In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ext4: fix slab-use-after-free in ext4_split_extent_at()
We hit the following use-after-free:
==================================================================
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ext4_split_extent_at+0xba8/0xcc0
Read of size 2 at addr ffff88810548ed08 by task kworker/u20:0/40
CPU: 0 PID: 40 Comm: kworker/u20:0 Not tainted 6.9.0-dirty #724
Call Trace:
kasan_report+0x93/0xc0
ext4_split_extent_at+0xba8/0xcc0
ext4_split_extent.isra.0+0x18f/0x500
ext4_split_convert_extents+0x275/0x750
ext4_ext_handle_unwritten_extents+0x73e/0x1580
ext4_ext_map_blocks+0xe20/0x2dc0
ext4_map_blocks+0x724/0x1700
ext4_do_writepages+0x12d6/0x2a70
[...]
Allocated by task 40:
__kmalloc_noprof+0x1ac/0x480
ext4_find_extent+0xf3b/0x1e70
ext4_ext_map_blocks+0x188/0x2dc0
ext4_map_blocks+0x724/0x1700
ext4_do_writepages+0x12d6/0x2a70
[...]
Freed by task 40:
kfree+0xf1/0x2b0
ext4_find_extent+0xa71/0x1e70
ext4_ext_insert_extent+0xa22/0x3260
ext4_split_extent_at+0x3ef/0xcc0
ext4_split_extent.isra.0+0x18f/0x500
ext4_split_convert_extents+0x275/0x750
ext4_ext_handle_unwritten_extents+0x73e/0x1580
ext4_ext_map_blocks+0xe20/0x2dc0
ext4_map_blocks+0x724/0x1700
ext4_do_writepages+0x12d6/0x2a70
[...]
==================================================================
The flow of issue triggering is as follows:
ext4_split_extent_at
path = *ppath
ext4_ext_insert_extent(ppath)
ext4_ext_create_new_leaf(ppath)
ext4_find_extent(orig_path)
path = *orig_path
read_extent_tree_block
// return -ENOMEM or -EIO
ext4_free_ext_path(path)
kfree(path)
*orig_path = NULL
a. If err is -ENOMEM:
ext4_ext_dirty(path + path->p_depth)
// path use-after-free !!!
b. If err is -EIO and we have EXT_DEBUG defined:
ext4_ext_show_leaf(path)
eh = path[depth].p_hdr
// path also use-after-free !!!
So when trying to zeroout or fix the extent length, call ext4_find_extent()
to update the path.
In addition we use *ppath directly as an ext4_ext_show_leaf() input to
avoid possible use-after-free when EXT_DEBUG is defined, and to avoid
unnecessary path updates.
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (7.8): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 7.8 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS-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 2026-10-28). 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