CVE-2026-64356 xfs: fix memory leak in xfs_dqinode_metadir_create()

What is CVE-2026-64356?

CVE-2026-64356 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Jul 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:

xfs: fix memory leak in xfs_dqinode_metadir_create()

If xfs_metadir_create() fails in xfs_dqinode_metadir_create(), the current code returns directly, leaking the allocated update and transaction state. If the subsequent commit fails, the caller-owned inode reference is left behind.

Fix this memory leak by routing the create failure path through xfs_metadir_cancel(). For both create and commit failures, finish and release any inode returned to the caller, mirroring the unwind pattern in xfs_metadir_mkdir().

The bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are developing for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing v6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly available. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still present in v7.1.1.

An x86_64 allyesconfig build showed no new warnings. Runtime validation used kprobe fault injection during `mount -o uquota` on a metadir XFS image. Injecting xfs_metadir_create() reproduced the old active-update path that left mount stuck later in mount setup; after this change, the same injection reported cancel_hits=1 and irele_hits=1. Injecting xfs_metadir_commit() exercised the old inode-reference leak path; after this change, it reported irele_hits=1.

Weakness: CWE-401

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-64356?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-64356?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.

Is CVE-2026-64356 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-64356 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-64356, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-64356, GHSA-p28w-6j9h-mmp2, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-64356, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-64356.