In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ext4: fix use-after-free in ext4_orphan_cleanup
I caught a issue as follows:
==================================================================
BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in __list_add_valid+0x28/0x1a0
Read of size 8 at addr ffff88814b13f378 by task mount/710
CPU: 1 PID: 710 Comm: mount Not tainted 6.1.0-rc3-next #370
Call Trace:
dump_stack_lvl+0x73/0x9f
print_report+0x25d/0x759
kasan_report+0xc0/0x120
__asan_load8+0x99/0x140
__list_add_valid+0x28/0x1a0
ext4_orphan_cleanup+0x564/0x9d0 [ext4]
__ext4_fill_super+0x48e2/0x5300 [ext4]
ext4_fill_super+0x19f/0x3a0 [ext4]
get_tree_bdev+0x27b/0x450
ext4_get_tree+0x19/0x30 [ext4]
vfs_get_tree+0x49/0x150
path_mount+0xaae/0x1350
do_mount+0xe2/0x110
__x64_sys_mount+0xf0/0x190
do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd
[...]
==================================================================
Above issue may happen as follows:
-------------------------------------
ext4_fill_super
ext4_orphan_cleanup
--- loop1: assume last_orphan is 12 ---
list_add(&EXT4_I(inode)->i_orphan, &EXT4_SB(sb)->s_orphan)
ext4_truncate --> return 0
ext4_inode_attach_jinode --> return -ENOMEM
iput(inode) --> free inode<12>
--- loop2: last_orphan is still 12 ---
list_add(&EXT4_I(inode)->i_orphan, &EXT4_SB(sb)->s_orphan);
// use inode<12> and trigger UAF
To solve this issue, we need to propagate the return value of
ext4_inode_attach_jinode() appropriately.
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
- 0.2% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-20). 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: 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.
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