CVE-2022-50546
Unknown Unknown - Not Provided
BaseFortify

Publication date: 2025-10-07

Last updated on: 2026-02-26

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix uninititialized value in 'ext4_evict_inode' Syzbot found the following issue: ===================================================== BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in ext4_evict_inode+0xdd/0x26b0 fs/ext4/inode.c:180 ext4_evict_inode+0xdd/0x26b0 fs/ext4/inode.c:180 evict+0x365/0x9a0 fs/inode.c:664 iput_final fs/inode.c:1747 [inline] iput+0x985/0xdd0 fs/inode.c:1773 __ext4_new_inode+0xe54/0x7ec0 fs/ext4/ialloc.c:1361 ext4_mknod+0x376/0x840 fs/ext4/namei.c:2844 vfs_mknod+0x79d/0x830 fs/namei.c:3914 do_mknodat+0x47d/0xaa0 __do_sys_mknodat fs/namei.c:3992 [inline] __se_sys_mknodat fs/namei.c:3989 [inline] __ia32_sys_mknodat+0xeb/0x150 fs/namei.c:3989 do_syscall_32_irqs_on arch/x86/entry/common.c:112 [inline] __do_fast_syscall_32+0xa2/0x100 arch/x86/entry/common.c:178 do_fast_syscall_32+0x33/0x70 arch/x86/entry/common.c:203 do_SYSENTER_32+0x1b/0x20 arch/x86/entry/common.c:246 entry_SYSENTER_compat_after_hwframe+0x70/0x82 Uninit was created at: __alloc_pages+0x9f1/0xe80 mm/page_alloc.c:5578 alloc_pages+0xaae/0xd80 mm/mempolicy.c:2285 alloc_slab_page mm/slub.c:1794 [inline] allocate_slab+0x1b5/0x1010 mm/slub.c:1939 new_slab mm/slub.c:1992 [inline] ___slab_alloc+0x10c3/0x2d60 mm/slub.c:3180 __slab_alloc mm/slub.c:3279 [inline] slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:3364 [inline] slab_alloc mm/slub.c:3406 [inline] __kmem_cache_alloc_lru mm/slub.c:3413 [inline] kmem_cache_alloc_lru+0x6f3/0xb30 mm/slub.c:3429 alloc_inode_sb include/linux/fs.h:3117 [inline] ext4_alloc_inode+0x5f/0x860 fs/ext4/super.c:1321 alloc_inode+0x83/0x440 fs/inode.c:259 new_inode_pseudo fs/inode.c:1018 [inline] new_inode+0x3b/0x430 fs/inode.c:1046 __ext4_new_inode+0x2a7/0x7ec0 fs/ext4/ialloc.c:959 ext4_mkdir+0x4d5/0x1560 fs/ext4/namei.c:2992 vfs_mkdir+0x62a/0x870 fs/namei.c:4035 do_mkdirat+0x466/0x7b0 fs/namei.c:4060 __do_sys_mkdirat fs/namei.c:4075 [inline] __se_sys_mkdirat fs/namei.c:4073 [inline] __ia32_sys_mkdirat+0xc4/0x120 fs/namei.c:4073 do_syscall_32_irqs_on arch/x86/entry/common.c:112 [inline] __do_fast_syscall_32+0xa2/0x100 arch/x86/entry/common.c:178 do_fast_syscall_32+0x33/0x70 arch/x86/entry/common.c:203 do_SYSENTER_32+0x1b/0x20 arch/x86/entry/common.c:246 entry_SYSENTER_compat_after_hwframe+0x70/0x82 CPU: 1 PID: 4625 Comm: syz-executor.2 Not tainted 6.1.0-rc4-syzkaller-62821-gcb231e2f67ec #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 10/26/2022 ===================================================== Now, 'ext4_alloc_inode()' didn't init 'ei->i_flags'. If new inode failed before set 'ei->i_flags' in '__ext4_new_inode()', then do 'iput()'. As after 6bc0d63dad7f commit will access 'ei->i_flags' in 'ext4_evict_inode()' which will lead to access uninit-value. To solve above issue just init 'ei->i_flags' in 'ext4_alloc_inode()'.
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Meta Information
Published
2025-10-07
Last Modified
2026-02-26
Generated
2026-05-07
AI Q&A
2025-10-07
EPSS Evaluated
2026-05-05
NVD
CVE-2022-50546
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 2 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel 5.10.163
linux linux_kernel From 5.15.160 (inc) to 5.16 (inc)
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-908 The product uses or accesses a resource that has not been initialized.
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability is a bug in the Linux kernel's ext4 filesystem code where an uninitialized value in the 'i_flags' field of an inode structure can be accessed. Specifically, the function ext4_alloc_inode() did not initialize 'ei->i_flags'. If creating a new inode failed before 'i_flags' was set in __ext4_new_inode(), the cleanup function iput() would be called. After a certain commit, ext4_evict_inode() accesses 'ei->i_flags', leading to use of an uninitialized value, which can cause undefined behavior or system instability. The fix was to initialize 'ei->i_flags' properly in ext4_alloc_inode().


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

This vulnerability can lead to undefined behavior in the Linux kernel, such as system instability or crashes, because it involves accessing uninitialized memory in the ext4 filesystem code. While the exact impact depends on how the kernel and filesystem are used, it could potentially cause system errors or data corruption during inode operations.


What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?

To mitigate this vulnerability, update your Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix for the uninitialized value in ext4_evict_inode, specifically where 'ei->i_flags' is initialized in ext4_alloc_inode(). Applying the latest kernel patches or upgrading to a fixed kernel version is recommended.


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