CVE-2026-98975
xfs: stop exchanging reflink flags when exchanging mappings
- State
- Published
- Severity
- 7.8 High
- Published
- Oct 23, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 24, 2026
- Reserved
- Sep 25, 2026
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
xfs: stop exchanging reflink flags when exchanging mappings
When an exchange covers both files from offset 0 to i_disk_size, xmi_can_exchange_reflink_flags() assumes every mapping moved and hands the reflink flag over to the other file.
That assumption is wrong. A file can still own shared blocks past i_disk_size, e.g. after EXCHANGE_RANGE_TO_EOF sets a smaller size without unmapping anything. The flag is cleared anyway, and the next write to such a block happens in place instead of CoW, corrupting the other file that shares it.
Commit a23eca88448e ("xfs: fix exchange-range reflink flag clearing issue with INO1_WRITTEN") fixed one instance of this. Rather than add another special case, stop moving the flags. xfs_exchmaps_ensure_reflink() already sets the flag on both inodes before the exchange, so both just keep it.
Nothing sets CLEAR_INO{1,2}_REFLINK anymore. Intents logged by older kernels may still carry them; recovery already masks them off, so they stay in the log format mask and are ignored.
XFS_IOC_SWAPEXT has the same problem: it moves the reflink flag from one inode to the other along with the extents. Just removing that is not enough here: the exchange path flags both inodes up front in xfs_exchmaps_ensure_reflink(), but swapext has no such step, so the inode receiving the shared extents would be left without the flag. Set it on both inodes instead, and make sure both have a CoW fork, since an inode with the reflink flag is expected to have one.
The flag now stays until FALLOC_FL_UNSHARE_RANGE, xfs_scrub, or a truncate to zero removes it.
Scores
| CVSS | Score | Vector | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 7.8 High | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H | Linux |
Weaknesses
The record names no weakness.
Affected Products
| Product | Versions |
|---|---|
LinuxLinux |
|
LinuxLinux |
|
References
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