In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ext4: drop extent cache after doing PARTIAL_VALID1 zeroout
When splitting an unwritten extent in the middle and converting it to
initialized in ext4_split_extent() with the EXT4_EXT_MAY_ZEROOUT and
EXT4_EXT_DATA_VALID2 flags set, it could leave a stale unwritten extent.
Assume we have an unwritten file and buffered write in the middle of it
without dioread_nolock enabled, it will allocate blocks as written
extent.
0 A B N
[UUUUUUUUUUUU] on-disk extent U: unwritten extent
[UUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree
[--DDDDDDDD--] D: valid data
|<- ->| ----> this range needs to be initialized
ext4_split_extent() first try to split this extent at B with
EXT4_EXT_DATA_PARTIAL_VALID1 and EXT4_EXT_MAY_ZEROOUT flag set, but
ext4_split_extent_at() failed to split this extent due to temporary lack
of space. It zeroout B to N and leave the entire extent as unwritten.
0 A B N
[UUUUUUUUUUUU] on-disk extent
[UUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree
[--DDDDDDDDZZ] Z: zeroed data
ext4_split_extent() then try to split this extent at A with
EXT4_EXT_DATA_VALID2 flag set. This time, it split successfully and
leave an written extent from A to N.
0 A B N
[UUWWWWWWWWWW] on-disk extent W: written extent
[UUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree
[--DDDDDDDDZZ]
Finally ext4_map_create_blocks() only insert extent A to B to the extent
status tree, and leave an stale unwritten extent in the status tree.
0 A B N
[UUWWWWWWWWWW] on-disk extent W: written extent
[UUWWWWWWWWUU] extent status tree
[--DDDDDDDDZZ]
Fix this issue by always cached extent status entry after zeroing out
the second part.
ext4: drop extent cache after doing PARTIAL_VALID1 zeroout
When splitting an unwritten extent in the middle and converting it to
initialized in ext4_split_extent() with the EXT4_EXT_MAY_ZEROOUT and
EXT4_EXT_DATA_VALID2 flags set, it could leave a stale unwritten extent.
Assume we have an unwritten file and buffered write in the middle of it
without dioread_nolock enabled, it will allocate blocks as written
extent.
0 A B N
[UUUUUUUUUUUU] on-disk extent U: unwritten extent
[UUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree
[--DDDDDDDD--] D: valid data
|<- ->| ----> this range needs to be initialized
ext4_split_extent() first try to split this extent at B with
EXT4_EXT_DATA_PARTIAL_VALID1 and EXT4_EXT_MAY_ZEROOUT flag set, but
ext4_split_extent_at() failed to split this extent due to temporary lack
of space. It zeroout B to N and leave the entire extent as unwritten.
0 A B N
[UUUUUUUUUUUU] on-disk extent
[UUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree
[--DDDDDDDDZZ] Z: zeroed data
ext4_split_extent() then try to split this extent at A with
EXT4_EXT_DATA_VALID2 flag set. This time, it split successfully and
leave an written extent from A to N.
0 A B N
[UUWWWWWWWWWW] on-disk extent W: written extent
[UUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree
[--DDDDDDDDZZ]
Finally ext4_map_create_blocks() only insert extent A to B to the extent
status tree, and leave an stale unwritten extent in the status tree.
0 A B N
[UUWWWWWWWWWW] on-disk extent W: written extent
[UUWWWWWWWWUU] extent status tree
[--DDDDDDDDZZ]
Fix this issue by always cached extent status entry after zeroing out
the second part.
Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Wed, 27 May 2026 16:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | CWE-122 CWE-665 |
Wed, 27 May 2026 14:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: drop extent cache after doing PARTIAL_VALID1 zeroout When splitting an unwritten extent in the middle and converting it to initialized in ext4_split_extent() with the EXT4_EXT_MAY_ZEROOUT and EXT4_EXT_DATA_VALID2 flags set, it could leave a stale unwritten extent. Assume we have an unwritten file and buffered write in the middle of it without dioread_nolock enabled, it will allocate blocks as written extent. 0 A B N [UUUUUUUUUUUU] on-disk extent U: unwritten extent [UUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree [--DDDDDDDD--] D: valid data |<- ->| ----> this range needs to be initialized ext4_split_extent() first try to split this extent at B with EXT4_EXT_DATA_PARTIAL_VALID1 and EXT4_EXT_MAY_ZEROOUT flag set, but ext4_split_extent_at() failed to split this extent due to temporary lack of space. It zeroout B to N and leave the entire extent as unwritten. 0 A B N [UUUUUUUUUUUU] on-disk extent [UUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree [--DDDDDDDDZZ] Z: zeroed data ext4_split_extent() then try to split this extent at A with EXT4_EXT_DATA_VALID2 flag set. This time, it split successfully and leave an written extent from A to N. 0 A B N [UUWWWWWWWWWW] on-disk extent W: written extent [UUUUUUUUUUUU] extent status tree [--DDDDDDDDZZ] Finally ext4_map_create_blocks() only insert extent A to B to the extent status tree, and leave an stale unwritten extent in the status tree. 0 A B N [UUWWWWWWWWWW] on-disk extent W: written extent [UUWWWWWWWWUU] extent status tree [--DDDDDDDDZZ] Fix this issue by always cached extent status entry after zeroing out the second part. | |
| Title | ext4: drop extent cache after doing PARTIAL_VALID1 zeroout | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
|
Projects
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Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-05-27T12:17:03.175Z
Reserved: 2026-05-13T15:03:33.083Z
Link: CVE-2026-45892
No data.
Status : Awaiting Analysis
Published: 2026-05-27T14:17:03.353
Modified: 2026-05-27T14:48:31.480
Link: CVE-2026-45892
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
Updated: 2026-05-27T16:00:08Z