CVE-2026-43158
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Heap-based Buffer Overflow in XFS Filesystem

Publication date: 2026-05-06

Last updated on: 2026-05-06

Assigner: kernel.org

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.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-05-06
Last Modified
2026-05-06
Generated
2026-05-07
AI Q&A
2026-05-06
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-43158
EUVD
EUVD-2026-27719
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 2 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux kernel *
linux linux_kernel *
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN
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AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?

This vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's XFS filesystem, specifically in the handling of extended attributes (xattrs) in leaf blocks. The issue arises from incorrect adjustments to the freemap, which tracks free space within the leaf blocks when adding xattrs.

The problem occurs because the freemap entries are not properly updated when the entries array grows after adding multiple xattrs. This causes overlapping between the entries array and the free space claimed by the freemap, leading to an assertion failure and the filesystem shutting down.

The root cause is that the freemap does not comprehensively track all free space, and when the entries array expands, some freemap entries are not adjusted accordingly. The fix involves adjusting all freemap entries to ensure they do not collide with the entries array.


How can this vulnerability impact me? :

This vulnerability can cause the filesystem to shut down unexpectedly due to assertion failures triggered by incorrect freemap adjustments when adding extended attributes.

Such unexpected shutdowns can lead to system instability, potential data loss, or corruption if the filesystem is in use when the assertion triggers.


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