# CVE-2022-50126: jbd2: fix assertion 'jh->b_frozen_data == NULL' failure when journal aborted

> A local attacker can trigger a kernel assertion failure in the ext4 journaling layer, causing a system crash and 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:** 18 Jun 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2022-50126, GHSA-w74v-3fr4-63jv, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-50126

## What is CVE-2022-50126?

CVE-2022-50126 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Jun 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:

jbd2: fix assertion 'jh->b_frozen_data == NULL' failure when journal aborted

Following process will fail assertion 'jh->b_frozen_data == NULL' in
jbd2_journal_dirty_metadata():

                   jbd2_journal_commit_transaction
unlink(dir/a)
 jh->b_transaction = trans1
 jh->b_jlist = BJ_Metadata
                    journal->j_running_transaction = NULL
                    trans1->t_state = T_COMMIT
unlink(dir/b)
 handle->h_trans = trans2
 do_get_write_access
  jh->b_modified = 0
  jh->b_frozen_data = frozen_buffer
  jh->b_next_transaction = trans2
 jbd2_journal_dirty_metadata
  is_handle_aborted
   is_journal_aborted // return false

           --> jbd2 abort <--

                     while (commit_transaction->t_buffers)
                      if (is_journal_aborted)
                       jbd2_journal_refile_buffer
                        __jbd2_journal_refile_buffer
                         WRITE_ONCE(jh->b_transaction,
						jh->b_next_transaction)
                         WRITE_ONCE(jh->b_next_transaction, NULL)
                         __jbd2_journal_file_buffer(jh, BJ_Reserved)
        J_ASSERT_JH(jh, jh->b_frozen_data == NULL) // assertion failure !

The reproducer (See detail in [Link]) reports:
 ------------[ cut here ]------------
 kernel BUG at fs/jbd2/transaction.c:1629!
 invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP
 CPU: 2 PID: 584 Comm: unlink Tainted: G        W
 5.19.0-rc6-00115-g4a57a8400075-dirty #697
 RIP: 0010:jbd2_journal_dirty_metadata+0x3c5/0x470
 RSP: 0018:ffffc90000be7ce0 EFLAGS: 00010202
 Call Trace:
  <TASK>
  __ext4_handle_dirty_metadata+0xa0/0x290
  ext4_handle_dirty_dirblock+0x10c/0x1d0
  ext4_delete_entry+0x104/0x200
  __ext4_unlink+0x22b/0x360
  ext4_unlink+0x275/0x390
  vfs_unlink+0x20b/0x4c0
  do_unlinkat+0x42f/0x4c0
  __x64_sys_unlink+0x37/0x50
  do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80

After journal aborting, __jbd2_journal_refile_buffer() is executed with
holding @jh->b_state_lock, we can fix it by moving 'is_handle_aborted()'
into the area protected by @jh->b_state_lock.

Weakness: CWE-617 (Reachable Assertion)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-50126?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-50126?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2022-50126 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-50126 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-2022-50126 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-50126 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Jun 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-2022-50126 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-2022-50126/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50126/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-50126
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-50126
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-50126

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-50126/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.