CVE-2022-50436: ext4: don't set up encryption key during jbd2 transaction

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2025-10-01 · updated 2026-06-17

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: don't set up encryption key during jbd2 transaction Commit a80f7fcf1867 ("ext4: fixup ext4_fc_track_* functions' signature") extended the scope of the transaction in ext4_unlink() too far, making it include the call to ext4_find_entry(). However, ext4_find_entry() can deadlock when called from within a transaction because it may need to set up the directory's encryption key. Fix this by restoring the transaction to its original scope.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 5.10.1 before 5.10.163; from 5.11 before 5.15.87; from 5.16 before 6.0.18; from 6.1 before 6.1.4; 5.10, 5.10-rc4, 5.10-rc5, 5.10-rc6, 5.10-rc7 — fixed in 5.10.163, 5.15.87, 6.0.18, 6.1.4

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.10.163, 5.15.87, 6.0.18, 6.1.4. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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