CVE-2026-46002 (GCVE-0-2026-46002)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-05-27 12:55 – Updated: 2026-05-27 12:55
VLAI
Title
ext2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget()
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget() ext2_iget() already rejects inodes with i_nlink == 0 when i_mode is zero or i_dtime is set, treating them as deleted. However, the case of i_nlink == 0 with a non-zero mode and zero dtime slips through. Since ext2 has no orphan list, such a combination can only result from filesystem corruption - a legitimate inode deletion always sets either i_dtime or clears i_mode before freeing the inode. A crafted image can exploit this gap to present such an inode to the VFS, which then triggers WARN_ON inside drop_nlink() (fs/inode.c) via ext2_unlink(), ext2_rename() and ext2_rmdir(): WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 609 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336 CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 609 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1 Call Trace: <TASK> inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline] ext2_unlink+0x26c/0x300 fs/ext2/namei.c:295 vfs_unlink+0x2fc/0x9b0 fs/namei.c:4477 do_unlinkat+0x53e/0x730 fs/namei.c:4541 __x64_sys_unlink+0xc6/0x110 fs/namei.c:4587 do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f </TASK> WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 646 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 646 Comm: syz.0.17 Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1 Call Trace: <TASK> inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline] ext2_rename+0x35e/0x850 fs/ext2/namei.c:374 vfs_rename+0xf2f/0x2060 fs/namei.c:5021 do_renameat2+0xbe2/0xd50 fs/namei.c:5178 __x64_sys_rename+0x7e/0xa0 fs/namei.c:5223 do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f </TASK> WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 634 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 634 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1 Call Trace: <TASK> inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline] ext2_rmdir+0xca/0x110 fs/ext2/namei.c:311 vfs_rmdir+0x204/0x690 fs/namei.c:4348 do_rmdir+0x372/0x3e0 fs/namei.c:4407 __x64_sys_unlinkat+0xf0/0x130 fs/namei.c:4577 do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f </TASK> Extend the existing i_nlink == 0 check to also catch this case, reporting the corruption via ext2_error() and returning -EFSCORRUPTED. This rejects the inode at load time and prevents it from reaching any of the namei.c paths. Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.
Severity
No CVSS data available.
Assigner
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version
Linux Linux Affected: 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 , < 32e0b925572686399243834ec99e2a9d85c62eae (git)
Affected: 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 , < d3af04a43db86379df7438bf8bade71685b8a239 (git)
Affected: 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 , < 2dde6377ab2e46bb80cf066c659ef016f3ad7a9b (git)
Affected: 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 , < 470264bbec499e276a89a6431144ae58f411ea4d (git)
Affected: 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 , < 25947cc5b2374cd5bf627fe3141496444260d04f (git)
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Linux Linux Affected: 2.6.12
Unaffected: 0 , < 2.6.12 (semver)
Unaffected: 6.6.140 , ≤ 6.6.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.12.86 , ≤ 6.12.* (semver)
Unaffected: 6.18.27 , ≤ 6.18.* (semver)
Unaffected: 7.0.4 , ≤ 7.0.* (semver)
Unaffected: 7.1-rc1 , ≤ * (original_commit_for_fix)
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{
  "containers": {
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "Linux",
          "programFiles": [
            "fs/ext2/inode.c"
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          "vendor": "Linux",
          "versions": [
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              "version": "2.6.12"
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              "version": "6.18.27",
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              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.0.4",
              "versionType": "semver"
            },
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              "status": "unaffected",
              "version": "7.1-rc1",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"
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      "cpeApplicability": [
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      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\next2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget()\n\next2_iget() already rejects inodes with i_nlink == 0 when i_mode is\nzero or i_dtime is set, treating them as deleted. However, the case of\ni_nlink == 0 with a non-zero mode and zero dtime slips through. Since\next2 has no orphan list, such a combination can only result from\nfilesystem corruption - a legitimate inode deletion always sets either\ni_dtime or clears i_mode before freeing the inode.\n\nA crafted image can exploit this gap to present such an inode to the\nVFS, which then triggers WARN_ON inside drop_nlink() (fs/inode.c) via\next2_unlink(), ext2_rename() and ext2_rmdir():\n\nWARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 609 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336\nCPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 609 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1\nCall Trace:\n \u003cTASK\u003e\n inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]\n ext2_unlink+0x26c/0x300 fs/ext2/namei.c:295\n vfs_unlink+0x2fc/0x9b0 fs/namei.c:4477\n do_unlinkat+0x53e/0x730 fs/namei.c:4541\n __x64_sys_unlink+0xc6/0x110 fs/namei.c:4587\n do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\n \u003c/TASK\u003e\n\nWARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 646 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336\nCPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 646 Comm: syz.0.17 Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1\nCall Trace:\n \u003cTASK\u003e\n inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]\n ext2_rename+0x35e/0x850 fs/ext2/namei.c:374\n vfs_rename+0xf2f/0x2060 fs/namei.c:5021\n do_renameat2+0xbe2/0xd50 fs/namei.c:5178\n __x64_sys_rename+0x7e/0xa0 fs/namei.c:5223\n do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\n \u003c/TASK\u003e\n\nWARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 634 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336\nCPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 634 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1\nCall Trace:\n \u003cTASK\u003e\n inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]\n ext2_rmdir+0xca/0x110 fs/ext2/namei.c:311\n vfs_rmdir+0x204/0x690 fs/namei.c:4348\n do_rmdir+0x372/0x3e0 fs/namei.c:4407\n __x64_sys_unlinkat+0xf0/0x130 fs/namei.c:4577\n do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\n \u003c/TASK\u003e\n\nExtend the existing i_nlink == 0 check to also catch this case,\nreporting the corruption via ext2_error() and returning -EFSCORRUPTED.\nThis rejects the inode at load time and prevents it from reaching any\nof the namei.c paths.\n\nFound by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller."
