CVE-2022-50668
ext4: fix deadlock due to mbcache entry corruption
Severity Score
Exploit Likelihood
Affected Versions
Public Exploits
0Exploited in Wild
-Decision
Descriptions
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix deadlock due to mbcache entry corruption When manipulating xattr blocks, we can deadlock infinitely looping
inside ext4_xattr_block_set() where we constantly keep finding xattr
block for reuse in mbcache but we are unable to reuse it because its
reference count is too big. This happens because cache entry for the
xattr block is marked as reusable (e_reusable set) although its
reference count is too big. When this inconsistency happens, this
inconsistent state is kept indefinitely and so ext4_xattr_block_set()
keeps retrying indefinitely. The inconsistent state is caused by non-atomic update of e_reusable bit.
e_reusable is part of a bitfield and e_reusable update can race with
update of e_referenced bit in the same bitfield resulting in loss of one
of the updates. Fix the problem by using atomic bitops instead. This bug has been around for many years, but it became *much* easier
to hit after commit 65f8b80053a1 ("ext4: fix race when reusing xattr
blocks").
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix deadlock due to mbcache entry corruption When manipulating xattr blocks, we can deadlock infinitely looping inside ext4_xattr_block_set() where we constantly keep finding xattr block for reuse in mbcache but we are unable to reuse it because its reference count is too big. This happens because cache entry for the xattr block is marked as reusable (e_reusable set) although its reference count is too big. When this inconsistency happens, this inconsistent state is kept indefinitely and so ext4_xattr_block_set() keeps retrying indefinitely. The inconsistent state is caused by non-atomic update of e_reusable bit. e_reusable is part of a bitfield and e_reusable update can race with update of e_referenced bit in the same bitfield resulting in loss of one of the updates. Fix the problem by using atomic bitops instead. This bug has been around for many years, but it became *much* easier to hit after commit 65f8b80053a1 ("ext4: fix race when reusing xattr blocks").
The SUSE Linux Enterprise 15 SP5 RT kernel was updated to fix various security issues.
CVSS Scores
SSVC
- Decision:-
Timeline
- 2025-12-09 CVE Reserved
- 2025-12-09 CVE Published
- 2025-12-09 CVE Updated
- 2026-04-10 EPSS Updated
- ---------- Exploited in Wild
- ---------- KEV Due Date
- ---------- First Exploit
CWE
CAPEC
References (8)
| URL | Tag | Source |
|---|---|---|
| https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6048c64b26097a0ffbd966866b599f990e674e9b | Vuln. Introduced |
| URL | Date | SRC |
|---|
| URL | Date | SRC |
|---|
Affected Vendors, Products, and Versions
| Vendor | Product | Version | Other | Status | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Product | Version | Other | Status | <-- --> | Vendor | Product | Version | Other | Status |
| Linux Search vendor "Linux" | Linux Kernel Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" | >= 4.6 < 4.19.270 Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 4.6 < 4.19.270" | en |
Affected
| ||||||
| Linux Search vendor "Linux" | Linux Kernel Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" | >= 4.6 < 5.4.229 Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 4.6 < 5.4.229" | en |
Affected
| ||||||
| Linux Search vendor "Linux" | Linux Kernel Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" | >= 4.6 < 5.10.163 Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 4.6 < 5.10.163" | en |
Affected
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| Linux Search vendor "Linux" | Linux Kernel Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" | >= 4.6 < 5.15.87 Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 4.6 < 5.15.87" | en |
Affected
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| Linux Search vendor "Linux" | Linux Kernel Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" | >= 4.6 < 6.0.18 Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 4.6 < 6.0.18" | en |
Affected
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| Linux Search vendor "Linux" | Linux Kernel Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" | >= 4.6 < 6.1.4 Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 4.6 < 6.1.4" | en |
Affected
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| Linux Search vendor "Linux" | Linux Kernel Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" | >= 4.6 < 6.2 Search vendor "Linux" for product "Linux Kernel" and version " >= 4.6 < 6.2" | en |
Affected
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