# CVE-2026-97552: xfs: initialise error in xfs_defer_finish_one()

> Uninitialized variable in XFS online repair can cause kernel shutdown, leading to denial of service on systems with CONFIG_XFS_ONLINE_REPAIR enabled.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 25 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-97552, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97552, GHSA-8vjw-786p-wjm9, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97552

## What is CVE-2026-97552?

CVE-2026-97552 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 25 Sep 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: initialise error in xfs_defer_finish_one()

xfs_defer_finish_one() declares error without an initialiser and only
assigns it inside the loop over dfp->dfp_work.  When that list is empty
the loop body never runs, control falls through to the "Done with the
dfp, free it" path, and the function returns an indeterminate value.

An item-less pending item reaches this through xfs_defer_add_barrier(),
which xfs_reap_ag_blocks() uses on any CONFIG_XFS_ONLINE_REPAIR kernel.
xfs_defer_finish_noroll() treats any non-EAGAIN return as fatal, so a
non-zero stack value turns a successful barrier into a
SHUTDOWN_CORRUPT_INCORE in the middle of a repair.  Zero is the correct
result: reaching the free path means the item loop drained without a
non-zero error.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97552?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-97552?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-97552 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97552 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-97552 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-97552 is a denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 25 Sep 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-2026-97552 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-97552/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97552/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97552
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97552
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97552

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97552/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.