Medium [CVE-2026-74308] fix kernel BUG in ext4_write_inline_data_end
This medium-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-74308 affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.
Android app · Google Play
Monitor future Red Hat Linux CVEs from your phone.
Choose a whole vendor or a precise platform, then receive matching security advisories by phone notification, email, or both. Coverage follows 32 official vendor sources and 160+ reviewed platform categories.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix kernel BUG in ext4_write_inline_data_end When the data=journal mount option is used, the ext4_journalled_write_end() function incorrectly calls ext4_write_inline_data_end() without checking if the EXT4_STATE_MAY_INLINE_DATA flag is still set on the inode.
If a previous attempt to convert the inline data to an extent failed (e.g. due to ENOSPC), the EXT4_STATE_MAY_INLINE_DATA flag is cleared, but the EXT4_INODE_INLINE_DATA flag remains set.
In this scenario, the next call to ext4_write_begin() will not prepare the inline data xattr for writing, but ext4_journalled_write_end() will incorrectly attempt to write to it, triggering a BUG_ON(pos + len > EXT4_I(inode)->i_inline_size) in ext4_write_inline_data() since i_inline_size was not expanded.
Fix this by ensuring that ext4_journalled_write_end() only calls ext4_write_inline_data_end() if the EXT4_STATE_MAY_INLINE_DATA flag is set, mirroring the behavior of ext4_write_end() and ext4_da_write_end(). This occurs if a prior attempt to convert inline data to an extent failed, leading to an inconsistent state.
An attacker with local access could exploit this to trigger a kernel bug, resulting in a system crash and a Denial of Service (DoS). Red Hat severity: Low — CVSS 5.5 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
Weakness: CWE-805.
Affected versions
No affected-version range was extracted from the source record. The vendor advisory is authoritative — check it before change work.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 1 hour ago·verify at source
Fixed versions
No fixed release is recorded yet. That does not prove no patch exists — confirm against the vendor advisory.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 1 hour ago·verify at source
Mitigation
The source record does not include mitigation steps. That is not a statement that no fix exists — read the vendor advisory below for the authoritative guidance.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 1 hour ago·verify at source
Discussion(0)
No comments yet. Share field notes, upgrade gotchas, or questions — verify against the vendor advisory before acting on community advice.
Sign in to join the discussion.