# CVE-2023-54311: ext4: fix deadlock when converting an inline directory in nojournal mode

> A local attacker can cause a kernel deadlock in ext4 filesystems using inline data in nojournal mode, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **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:** 30 Dec 2025
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2023-54311, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-54311, GHSA-78x5-gg4g-8mmw, UBUNTU-CVE-2023-54311

## What is CVE-2023-54311?

CVE-2023-54311 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 30 Dec 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 deadlock when converting an inline directory in nojournal mode

In no journal mode, ext4_finish_convert_inline_dir() can self-deadlock
by calling ext4_handle_dirty_dirblock() when it already has taken the
directory lock.  There is a similar self-deadlock in
ext4_incvert_inline_data_nolock() for data files which we'll fix at
the same time.

A simple reproducer demonstrating the problem:

    mke2fs -Fq -t ext2 -O inline_data -b 4k /dev/vdc 64
    mount -t ext4 -o dirsync /dev/vdc /vdc
    cd /vdc
    mkdir file0
    cd file0
    touch file0
    touch file1
    attr -s BurnSpaceInEA -V abcde .
    touch supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-54311?


## How do I fix CVE-2023-54311?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2023-54311 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-54311 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-54311 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-54311 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 30 Dec 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-2023-54311 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2023-54311/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54311/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-54311
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-54311
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-54311

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-54311/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.