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In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been...

High severity Unreviewed Published May 6, 2026 to the GitHub Advisory Database • Updated Oct 19, 2026

Package

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Affected versions

Unknown

Patched versions

Unknown

Description

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

xfs: fix freemap adjustments when adding xattrs to leaf blocks

xfs/592 and xfs/794 both trip this assertion in the leaf block freemap
adjustment code after ~20 minutes of running on my test VMs:

ASSERT(ichdr->firstused >= ichdr->count * sizeof(xfs_attr_leaf_entry_t)
+ xfs_attr3_leaf_hdr_size(leaf));

Upon enabling quite a lot more debugging code, I narrowed this down to
fsstress trying to set a local extended attribute with namelen=3 and
valuelen=71. This results in an entry size of 80 bytes.

At the start of xfs_attr3_leaf_add_work, the freemap looks like this:

i 0 base 448 size 0 rhs 448 count 46
i 1 base 388 size 132 rhs 448 count 46
i 2 base 2120 size 4 rhs 448 count 46
firstused = 520

where "rhs" is the first byte past the end of the leaf entry array.
This is inconsistent -- the entries array ends at byte 448, but
freemap[1] says there's free space starting at byte 388!

By the end of the function, the freemap is in worse shape:

i 0 base 456 size 0 rhs 456 count 47
i 1 base 388 size 52 rhs 456 count 47
i 2 base 2120 size 4 rhs 456 count 47
firstused = 440

Important note: 388 is not aligned with the entries array element size
of 8 bytes.

Based on the incorrect freemap, the name area starts at byte 440, which
is below the end of the entries array! That's why the assertion
triggers and the filesystem shuts down.

How did we end up here? First, recall from the previous patch that the
freemap array in an xattr leaf block is not intended to be a
comprehensive map of all free space in the leaf block. In other words,
it's perfectly legal to have a leaf block with:

  • 376 bytes in use by the entries array
  • freemap[0] has [base = 376, size = 8]
  • freemap[1] has [base = 388, size = 1500]
  • the space between 376 and 388 is free, but the freemap stopped
    tracking that some time ago

If we add one xattr, the entries array grows to 384 bytes, and
freemap[0] becomes [base = 384, size = 0]. So far, so good. But if we
add a second xattr, the entries array grows to 392 bytes, and freemap[0]
gets pushed up to [base = 392, size = 0]. This is bad, because
freemap[1] hasn't been updated, and now the entries array and the free
space claim the same space.

The fix here is to adjust all freemap entries so that none of them
collide with the entries array. Note that this fix relies on commit
2a2b5932db6758 ("xfs: fix attr leaf header freemap.size underflow") and
the previous patch that resets zero length freemap entries to have
base = 0.

References

Published by the National Vulnerability Database May 6, 2026
Published to the GitHub Advisory Database May 6, 2026
Last updated Oct 19, 2026

Severity

High

CVSS overall score

This score calculates overall vulnerability severity from 0 to 10 and is based on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS).
/ 10

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS v3 base metrics

Attack vector: More severe the more the remote (logically and physically) an attacker can be in order to exploit the vulnerability.
Attack complexity: More severe for the least complex attacks.
Privileges required: More severe if no privileges are required.
User interaction: More severe when no user interaction is required.
Scope: More severe when a scope change occurs, e.g. one vulnerable component impacts resources in components beyond its security scope.
Confidentiality: More severe when loss of data confidentiality is highest, measuring the level of data access available to an unauthorized user.
Integrity: More severe when loss of data integrity is the highest, measuring the consequence of data modification possible by an unauthorized user.
Availability: More severe when the loss of impacted component availability is highest.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS score

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

This score estimates the probability of this vulnerability being exploited within the next 30 days. Data provided by FIRST.
(39th percentile)

Weaknesses

Improper Control of a Resource Through its Lifetime

The product does not maintain or incorrectly maintains control over a resource throughout its lifetime of creation, use, and release. Learn more on MITRE.

Out-of-bounds Write

The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer. Learn more on MITRE.

CVE ID

CVE-2026-43158

GHSA ID

GHSA-j4pf-wvpf-rv38

Source code

No known source code

Dependabot alerts are not supported on this advisory because it does not have a package from a supported ecosystem with an affected and fixed version.

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