Linux Kernel up to 6.14.1 hung_task_timeout_secs ext4_setattr state issue

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as problematic has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 6.14.1. Affected is the function ext4_setattr of the file /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs. The manipulation leads to state issue. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2025-22120. There is no available exploit. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.14.1. This issue affects the function ext4_setattr of the file /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a state issue vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-371. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: goto right label 'out_mmap_sem' in ext4_setattr() Otherwise, if ext4_inode_attach_jinode() fails, a hung task will happen because filemap_invalidate_unlock() isn't called to unlock mapping->invalidate_lock. Like this: EXT4-fs error (device sda) in ext4_setattr:5557: Out of memory INFO: task fsstress:374 blocked for more than 122 seconds. Not tainted 6.14.0-rc1-next-20250206-xfstests-dirty #726 "echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs" disables this message. task:fsstress state:D stack:0 pid:374 tgid:374 ppid:373 task_flags:0x440140 flags:0x00000000 Call Trace: __schedule+0x2c9/0x7f0 schedule+0x27/0xa0 schedule_preempt_disabled+0x15/0x30 rwsem_down_read_slowpath+0x278/0x4c0 down_read+0x59/0xb0 page_cache_ra_unbounded+0x65/0x1b0 filemap_get_pages+0x124/0x3e0 filemap_read+0x114/0x3d0 vfs_read+0x297/0x360 ksys_read+0x6c/0xe0 do_syscall_64+0x4b/0x110 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2025-22120 since 12/29/2024. The exploitation is known to be difficult. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 02/15/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 240657 (Ubuntu 25.04 : Linux kernel vulnerabilities (USN-7594-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.14.2 or 6.15-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 32d872e3905746ff1048078256cb00f946b97d8a/7e91ae31e2d264155dfd102101afc2de7bd74a64 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (240657) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-0844). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Google Container-Optimized OS
• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• Dell Avamar
• SolarWinds Security Event Manager
• Dell NetWorker
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway
• IBM QRadar SIEM

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.14.0
• 6.14.1

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

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