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CVE-2026-89601: ext2: Fix lost inode updates for IS_SYNC inodes

• Severity: high (CVSS 8.8 v3.1)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 0.6% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: none known
• Published: 2026-09-11 · updated 2026-10-30

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext2: Fix lost inode updates for IS_SYNC inodes ext2_setsize() and ext2_xattr_set2() had a construct like: if (IS_SYNC(inode)) { sync_inode_metadata(inode, 1); } else { mark_inode_dirty(inode); } which leads to lost inode updates for IS_SYNC inodes because sync_inode_metadata() does anything only if the inode is already dirty and hence inode updates may be simply lost. Fix the problem by unconditionally marking the inode dirty and *then* call sync_inode_metadata().

Affected products

• Linux: 2.6.12 — fixed in 7.3

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux 7.3. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/356984d1a5c32e94810cbb6c8dc7d8ff2d4d919a
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5481766125041e71662f2e32ee0e91ad5f4d07f4
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/55e66d84b5272c425b324a2b247cdacacf1e10b9
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5efb3350230fef831167740e69e6db2861101186
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b879565effd88fc119c2efea3f3868a9997ed9ba
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e54de654423bee98d1ba50379b09daf97c7854a6

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