:
writepages RDONLY nrpages=2048 dirtytag=1 wbtag=0 towrite=1 sync=0
And all folios are actually clean:
folio idx=3 dirty=0 wb=0 checked=0 dirtybuf=0 jbddirty=0 mapped=1
...
We need to clear the xarray stale tags for such clean folios by
cycling them through writeback in the skip path, the same way
f4a2b42e7891 does in ext4_bio_write_folio.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.2 | 6.6.157 |
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 | 7.2.6-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.12.111-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux-6.12 | 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Nvidia-BlueField 24.04 LTS | linux-bluefield | 6.8.0-1032.37 | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux | 7.0.0-38.38 | USN-8887-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-aws +1 | 7.0.0-1014.14 | USN-8887-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-azure | 7.0.0-1017.17 | USN-8888-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-azure-fde | 7.0.0-1016.16 | USN-8888-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-gke | 7.0.0-1008.9 | USN-8887-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-ibm +1 | 7.0.0-1015.15 | USN-8889-1, USN-8887-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-nvidia | 7.0.0-1025.26 | USN-9043-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-bos | 7.0.0-2022.23 | USN-9003-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-oracle | 7.0.0-1013.13 | USN-8887-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-raspi | 7.0.0-1023.23 | USN-9021-1 |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | linux-riscv +1 | 7.0.0-38.38.1 | USN-8887-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux | 6.8.0-146.146 | USN-8903-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-aws | 6.8.0-1066.69 | USN-8903-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-aws-7.0 +1 | 7.0.0-1014.14~24.04.1 | USN-8887-3, USN-8887-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-7.0 | 7.0.0-1017.17~24.04.1 | USN-8888-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-fde | 6.8.0-1068.75 | USN-8904-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-fde-7.0 | 7.0.0-1016.16~24.04.1 | USN-8888-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp +1 | 6.8.0-1070.78 | USN-8905-2, USN-8904-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gke | 6.8.0-1065.73 | USN-8903-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gkeop | 6.8.0-1051.55 | USN-8903-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-hwe-7.0 | 7.0.0-38.38~24.04.4 | USN-8887-3 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-ibm | 6.8.0-1066.67 | USN-8903-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-lowlatency | 6.8.0-146.146.1 | USN-8903-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia | 6.8.0-1064.67 | USN-8903-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-7.0 | 7.0.0-1024.25~24.04.1 | USN-9003-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-lowlatency | 6.8.0-1064.67.1 | USN-8903-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-tegra | 6.8.0-1038.42 | USN-9002-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oracle | 6.8.0-1063.66 | USN-8903-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oracle-7.0 | 7.0.0-1013.13~24.04.1 | USN-8887-3 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi | 6.8.0-1068.72 | USN-9025-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +29 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv-7.0 | 7.0.0-38.38.1~24.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-vmware | 6.8.0-1008.8 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-aws-6.8 | 6.8.0-1066.69~22.04.1 | USN-8903-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-azure-fde-6.8 | 6.8.0-1068.75~22.04.1 | USN-8904-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-gcp-6.8 +1 | 6.8.0-1070.78~22.04.1 | USN-8905-1, USN-8904-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-hwe-6.8 | 6.8.0-149.149~22.04.1 | USN-9066-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-ibm-6.8 | 6.8.0-1066.67~22.04.1 | USN-8906-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 | 6.8.0-146.146.1~22.04.1 | USN-8903-2 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-6.8 | 6.8.0-1064.67~22.04.1 | USN-8903-2 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-oracle-6.8 | 6.8.0-1067.71~22.04.1 | USN-9025-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv-6.8 | 6.8.0-146.146~22.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
Show 5 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | 6.8.0-2056.58 | USN-9025-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime | 6.8.1-1061.62 | USN-8903-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.14 +1 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 22.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.8 | 6.8.1-1061.62~22.04.1 | USN-8903-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-aws-fips | 6.8.0-1066.69+fips1 | USN-8903-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-fips | 6.8.0-1069.77+fips1 | USN-8904-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-fips | 6.8.0-146.146+fips1 | USN-8903-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp-fips | 6.8.0-1070.78+fips1 | USN-8905-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | kernel-source | 7.2.8-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:11893-1 |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | kernel-livepatch-6.18.54-121.166 +1 | 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-3196, ALAS2023-2026-3192 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf6.12 +11 | 1:6.12.110-135.201.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-3196 |
| Amazon Linux 2023 | perf6.18 +12 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | ALAS2023-2026-3192 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | kernel | 6.6.157.1-1 | — |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 9 | kernel-uek +34 | 6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el10uek | ELSA-2026-500374 |
Advisories 23
- USN-9066-1 linux-hwe-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-9021-1 linux-raspi vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- WID-SEC-2026-3444 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-9043-1 linux-nvidia vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-9025-1 linux-oracle-6.8, linux-raspi, linux-raspi-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8887-1 linux, linux-aws, linux-gcp, linux-gke, linux-ibm, linux-oracle, linux-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-9003-1 linux-nvidia-7.0, linux-nvidia-bos vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8887-3 linux-gcp-7.0, linux-hwe-7.0, linux-oracle-7.0 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8888-2 linux-azure-7.0, linux-azure-fde-7.0 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8888-1 linux-azure, linux-azure-fde vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-9002-1 linux-nvidia-tegra vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8887-2 linux-aws-7.0 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8889-1 linux-oem-7.0 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8903-2 linux-gke, linux-gkeop, linux-ibm, linux-lowlatency, linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8, linux-nvidia, linux-nvidia-6.8, linux-nvidia-lowlatency, linux-oracle vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 9, 2026
- USN-8903-1 linux, linux-aws, linux-aws-6.8, linux-aws-fips, linux-fips, linux-realtime, linux-realtime-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 9, 2026
- USN-8904-1 linux-azure, linux-azure-6.8, linux-azure-fde, linux-azure-fde-6.8, linux-azure-fips vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 9, 2026
- USN-8905-2 linux-gcp vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 9, 2026
- USN-8905-1 linux-gcp-6.8, linux-gcp-fips vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 9, 2026
- USN-8906-1 linux-ibm-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 9, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-3192 Important: kernel6.18 security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Oct 26, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-3196 Important: kernel6.12 security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Oct 21, 2026
- ELSA-2026-500374 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Oct 7, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:11893-1 kernel-devel-7.2.8-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 29, 2026
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f82a4929d0ef7ddf254c1c295ec1dfd24094f2de
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a450ab88bfd57b227d72c7a3faad54d16c3fc099
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aa0042630b1f7cab735b0a168539281198822586
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/43ae387c3ae6a11227d096669ddf883e27a39a11
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ec524aae479b4b2078c47492b90ec21200bce434