Linux Kernel up to 5.10.162/5.15.86/6.0.17/6.1.3 ext4_unlink deadlock

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
5.0	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as critical has been discovered in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.162/5.15.86/6.0.17/6.1.3. The affected element is the function ext4_unlink. Executing a manipulation can lead to deadlock. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2022-50436. No exploit is available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.162/5.15.86/6.0.17/6.1.3. This vulnerability affects the function ext4_unlink. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a deadlock vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-833. The product contains multiple threads or executable segments that are waiting for each other to release a necessary lock, resulting in deadlock. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: don't set up encryption key during jbd2 transaction Commit a80f7fcf1867 ("ext4: fixup ext4_fc_track_* functions' signature") extended the scope of the transaction in ext4_unlink() too far, making it include the call to ext4_find_entry(). However, ext4_find_entry() can deadlock when called from within a transaction because it may need to set up the directory's encryption key. Fix this by restoring the transaction to its original scope.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2022-50436 since 09/17/2025. The exploitation appears to be difficult. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 302981 (EulerOS Virtualization 2.13.1 : kernel (EulerOS-SA-2026-1637)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.10.163, 5.15.87, 6.0.18 or 6.1.4 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 23ad034760dd38e12b0e0e1b28b9629f330810a1/6220ec405571ded17efedc56587190b542adf246/206dd3acfb9bca54a25b228c7c7c2257eedde09b/1ba993208bcfd691e241483420a2a761d3f15750/4c0d5778385cb3618ff26a561ce41de2b7d9de70 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 (302981) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2025-2187). If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Affected

• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel
• Dell Secure Connect Gateway

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.162
• 5.15.0
• 5.15.1
• 5.15.2
• 5.15.3
• 5.15.4
• 5.15.5
• 5.15.6
• 5.15.7
• 5.15.8
• 5.15.9
• 5.15.10
• 5.15.11
• 5.15.12
• 5.15.13
• 5.15.14
• 5.15.15
• 5.15.16
• 5.15.17
• 5.15.18
• 5.15.19
• 5.15.20
• 5.15.21
• 5.15.22
• 5.15.23
• 5.15.24
• 5.15.25
• 5.15.26
• 5.15.27
• 5.15.28
• 5.15.29
• 5.15.30
• 5.15.31
• 5.15.32
• 5.15.33
• 5.15.34
• 5.15.35
• 5.15.36
• 5.15.37
• 5.15.38
• 5.15.39
• 5.15.40
• 5.15.41
• 5.15.42
• 5.15.43
• 5.15.44
• 5.15.45
• 5.15.46
• 5.15.47
• 5.15.48
• 5.15.49
• 5.15.50
• 5.15.51
• 5.15.52
• 5.15.53
• 5.15.54
• 5.15.55
• 5.15.56
• 5.15.57
• 5.15.58
• 5.15.59
• 5.15.60
• 5.15.61
• 5.15.62
• 5.15.63
• 5.15.64
• 5.15.65
• 5.15.66
• 5.15.67
• 5.15.68
• 5.15.69
• 5.15.70
• 5.15.71
• 5.15.72
• 5.15.73
• 5.15.74
• 5.15.75
• 5.15.76
• 5.15.77
• 5.15.78
• 5.15.79
• 5.15.80
• 5.15.81
• 5.15.82
• 5.15.83
• 5.15.84
• 5.15.85
• 5.15.86
• 6.0.0
• 6.0.1
• 6.0.2
• 6.0.3
• 6.0.4
• 6.0.5
• 6.0.6
• 6.0.7
• 6.0.8
• 6.0.9
• 6.0.10
• 6.0.11
• 6.0.12
• 6.0.13
• 6.0.14
• 6.0.15
• 6.0.16
• 6.0.17
• 6.1.0
• 6.1.1
• 6.1.2
• 6.1.3

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.1
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.0

VulDB Base Score: 4.8
VulDB Temp Score: 4.6
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔒

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Deadlock
CWE: CWE-833 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Nessus ID: 302981
Nessus Name: EulerOS Virtualization 2.13.1 : kernel (EulerOS-SA-2026-1637)

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.10.163/5.15.87/6.0.18/6.1.4
Patch: 23ad034760dd38e12b0e0e1b28b9629f330810a1/6220ec405571ded17efedc56587190b542adf246/206dd3acfb9bca54a25b228c7c7c2257eedde09b/1ba993208bcfd691e241483420a2a761d3f15750/4c0d5778385cb3618ff26a561ce41de2b7d9de70

Timelineinfo

09/17/2025 CVE reserved
10/01/2025 +14 days Advisory disclosed
10/01/2025 +0 days VulDB entry created
03/20/2026 +170 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2022-50436 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2022-50436
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-326530
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2025-2187 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen ermöglichen Denial of Service

Entryinfo

Created: 10/01/2025 14:41
Updated: 03/20/2026 19:34
Changes: 10/01/2025 14:41 (58), 10/27/2025 07:16 (7), 11/19/2025 22:25 (2), 01/22/2026 00:21 (11), 03/20/2026 19:34 (2)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Discussion

Do you want to use VulDB in your project?

Use the official API to access entries easily!