# CVE-2026-31451: ext4: replace BUG_ON with proper error handling in ext4_read_inline_folio

> A local attacker can trigger a kernel panic via a crafted ext4 filesystem image, causing a 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:** 22 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-83339, BELL-CVE-2026-31451, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31451, GHSA-4jw8-cp5g-24j2, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-31451, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-31451, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-31451, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-31451, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-31451, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31451

## What is CVE-2026-31451?

CVE-2026-31451 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 Apr 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:

ext4: replace BUG_ON with proper error handling in ext4_read_inline_folio

Replace BUG_ON() with proper error handling when inline data size
exceeds PAGE_SIZE. This prevents kernel panic and allows the system to
continue running while properly reporting the filesystem corruption.

The error is logged via ext4_error_inode(), the buffer head is released
to prevent memory leak, and -EFSCORRUPTED is returned to indicate
filesystem corruption.

Weakness: CWE-617 (Reachable Assertion)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-31451?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-31451?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-31451 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-31451 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-2026-31451 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-31451 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 22 Apr 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-2026-31451 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-2026-31451/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31451/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-31451
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31451
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-31451

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31451/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.