Linux Kernel up to 6.19.5 xfs xfs_attr_leaf_entry_t assertion

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as critical has been discovered in Linux Kernel up to 6.19.5. Affected by this issue is the function xfs_attr_leaf_entry_t of the component xfs. Executing a manipulation can lead to assertion. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-43158. There is not any exploit available. It is advisable to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.19.5 and classified as critical. This vulnerability affects the function xfs_attr_leaf_entry_t of the component xfs. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a assertion vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-617. The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfs: fix freemap adjustments when adding xattrs to leaf blocks xfs/592 and xfs/794 both trip this assertion in the leaf block freemap adjustment code after ~20 minutes of running on my test VMs: ASSERT(ichdr->firstused >= ichdr->count * sizeof(xfs_attr_leaf_entry_t) + xfs_attr3_leaf_hdr_size(leaf)); Upon enabling quite a lot more debugging code, I narrowed this down to fsstress trying to set a local extended attribute with namelen=3 and valuelen=71. This results in an entry size of 80 bytes. At the start of xfs_attr3_leaf_add_work, the freemap looks like this: i 0 base 448 size 0 rhs 448 count 46 i 1 base 388 size 132 rhs 448 count 46 i 2 base 2120 size 4 rhs 448 count 46 firstused = 520 where "rhs" is the first byte past the end of the leaf entry array. This is inconsistent -- the entries array ends at byte 448, but freemap[1] says there's free space starting at byte 388! By the end of the function, the freemap is in worse shape: i 0 base 456 size 0 rhs 456 count 47 i 1 base 388 size 52 rhs 456 count 47 i 2 base 2120 size 4 rhs 456 count 47 firstused = 440 Important note: 388 is not aligned with the entries array element size of 8 bytes. Based on the incorrect freemap, the name area starts at byte 440, which is below the end of the entries array! That's why the assertion triggers and the filesystem shuts down. How did we end up here? First, recall from the previous patch that the freemap array in an xattr leaf block is not intended to be a comprehensive map of all free space in the leaf block. In other words, it's perfectly legal to have a leaf block with: * 376 bytes in use by the entries array * freemap[0] has [base = 376, size = 8] * freemap[1] has [base = 388, size = 1500] * the space between 376 and 388 is free, but the freemap stopped tracking that some time ago If we add one xattr, the entries array grows to 384 bytes, and freemap[0] becomes [base = 384, size = 0]. So far, so good. But if we add a second xattr, the entries array grows to 392 bytes, and freemap[0] gets pushed up to [base = 392, size = 0]. This is bad, because freemap[1] hasn't been updated, and now the entries array and the free space claim the same space. The fix here is to adjust all freemap entries so that none of them collide with the entries array. Note that this fix relies on commit 2a2b5932db6758 ("xfs: fix attr leaf header freemap.size underflow") and the previous patch that resets zero length freemap entries to have base = 0.

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-43158 since 05/01/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 318033 (RockyLinux 9 : kernel (RLSA-2026:21556)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.10.252, 5.15.202, 6.1.165, 6.6.128, 6.12.75, 6.18.16 or 6.19.6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch d08976725355b9d54d8332fce223fa281cc304a5/6a8737afbccc340e718e0b22577312826390be8b/a396b3d73d51355e50acdb403ba9c4cae4c1174e/38613c01f69e1e77e6b8acab1e8ac665d01c2f15/ef42a8766ff3fdf51cf72fb36d0859c09d134478/43f3b18679615a93bd848afde3602ba160637a46/24ce71852f2cee6581e2cbebc15489ed52bf63b7/3eefc0c2b78444b64feeb3783c017d6adc3cd3ce 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 vulnerability database at Tenable (318033). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.251
• 5.15.201
• 6.1.164
• 6.6.127
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.12.35
• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
• 6.12.40
• 6.12.41
• 6.12.42
• 6.12.43
• 6.12.44
• 6.12.45
• 6.12.46
• 6.12.47
• 6.12.48
• 6.12.49
• 6.12.50
• 6.12.51
• 6.12.52
• 6.12.53
• 6.12.54
• 6.12.55
• 6.12.56
• 6.12.57
• 6.12.58
• 6.12.59
• 6.12.60
• 6.12.61
• 6.12.62
• 6.12.63
• 6.12.64
• 6.12.65
• 6.12.66
• 6.12.67
• 6.12.68
• 6.12.69
• 6.12.70
• 6.12.71
• 6.12.72
• 6.12.73
• 6.12.74
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.19.0
• 6.19.1
• 6.19.2
• 6.19.3
• 6.19.4
• 6.19.5

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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Entryinfo

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