# CVE-2026-31448: ext4: avoid infinite loops caused by residual data

> A flaw in the Linux kernel ext4 filesystem allows local attackers to cause a denial of service via infinite loops during directory creation.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-83309, BELL-CVE-2026-31448, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31448, GHSA-m6jj-c3pv-cg65, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-31448, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-31448, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-31448, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-31448, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-31448, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31448

## What is CVE-2026-31448?

CVE-2026-31448 is a critical denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 Apr 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ext4: avoid infinite loops caused by residual data

On the mkdir/mknod path, when mapping logical blocks to physical blocks,
if inserting a new extent into the extent tree fails (in this example,
because the file system disabled the huge file feature when marking the
inode as dirty), ext4_ext_map_blocks() only calls ext4_free_blocks() to
reclaim the physical block without deleting the corresponding data in
the extent tree. This causes subsequent mkdir operations to reference
the previously reclaimed physical block number again, even though this
physical block is already being used by the xattr block. Therefore, a
situation arises where both the directory and xattr are using the same
buffer head block in memory simultaneously.

The above causes ext4_xattr_block_set() to enter an infinite loop about
"inserted" and cannot release the inode lock, ultimately leading to the
143s blocking problem mentioned in [1].

If the metadata is corrupted, then trying to remove some extent space
can do even more harm. Also in case EXT4_GET_BLOCKS_DELALLOC_RESERVE
was passed, remove space wrongly update quota information.
Jan Kara suggests distinguishing between two cases:

1) The error is ENOSPC or EDQUOT - in this case the filesystem is fully
consistent and we must maintain its consistency including all the
accounting. However these errors can happen only early before we've
inserted the extent into the extent tree. So current code works correctly
for this case.

2) Some other error - this means metadata is corrupted. We should strive to
do as few modifications as possible to limit damage. So I'd just skip
freeing of allocated blocks.

[1]
INFO: task syz.0.17:5995 blocked for more than 143 seconds.
Call Trace:
 inode_lock_nested include/linux/fs.h:1073 [inline]
 __start_dirop fs/namei.c:2923 [inline]
 start_dirop fs/namei.c:2934 [inline]

Weakness: CWE-835 (Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-31448?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-31448?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-31448 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-31448 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-2026-31448 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-31448 is a critical denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 Apr 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-31448 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-2026-31448/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31448/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-31448
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31448
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-31448

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31448/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.