CVE-2026-45984: gfs2: Fix use-after-free in iomap inline data write path

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-05-27 · updated 2026-10-19
Weakness: CWE-416

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gfs2: Fix use-after-free in iomap inline data write path The inline data buffer head (dibh) is being released prematurely in gfs2_iomap_begin() via release_metapath() while iomap->inline_data still points to dibh->b_data. This causes a use-after-free when iomap_write_end_inline() later attempts to write to the inline data area. The bug sequence: 1. gfs2_iomap_begin() calls gfs2_meta_inode_buffer() to read inode metadata into dibh 2. Sets iomap->inline_data = dibh->b_data + sizeof(struct gfs2_dinode) 3. Calls release_metapath() which calls brelse(dibh), dropping refcount to 0 4. kswapd reclaims the page (~39ms later in the syzbot report) 5. iomap_write_end_inline() tries to memcpy() to iomap->inline_data 6. KASAN detects use-after-free write to freed memory Fix by storing dibh in iomap->private and incrementing its refcount with get_bh() in gfs2_iomap_begin(). The buffer is then properly released in gfs2_iomap_end() after the inline write completes, ensuring the page stays alive for the entire iomap operation. Note: A C reproducer is not available for this issue. The fix is based on analysis of the KASAN report and code review showing the buffer head is freed before use. [agruenba: Take buffer head reference in gfs2_iomap_begin() to avoid leaks in gfs2_iomap_get() and gfs2_iomap_alloc().]

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 5.2 before 5.10.252; from 5.11 before 5.15.202; from 5.16 before 6.1.165; from 6.2 before 6.6.128; from 6.7 before 6.12.75; from 6.13 before 6.18.14 — fixed in 5.10.252, 5.15.202, 6.1.165, 6.12.75, 6.18.14, 6.19.4

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 5.10.252, 5.15.202, 6.1.165, 6.12.75. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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