CVE-2026-43066: ext4: fix iloc.bh leak in ext4_fc_replay_inode() error paths

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: 2026-05-05 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-401

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix iloc.bh leak in ext4_fc_replay_inode() error paths During code review, Joseph found that ext4_fc_replay_inode() calls ext4_get_fc_inode_loc() to get the inode location, which holds a reference to iloc.bh that must be released via brelse(). However, several error paths jump to the 'out' label without releasing iloc.bh: - ext4_handle_dirty_metadata() failure - sync_dirty_buffer() failure - ext4_mark_inode_used() failure - ext4_iget() failure Fix this by introducing an 'out_brelse' label placed just before the existing 'out' label to ensure iloc.bh is always released. Additionally, make ext4_fc_replay_inode() propagate errors properly instead of always returning 0.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 5.10 before 5.10.253; from 5.11 before 5.15.203; from 5.16 before 6.1.168; from 6.2 before 6.6.131; from 6.7 before 6.12.80; from 6.13 before 6.18.21 — fixed in 5.10.253, 5.15.203, 6.1.168, 6.12.80, 6.18.21, 6.19.11

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.10.253, 5.15.203, 6.1.168, 6.12.80. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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