CVE-2025-38580

Technical Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ext4: fix inode use after free in ext4_end_io_rsv_work()

In ext4_io_end_defer_completion(), check if io_end->list_vec is empty to

avoid adding an io_end that requires no conversion to the

i_rsv_conversion_list, which in turn prevents starting an unnecessary

worker. An ext4_emergency_state() check is also added to avoid attempting

to abort the journal in an emergency state.

Additionally, ext4_put_io_end_defer() is refactored to call

ext4_io_end_defer_completion() directly instead of being open-coded.

This also prevents starting an unnecessary worker when EXT4_IO_END_FAILED

is set but data_err=abort is not enabled.

This ensures that the check in ext4_put_io_end_defer() is consistent with

the check in ext4_end_bio(). Otherwise, we might add an io_end to the

i_rsv_conversion_list and then call ext4_finish_bio(), after which the

inode could be freed before ext4_end_io_rsv_work() is called, triggering

a use-after-free is

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from linux. Update linux_kernel to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Affected Products

References