In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ext4: add reserved GDT blocks check
We capture a NULL pointer issue when resizing a corrupt ext4 image which
is freshly clear resize_inode feature (not run e2fsck). It could be
simply reproduced by following steps. The problem is because of the
resize_inode feature was cleared, and it will convert the filesystem to
meta_bg mode in ext4_resize_fs(), but the es->s_reserved_gdt_blocks was
not reduced to zero, so could we mistakenly call reserve_backup_gdb()
and passing an uninitialized resize_inode to it when adding new group
descriptors.
mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda 3G
tune2fs -O ^resize_inode /dev/sda #forget to run requested e2fsck
mount /dev/sda /mnt
resize2fs /dev/sda 8G
========
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000028
CPU: 19 PID: 3243 Comm: resize2fs Not tainted 5.18.0-rc7-00001-gfde086c5ebfd #748
...
RIP: 0010:ext4_flex_group_add+0xe08/0x2570
...
Call Trace:
ext4_resize_fs+0xbec/0x1660
__ext4_ioctl+0x1749/0x24e0
ext4_ioctl+0x12/0x20
__x64_sys_ioctl+0xa6/0x110
do_syscall_64+0x3b/0x90
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae
RIP: 0033:0x7f2dd739617b
========
The fix is simple, add a check in ext4_resize_begin() to make sure that
the es->s_reserved_gdt_blocks is zero when the resize_inode feature is
disabled.
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (5.5): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 5.5 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 5.5 MEDIUMCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 0.3% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-25). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at every mission impact level.CISA BOD 26-04: 60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at every mission impact level.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it