# CVE-2022-49879: ext4: fix BUG_ON() when directory entry has invalid rec_len

> A corrupted filesystem image can trigger a kernel BUG_ON crash in the ext4 filesystem, causing a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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:** 1 May 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-49879, GHSA-82pr-9mpc-vgv5, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-49879

## What is CVE-2022-49879?

CVE-2022-49879 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 May 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 BUG_ON() when directory entry has invalid rec_len

The rec_len field in the directory entry has to be a multiple of 4.  A
corrupted filesystem image can be used to hit a BUG() in
ext4_rec_len_to_disk(), called from make_indexed_dir().

 ------------[ cut here ]------------
 kernel BUG at fs/ext4/ext4.h:2413!
 ...
 RIP: 0010:make_indexed_dir+0x53f/0x5f0
 ...
 Call Trace:
  <TASK>
  ? add_dirent_to_buf+0x1b2/0x200
  ext4_add_entry+0x36e/0x480
  ext4_add_nondir+0x2b/0xc0
  ext4_create+0x163/0x200
  path_openat+0x635/0xe90
  do_filp_open+0xb4/0x160
  ? __create_object.isra.0+0x1de/0x3b0
  ? _raw_spin_unlock+0x12/0x30
  do_sys_openat2+0x91/0x150
  __x64_sys_open+0x6c/0xa0
  do_syscall_64+0x3c/0x80
  entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x46/0xb0

The fix simply adds a call to ext4_check_dir_entry() to validate the
directory entry, returning -EFSCORRUPTED if the entry is invalid.

Weakness: CWE-617 (Reachable Assertion)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-49879?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-49879?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-49879 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-49879 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-2022-49879 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-49879 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 1 May 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-2022-49879 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-2022-49879/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49879/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-49879
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-49879
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-49879

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-49879/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.