In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ext2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget()
ext2_iget() already rejects inodes with i_nlink == 0 when i_mode is
zero or i_dtime is set, treating them as deleted. However, the case of
i_nlink == 0 with a non-zero mode and zero dtime slips through. Since
ext2 has no orphan list, such a combination can only result from
filesystem corruption - a legitimate inode deletion always sets either
i_dtime or clears i_mode before freeing the inode.
A crafted image can exploit this gap to present such an inode to the
VFS, which then triggers WARN_ON inside drop_nlink() (fs/inode.c) via
ext2_unlink(), ext2_rename() and ext2_rmdir():
WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 609 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336
CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 609 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1
Call Trace:
<TASK>
inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]
ext2_unlink+0x26c/0x300 fs/ext2/namei.c:295
vfs_unlink+0x2fc/0x9b0 fs/namei.c:4477
do_unlinkat+0x53e/0x730 fs/namei.c:4541
__x64_sys_unlink+0xc6/0x110 fs/namei.c:4587
do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
</TASK>
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 646 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336
CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 646 Comm: syz.0.17 Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1
Call Trace:
<TASK>
inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]
ext2_rename+0x35e/0x850 fs/ext2/namei.c:374
vfs_rename+0xf2f/0x2060 fs/namei.c:5021
do_renameat2+0xbe2/0xd50 fs/namei.c:5178
__x64_sys_rename+0x7e/0xa0 fs/namei.c:5223
do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
</TASK>
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 634 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336
CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 634 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1
Call Trace:
<TASK>
inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]
ext2_rmdir+0xca/0x110 fs/ext2/namei.c:311
vfs_rmdir+0x204/0x690 fs/namei.c:4348
do_rmdir+0x372/0x3e0 fs/namei.c:4407
__x64_sys_unlinkat+0xf0/0x130 fs/namei.c:4577
do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
</TASK>
Extend the existing i_nlink == 0 check to also catch this case,
reporting the corruption via ext2_error() and returning -EFSCORRUPTED.
This rejects the inode at load time and prevents it from reaching any
of the namei.c paths.
Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.
ext2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget()
ext2_iget() already rejects inodes with i_nlink == 0 when i_mode is
zero or i_dtime is set, treating them as deleted. However, the case of
i_nlink == 0 with a non-zero mode and zero dtime slips through. Since
ext2 has no orphan list, such a combination can only result from
filesystem corruption - a legitimate inode deletion always sets either
i_dtime or clears i_mode before freeing the inode.
A crafted image can exploit this gap to present such an inode to the
VFS, which then triggers WARN_ON inside drop_nlink() (fs/inode.c) via
ext2_unlink(), ext2_rename() and ext2_rmdir():
WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 609 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336
CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 609 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1
Call Trace:
<TASK>
inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]
ext2_unlink+0x26c/0x300 fs/ext2/namei.c:295
vfs_unlink+0x2fc/0x9b0 fs/namei.c:4477
do_unlinkat+0x53e/0x730 fs/namei.c:4541
__x64_sys_unlink+0xc6/0x110 fs/namei.c:4587
do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
</TASK>
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 646 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336
CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 646 Comm: syz.0.17 Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1
Call Trace:
<TASK>
inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]
ext2_rename+0x35e/0x850 fs/ext2/namei.c:374
vfs_rename+0xf2f/0x2060 fs/namei.c:5021
do_renameat2+0xbe2/0xd50 fs/namei.c:5178
__x64_sys_rename+0x7e/0xa0 fs/namei.c:5223
do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
</TASK>
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 634 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336
CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 634 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1
Call Trace:
<TASK>
inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]
ext2_rmdir+0xca/0x110 fs/ext2/namei.c:311
vfs_rmdir+0x204/0x690 fs/namei.c:4348
do_rmdir+0x372/0x3e0 fs/namei.c:4407
__x64_sys_unlinkat+0xf0/0x130 fs/namei.c:4577
do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
</TASK>
Extend the existing i_nlink == 0 check to also catch this case,
reporting the corruption via ext2_error() and returning -EFSCORRUPTED.
This rejects the inode at load time and prevents it from reaching any
of the namei.c paths.
Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
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| Linux | Linux | affected |
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Fixes
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Workaround
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References
History
Wed, 27 May 2026 17:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | CWE-398 CWE-400 |
Wed, 27 May 2026 14:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget() ext2_iget() already rejects inodes with i_nlink == 0 when i_mode is zero or i_dtime is set, treating them as deleted. However, the case of i_nlink == 0 with a non-zero mode and zero dtime slips through. Since ext2 has no orphan list, such a combination can only result from filesystem corruption - a legitimate inode deletion always sets either i_dtime or clears i_mode before freeing the inode. A crafted image can exploit this gap to present such an inode to the VFS, which then triggers WARN_ON inside drop_nlink() (fs/inode.c) via ext2_unlink(), ext2_rename() and ext2_rmdir(): WARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 609 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336 CPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 609 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1 Call Trace: <TASK> inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline] ext2_unlink+0x26c/0x300 fs/ext2/namei.c:295 vfs_unlink+0x2fc/0x9b0 fs/namei.c:4477 do_unlinkat+0x53e/0x730 fs/namei.c:4541 __x64_sys_unlink+0xc6/0x110 fs/namei.c:4587 do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f </TASK> WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 646 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 646 Comm: syz.0.17 Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1 Call Trace: <TASK> inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline] ext2_rename+0x35e/0x850 fs/ext2/namei.c:374 vfs_rename+0xf2f/0x2060 fs/namei.c:5021 do_renameat2+0xbe2/0xd50 fs/namei.c:5178 __x64_sys_rename+0x7e/0xa0 fs/namei.c:5223 do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f </TASK> WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 634 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336 CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 634 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1 Call Trace: <TASK> inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline] ext2_rmdir+0xca/0x110 fs/ext2/namei.c:311 vfs_rmdir+0x204/0x690 fs/namei.c:4348 do_rmdir+0x372/0x3e0 fs/namei.c:4407 __x64_sys_unlinkat+0xf0/0x130 fs/namei.c:4577 do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f </TASK> Extend the existing i_nlink == 0 check to also catch this case, reporting the corruption via ext2_error() and returning -EFSCORRUPTED. This rejects the inode at load time and prevents it from reaching any of the namei.c paths. Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller. | |
| Title | ext2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget() | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
|
Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-05-27T12:55:57.898Z
Reserved: 2026-05-13T15:03:33.091Z
Link: CVE-2026-46002
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Awaiting Analysis
Published: 2026-05-27T14:17:17.880
Modified: 2026-05-27T14:48:03.013
Link: CVE-2026-46002
Redhat
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OpenCVE Enrichment
Updated: 2026-05-27T17:15:38Z