Linux Kernel up to 6.19.3 ext4 ext4_ext_shift_extents memory leak

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in Linux Kernel up to 6.19.3. This impacts the function ext4_ext_shift_extents of the component ext4. The manipulation leads to memory leak. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2026-45948. There is not any exploit available. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.19.3. This issue affects the function ext4_ext_shift_extents of the component ext4. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory leak vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-401. The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, which slowly consumes remaining memory. Impacted is availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix memory leak in ext4_ext_shift_extents() In ext4_ext_shift_extents(), if the extent is NULL in the while loop, the function returns immediately without releasing the path obtained via ext4_find_extent(), leading to a memory leak. Fix this by jumping to the out label to ensure the path is properly released.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-45948 since 05/13/2026. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available.

Upgrading to version 5.10.252, 5.15.202, 6.1.165, 6.6.128, 6.12.75, 6.18.14 or 6.19.4 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 7e807cb8603b7664fa630a696cd891d9a03c248d/afc5e61e1a07b2b833bd72cbee36ecce9cd901e2/1bce219ee5512cf179ba40cf114945a14a16e21f/4a79fde8db7eba7f1128d971ceba4e3c9ac84aec/2f4b1052246ca646bb17bfe0f53df2fdf9729b58/12615ab4bfb69678e5d961b28bb70040299e51b1/bd7b52557e4a3ccd7595fdb3a585f1257de57935/ca81109d4a8f192dc1cbad4a1ee25246363c2833 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.

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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
• 6.19.0
• 6.19.1
• 6.19.2
• 6.19.3

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

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