# CVE-2024-50202: nilfs2: propagate directory read errors from nilfs_find_entry()

> A flaw in the nilfs2 filesystem driver causes a task hang and denial of service when handling corrupted directory entries.

- **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:** 8 Nov 2024
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-53241, AZL-53286, BELL-CVE-2024-50202, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-50202, GHSA-p87g-j8m4-pq52, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-50202

## What is CVE-2024-50202?

CVE-2024-50202 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 Nov 2024. 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:

nilfs2: propagate directory read errors from nilfs_find_entry()

Syzbot reported that a task hang occurs in vcs_open() during a fuzzing
test for nilfs2.

The root cause of this problem is that in nilfs_find_entry(), which
searches for directory entries, ignores errors when loading a directory
page/folio via nilfs_get_folio() fails.

If the filesystem images is corrupted, and the i_size of the directory
inode is large, and the directory page/folio is successfully read but
fails the sanity check, for example when it is zero-filled,
nilfs_check_folio() may continue to spit out error messages in bursts.

Fix this issue by propagating the error to the callers when loading a
page/folio fails in nilfs_find_entry().

The current interface of nilfs_find_entry() and its callers is outdated
and cannot propagate error codes such as -EIO and -ENOMEM returned via
nilfs_find_entry(), so fix it together.

Weakness: CWE-755 (Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-50202?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-50202?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-50202 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-50202 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-2024-50202 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-50202 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 Nov 2024. 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-2024-50202 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-2024-50202/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-50202/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-50202
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-50202
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-50202

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-50202/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.