CVE-2026-31577: nilfs2: fix NULL i_assoc_inode dereference in nilfs_mdt_save_to_shadow_map

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: 2026-04-24 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-476

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nilfs2: fix NULL i_assoc_inode dereference in nilfs_mdt_save_to_shadow_map The DAT inode's btree node cache (i_assoc_inode) is initialized lazily during btree operations. However, nilfs_mdt_save_to_shadow_map() assumes i_assoc_inode is already initialized when copying dirty pages to the shadow map during GC. If NILFS_IOCTL_CLEAN_SEGMENTS is called immediately after mount before any btree operation has occurred on the DAT inode, i_assoc_inode is NULL leading to a general protection fault. Fix this by calling nilfs_attach_btree_node_cache() on the DAT inode in nilfs_dat_read() at mount time, ensuring i_assoc_inode is always initialized before any GC operation can use it.

Affected products

Linux kernel: before 6.6.136; from 6.7 before 6.12.83; from 6.13 before 6.18.24; from 6.19 before 6.19.14; from 7.0 before 7.0.1 — fixed in 6.12.83, 6.18.24, 6.19.14, 6.6.136, 7.0.1

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.12.83, 6.18.24, 6.19.14, 6.6.136. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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