# CVE-2026-23265: f2fs: fix to do sanity check on node footer in {read,write}_end_io

> A missing sanity check in the Linux kernel f2fs filesystem allows a local attacker to cause a kernel panic via a corrupted image, resulting in 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 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-23265, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23265, GHSA-h5gx-jh73-27w4, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-23265, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-23265, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-23265, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-23265, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23265, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23265

## What is CVE-2026-23265?

CVE-2026-23265 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Mar 2026. 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:

f2fs: fix to do sanity check on node footer in {read,write}_end_io

-----------[ cut here ]------------
kernel BUG at fs/f2fs/data.c:358!
Call Trace:
 <IRQ>
 blk_update_request+0x5eb/0xe70 block/blk-mq.c:987
 blk_mq_end_request+0x3e/0x70 block/blk-mq.c:1149
 blk_complete_reqs block/blk-mq.c:1224 [inline]
 blk_done_softirq+0x107/0x160 block/blk-mq.c:1229
 handle_softirqs+0x283/0x870 kernel/softirq.c:579
 __do_softirq kernel/softirq.c:613 [inline]
 invoke_softirq kernel/softirq.c:453 [inline]
 __irq_exit_rcu+0xca/0x1f0 kernel/softirq.c:680
 irq_exit_rcu+0x9/0x30 kernel/softirq.c:696
 instr_sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt arch/x86/kernel/apic/apic.c:1050 [inline]
 sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0xa6/0xc0 arch/x86/kernel/apic/apic.c:1050
 </IRQ>

In f2fs_write_end_io(), it detects there is inconsistency in between
node page index (nid) and footer.nid of node page.

If footer of node page is corrupted in fuzzed image, then we load corrupted
node page w/ async method, e.g. f2fs_ra_node_pages() or f2fs_ra_node_page(),
in where we won't do sanity check on node footer, once node page becomes
dirty, we will encounter this bug after node page writeback.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23265?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23265?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23265 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23265 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-2026-23265 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23265 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 18 Mar 2026. 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-2026-23265 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-2026-23265/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23265/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23265
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23265
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23265

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23265/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.