# CVE-2022-49414: ext4: fix race condition between ext4_write and ext4_convert_inline_data

> A race condition in the Linux kernel ext4 filesystem can cause a kernel BUG_ON crash, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 26 Feb 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49414, GHSA-jh67-7rhf-7vg4, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49414

## What is CVE-2022-49414?

CVE-2022-49414 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Feb 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

ext4: fix race condition between ext4_write and ext4_convert_inline_data

Hulk Robot reported a BUG_ON:
 ==================================================================
 EXT4-fs error (device loop3): ext4_mb_generate_buddy:805: group 0,
 block bitmap and bg descriptor inconsistent: 25 vs 31513 free clusters
 kernel BUG at fs/ext4/ext4_jbd2.c:53!
 invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN PTI
 CPU: 0 PID: 25371 Comm: syz-executor.3 Not tainted 5.10.0+ #1
 RIP: 0010:ext4_put_nojournal fs/ext4/ext4_jbd2.c:53 [inline]
 RIP: 0010:__ext4_journal_stop+0x10e/0x110 fs/ext4/ext4_jbd2.c:116
 [...]
 Call Trace:
  ext4_write_inline_data_end+0x59a/0x730 fs/ext4/inline.c:795
  generic_perform_write+0x279/0x3c0 mm/filemap.c:3344
  ext4_buffered_write_iter+0x2e3/0x3d0 fs/ext4/file.c:270
  ext4_file_write_iter+0x30a/0x11c0 fs/ext4/file.c:520
  do_iter_readv_writev+0x339/0x3c0 fs/read_write.c:732
  do_iter_write+0x107/0x430 fs/read_write.c:861
  vfs_writev fs/read_write.c:934 [inline]
  do_pwritev+0x1e5/0x380 fs/read_write.c:1031
 [...]
 ==================================================================

Above issue may happen as follows:
           cpu1                     cpu2
__________________________|__________________________
do_pwritev
 vfs_writev
  do_iter_write
   ext4_file_write_iter
    ext4_buffered_write_iter
     generic_perform_write
      ext4_da_write_begin
                           vfs_fallocate
                            ext4_fallocate
                             ext4_convert_inline_data
                              ext4_convert_inline_data_nolock
                               ext4_destroy_inline_data_nolock
                                clear EXT4_STATE_MAY_INLINE_DATA
                               ext4_map_blocks
                                ext4_ext_map_blocks
                                 ext4_mb_new_blocks
                                  ext4_mb_regular_allocator
                                   ext4_mb_good_group_nolock
                                    ext4_mb_init_group
                                     ext4_mb_init_cache
                                      ext4_mb_generate_buddy  --> error
       ext4_test_inode_state(inode, EXT4_STATE_MAY_INLINE_DATA)
                                ext4_restore_inline_data
                                 set EXT4_STATE_MAY_INLINE_DATA
       ext4_block_write_begin
      ext4_da_write_end
       ext4_test_inode_state(inode, EXT4_STATE_MAY_INLINE_DATA)
       ext4_write_inline_data_end
        handle=NULL
        ext4_journal_stop(handle)
         __ext4_journal_stop
          ext4_put_nojournal(handle)
           ref_cnt = (unsigned long)handle
           BUG_ON(ref_cnt == 0)  ---> BUG_ON

The lock held by ext4_convert_inline_data is xattr_sem, but the lock
held by generic_perform_write is i_rwsem. Therefore, the two locks can
be concurrent.

To solve above issue, we add inode_lock() for ext4_convert_inline_data().
At the same time, move ext4_convert_inline_data() in front of
ext4_punch_hole(), remove similar handling from ext4_punch_hole().

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49414?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49414?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49414 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49414 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-49414 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49414 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Feb 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49414 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49414/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49414/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49414
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49414
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49414

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49414/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