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-05-27T12:55:57.898Z",
        "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
        "shortName": "Linux"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/32e0b925572686399243834ec99e2a9d85c62eae"
        },
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          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d3af04a43db86379df7438bf8bade71685b8a239"
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          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2dde6377ab2e46bb80cf066c659ef016f3ad7a9b"
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          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/470264bbec499e276a89a6431144ae58f411ea4d"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/25947cc5b2374cd5bf627fe3141496444260d04f"
        }
      ],
      "title": "ext2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget()",
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  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
    "assignerShortName": "Linux",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-46002",
    "datePublished": "2026-05-27T12:55:57.898Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-05-13T15:03:33.091Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-05-27T12:55:57.898Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2",
  "vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
    "epss": {
      "cve": "CVE-2026-46002",
      "date": "2026-05-29",
      "epss": "0.00018",
      "percentile": "0.05164"
    },
    "nvd": "{\"cve\":{\"id\":\"CVE-2026-46002\",\"sourceIdentifier\":\"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67\",\"published\":\"2026-05-27T14:17:17.880\",\"lastModified\":\"2026-05-27T14:48:03.013\",\"vulnStatus\":\"Awaiting Analysis\",\"cveTags\":[],\"descriptions\":[{\"lang\":\"en\",\"value\":\"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\\n\\next2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget()\\n\\next2_iget() already rejects inodes with i_nlink == 0 when i_mode is\\nzero or i_dtime is set, treating them as deleted. However, the case of\\ni_nlink == 0 with a non-zero mode and zero dtime slips through. Since\\next2 has no orphan list, such a combination can only result from\\nfilesystem corruption - a legitimate inode deletion always sets either\\ni_dtime or clears i_mode before freeing the inode.\\n\\nA crafted image can exploit this gap to present such an inode to the\\nVFS, which then triggers WARN_ON inside drop_nlink() (fs/inode.c) via\\next2_unlink(), ext2_rename() and ext2_rmdir():\\n\\nWARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 609 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336\\nCPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 609 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1\\nCall Trace:\\n \u003cTASK\u003e\\n inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]\\n ext2_unlink+0x26c/0x300 fs/ext2/namei.c:295\\n vfs_unlink+0x2fc/0x9b0 fs/namei.c:4477\\n do_unlinkat+0x53e/0x730 fs/namei.c:4541\\n __x64_sys_unlink+0xc6/0x110 fs/namei.c:4587\\n do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78\\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\\n \u003c/TASK\u003e\\n\\nWARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 646 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336\\nCPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 646 Comm: syz.0.17 Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1\\nCall Trace:\\n \u003cTASK\u003e\\n inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]\\n ext2_rename+0x35e/0x850 fs/ext2/namei.c:374\\n vfs_rename+0xf2f/0x2060 fs/namei.c:5021\\n do_renameat2+0xbe2/0xd50 fs/namei.c:5178\\n __x64_sys_rename+0x7e/0xa0 fs/namei.c:5223\\n do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78\\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\\n \u003c/TASK\u003e\\n\\nWARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 634 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336\\nCPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 634 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1\\nCall Trace:\\n \u003cTASK\u003e\\n inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]\\n ext2_rmdir+0xca/0x110 fs/ext2/namei.c:311\\n vfs_rmdir+0x204/0x690 fs/namei.c:4348\\n do_rmdir+0x372/0x3e0 fs/namei.c:4407\\n __x64_sys_unlinkat+0xf0/0x130 fs/namei.c:4577\\n do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78\\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\\n \u003c/TASK\u003e\\n\\nExtend the existing i_nlink == 0 check to also catch this case,\\nreporting the corruption via ext2_error() and returning -EFSCORRUPTED.\\nThis rejects the inode at load time and prevents it from reaching any\\nof the namei.c paths.\\n\\nFound by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.\"}],\"metrics\":{},\"references\":[{\"url\":\"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/25947cc5b2374cd5bf627fe3141496444260d04f\",\"source\":\"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67\"},{\"url\":\"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2dde6377ab2e46bb80cf066c659ef016f3ad7a9b\",\"source\":\"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67\"},{\"url\":\"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/32e0b925572686399243834ec99e2a9d85c62eae\",\"source\":\"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67\"},{\"url\":\"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/470264bbec499e276a89a6431144ae58f411ea4d\",\"source\":\"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67\"},{\"url\":\"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d3af04a43db86379df7438bf8bade71685b8a239\",\"source\":\"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67\"}]}}"
  }
}


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