CVE-2026-92503: Linux Vulnerability

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix ABBA deadlock in ext4_xattr_inode_cache_find() Syzbot/stress-ng reported an ABBA deadlock in ext4 when exercising concurrent xattr workloads (using the ea_inode mount/format option). The deadlock occurs between the running transaction and the eviction thread: - Task 1 (stress-ng): Holds a reference to a shared mbcache_entry (ce) and calls ext4_xattr_inode_cache_find() -> ext4_iget() to retrieve the corresponding EA inode. Since the EA inode is currently being evicted, ext4_iget() blocks in __wait_on_freeing_inode() waiting for eviction to complete. - Task 2 (eviction thread): Currently evicting the same EA inode in ext4_evict_ea_inode(). It calls mb_cache_entry_wait_unused(oe) which blocks waiting for Task 1 to release the reference to the mbcache_entry. To break this deadlock, implement a new ext4_iget() configuration flag named EXT4_IGET_NOWAIT. When set, perform a non-blocking lookup of the inode via VFS's find_inode_nowait() API. If the inode is currently being evicted (marked with I_FREEING or I_WILL_FREE) or created (I_CREATING), or if it is not present in the VFS inode cache (cache miss), simply skip it (returning -ENOENT) rather than waiting for eviction/creation to complete, breaking the ABBA cycle. Since we return -ENOENT immediately on a cache miss, we never attempt to allocate a new inode or call iget_locked(), completely eliminating any TOCTOU race window. If the returned inode is I_NEW, wait for its initialization to clear via wait_on_new_inode(). If initialization fails and the inode is unhashed during wait_on_new_inode() waking up (e.g., due to an I/O read error in another thread), safely drop the reference and return -ENOENT. This unhashed check is executed unconditionally on all cache-hit pathways to properly handle concurrent initialization failures. Finally, standard validation checks (including is_bad_inode, EXT4_EA_INODE_FL, file_acl, and xattr flags) are executed as normal inside check_igot_inode() to fully guarantee VFS-layer safety. In ext4_xattr_inode_cache_find(), invoke ext4_iget() with the new EXT4_IGET_NOWAIT flag to perform the non-blocking cache search.

Affected Software

Source: CNA advisory (CVE.org). NVD analysis pending.

Vendor	Product	Versions
Linux	Linux	>= 0a46ef234756dca04623b7591e8ebb3440622f0b, < 7720fddd1fe344d14be258a2028f74ebf1569511; >= 0a46ef234756dca04623b7591e8ebb3440622f0b, < 03438084a7b8621fb5c762dd3d04cff5f2630fb2; 0752e7fb549d90c33b4d4186f11cfd25a556d1dd; 737fb7853acd5bc8984f6f42e4bfba3334be8ae1; 111103907234bffd0a34fba070ad9367de058752; >= 6.1.107, < 6.2; >= 6.6.47, < 6.7; >= 6.9.7, < 6.10
Linux	Linux	6.10

References

Timeline

Published: Sep 17, 2026
Last Modified: Sep 17, 2026
Status: Received

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-92503?

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix ABBA deadlock in ext4_xattr_inode_cache_find() Syzbot/stress-ng reported an ABBA deadlock in ext4 when exercising concurrent xattr workloads (using the ea_inode mount/format option). The deadlock occurs between the running transaction and the eviction thread: - Task 1 (stress-ng): Holds a reference to a shared mbcache_entry (ce) and calls ext4_xattr_inode_cache_find() -> ext4_iget() to retrieve the corresponding EA inode. Since the EA inode is currently being evicted, ext4_iget() blocks in __wait_on_freeing_inode() waiting for eviction to complete. - Task 2 (eviction thread): Currently evicting the same EA inode in ext4_evict_ea_inode(). It calls mb_cache_entry_wait_unused(oe) which blocks waiting for Task 1 to release the reference to the mbcache_entry. To break this deadlock, implement a new ext4_iget() configuration flag named EXT4_IGET_NOWAIT. When set, perform a non-blocking lookup of the inode via VFS's find_inode_nowait() API. If the inode is currently being evicted (marked with I_FREEING or I_WILL_FREE) or created (I_CREATING), or if it is not present in the VFS inode cache (cache miss), simply skip it (returning -ENOENT) rather than waiting for eviction/creation to complete, breaking the ABBA cycle. Since we return -ENOENT immediately on a cache miss, we never attempt to allocate a new inode or call iget_locked(), completely eliminating any TOCTOU race window. If the returned inode is I_NEW, wait for its initialization to clear via wait_on_new_inode(). If initialization fails and the inode is unhashed during wait_on_new_inode() waking up (e.g., due to an I/O read error in another thread), safely drop the reference and return -ENOENT. This unhashed check is executed unconditionally on all cache-hit pathways to properly handle concurrent initialization failures. Finally, standard validation checks (including is_bad_inode, EXT4_EA_INODE_FL, file_acl, and xattr flags) are executed as normal inside check_igot_inode() to fully guarantee VFS-layer safety. In ext4_xattr_inode_cache_find(), invoke ext4_iget() with the new EXT4_IGET_NOWAIT flag to perform the non-blocking cache search.

How severe is CVE-2026-92503?

Severity scoring for CVE-2026-92503 is pending analysis.

How do I fix CVE-2026-92503?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

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