In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: avoid allocate block...

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ext4: avoid allocate block from corrupted group in ext4_mb_find_by_goal()

There's issue as follows:
...
EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p1): Delayed block allocation failed for inode 206 at logical offset 0 with max blocks 1 with error 117
EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p1): This should not happen!! Data will be lost

EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p1): Delayed block allocation failed for inode 206 at logical offset 0 with max blocks 1 with error 117
EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p1): This should not happen!! Data will be lost

EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p1): Delayed block allocation failed for inode 206 at logical offset 0 with max blocks 1 with error 117
EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p1): This should not happen!! Data will be lost

EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p1): Delayed block allocation failed for inode 206 at logical offset 0 with max blocks 1 with error 117
EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p1): This should not happen!! Data will be lost

EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p1): Delayed block allocation failed for inode 2243 at logical offset 0 with max blocks 1 with error 117
EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p1): This should not happen!! Data will be lost

EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p1): Delayed block allocation failed for inode 2239 at logical offset 0 with max blocks 1 with error 117
EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p1): This should not happen!! Data will be lost

EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p1): error count since last fsck: 1
EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p1): initial error at time 1765597433: ext4_mb_generate_buddy:760
EXT4-fs (mmcblk0p1): last error at time 1765597433: ext4_mb_generate_buddy:760
...

According to the log analysis, blocks are always requested from the
corrupted block group. This may happen as follows:
ext4_mb_find_by_goal
ext4_mb_load_buddy
ext4_mb_load_buddy_gfp
ext4_mb_init_cache
ext4_read_block_bitmap_nowait
ext4_wait_block_bitmap
ext4_validate_block_bitmap
if (!grp || EXT4_MB_GRP_BBITMAP_CORRUPT(grp))
return -EFSCORRUPTED; // There's no logs.
if (err)
return err; // Will return error
ext4_lock_group(ac->ac_sb, group);
if (unlikely(EXT4_MB_GRP_BBITMAP_CORRUPT(e4b->bd_info))) // Unreachable
goto out;

After commit 9008a58e5dce ("ext4: make the bitmap read routines return
real error codes") merged, Commit 163a203ddb36 ("ext4: mark block group
as corrupt on block bitmap error") is no real solution for allocating
blocks from corrupted block groups. This is because if
'EXT4_MB_GRP_BBITMAP_CORRUPT(e4b->bd_info)' is true, then
'ext4_mb_load_buddy()' may return an error. This means that the block
allocation will fail.
Therefore, check block group if corrupted when ext4_mb_load_buddy()
returns error.

Basic information

Type
unreviewed
Severity
medium
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Source code
Not specified
Published (advisory)
2026-05-05 18:33:25 UTC
Updated
2026-05-21 00:31:29 UTC
NVD published
2026-05-05

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.01% 2.30%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
5.5 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

Identifiers

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-401 Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence