In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ext4: fix invalid free tracking in ext4_xattr_move_to_block()
In ext4_xattr_move_to_block(), the value of the extended attribute
which we need to move to an external block may be allocated by
kvmalloc() if the value is stored in an external inode. So at the end
of the function the code tried to check if this was the case by
testing entry->e_value_inum.
However, at this point, the pointer to the xattr entry is no longer
valid, because it was removed from the original location where it had
been stored. So we could end up calling kvfree() on a pointer which
was not allocated by kvmalloc(); or we could also potentially leak
memory by not freeing the buffer when it should be freed. Fix this by
storing whether it should be freed in a separate variable.
ext4: fix invalid free tracking in ext4_xattr_move_to_block()
In ext4_xattr_move_to_block(), the value of the extended attribute
which we need to move to an external block may be allocated by
kvmalloc() if the value is stored in an external inode. So at the end
of the function the code tried to check if this was the case by
testing entry->e_value_inum.
However, at this point, the pointer to the xattr entry is no longer
valid, because it was removed from the original location where it had
been stored. So we could end up calling kvfree() on a pointer which
was not allocated by kvmalloc(); or we could also potentially leak
memory by not freeing the buffer when it should be freed. Fix this by
storing whether it should be freed in a separate variable.
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Thu, 25 Dec 2025 12:15:00 +0000
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threat_severity
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cvssV3_1
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Wed, 24 Dec 2025 12:45:00 +0000
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| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix invalid free tracking in ext4_xattr_move_to_block() In ext4_xattr_move_to_block(), the value of the extended attribute which we need to move to an external block may be allocated by kvmalloc() if the value is stored in an external inode. So at the end of the function the code tried to check if this was the case by testing entry->e_value_inum. However, at this point, the pointer to the xattr entry is no longer valid, because it was removed from the original location where it had been stored. So we could end up calling kvfree() on a pointer which was not allocated by kvmalloc(); or we could also potentially leak memory by not freeing the buffer when it should be freed. Fix this by storing whether it should be freed in a separate variable. | |
| Title | ext4: fix invalid free tracking in ext4_xattr_move_to_block() | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
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Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2025-12-24T12:23:08.649Z
Reserved: 2025-12-24T12:21:05.092Z
Link: CVE-2023-54062
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2025-12-24T13:16:07.993
Modified: 2025-12-24T13:16:07.993
Link: CVE-2023-54062
Redhat
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.