Vulnerability in Linux

[ Description ]Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ocfs2: fix circular locking dependency in ocfs2_init_acl() A lockdep warning indicates a circular locking dependency between `&oi->ip_xattr_sem` and `&journal->j_trans_barrier`: WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected is trying to acquire lock: (&oi->ip_xattr_sem){++++}-{4:4}, at: ocfs2_init_acl+0x2fd/0x7e0 fs/ocfs2/acl.c:367 but task is already holding lock: (&journal->j_trans_barrier){.+.+}-{4:4}, at: ocfs2_start_trans+0x3ab/0x700 fs/ocfs2/journal.c:369 The deadlock involves two code paths: Path 1 (setxattr) where `ocfs2_xattr_set()` acquires `ip_xattr_sem` (write) and then starts a transaction, which acquires `j_trans_barrier` (read); and Path 2 (mkdir/mknod) where `ocfs2_mknod()` starts a transaction (`j_trans_barrier` read) and then calls `ocfs2_init_acl()`, which attempts to acquire `ip_xattr_sem` (read) on the parent directory to retrieve the default ACL. Because rw_semaphores are subject to writer priority, a pending writer on `j_trans_barrier` (e.g., the journal commit thread) can cause Path 1 to block, while Path 2 is blocked waiting for Path 1 to release `ip_xattr_sem`. The patch fixes the lock ordering by precomputing the ACL state before starting the OCFS2 transaction, while preserving POSIX ACL storage semantics and the existing inode/security initialization order. By reading the parent directory's default ACL and preparing the new inode's ACLs outside the transaction, `ip_xattr_sem` is always acquired before `j_trans_barrier`. `struct ocfs2_acl_state` encapsulates the prepared ACL state, while `ocfs2_acl_init_prepare()` and `ocfs2_acl_init_release()` avoid code duplication between `ocfs2_mknod()` and `ocfs2_init_security_and_acl()`. `ocfs2_calc_xattr_init()` and `ocfs2_init_acl()` use this precomputed state, removing internal `ip_xattr_sem` acquisition and redundant disk reads. Additionally, remove the `ip_xattr_sem` acquisition from `ocfs2_xattr_set_handle()`. This function is only used while initializing a new inode that has not yet been inserted into the inode hash or attached to a dentry, meaning there is no risk of concurrent access and the lock is unnecessary.

[ Fixes ]Fixes and patches

No fix or interim patch is linked from our sources yet. Check the vendor references below and limit exposure of affected systems until a fix is available.

[ Advisories ]Government CERT advisories

• CERT-FR9 Oct 2026CERTFR-2026-AVI-1289

  Multiple vulnerabilities in the Debian LTS Linux kernel Translated from French

  Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in the Debian LTS Linux kernel. Some of them allow an attacker to cause privilege escalation, a breach of data confidentiality and denial of service.

  CVE-2025-38237CVE-2025-39833CVE-2025-39925+1311 more CVEs
• CERT-FR2 Oct 2026CERTFR-2026-AVI-1253

  Multiple vulnerabilities in the Debian Linux kernel Translated from French

  Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in the Debian Linux kernel. Some of them allow an attacker to cause privilege escalation, a breach of data confidentiality and denial of service.

  CVE-2025-38237CVE-2025-39833CVE-2025-39925+1310 more CVEs
• BSI CERT-Bund24 Sep 2026WID-SEC-2026-3579

  Linux Kernel: Multiple vulnerabilities Translated from German

  CVE-2026-97615CVE-2026-97978CVE-2026-98127+590 more CVEs

[ References ]References

• git.kernel.org/stable/c/1222f7a3183b35c0c566899fdaead5c7c4043076
• git.kernel.org/stable/c/4936d4464d1ae10b5fbba64374085a0dcc060560
• git.kernel.org/stable/c/5b7b3c50c39ad0dc27e7418981e01c4183273f89
• git.kernel.org/stable/c/8931403ee3dcfe8a24a5267efec9d9460ab7a1b5
• git.kernel.org/stable/c/8d88f52fbbbcc18adf4091a955511d0cf605bf11
• git.kernel.org/stable/c/bd7c05fb4a4776dff5a87b19008d28458647d15d
• git.kernel.org/stable/c/caf3056936fb8b5ce92e419cf8b246ce9c437343
• git.kernel.org/stable/c/f8747d81aa6d3efe3ee339a9d912ff3ca6e4d758