Journal abort via unsigned capacity underflow
Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026
Integer underflow in the Linux kernel's JBD2 layer allows local users to abort an ext4 journal via a crafted filesystem image. jbd2_journal_initialize_fast_commit() subtracts an attacker-controlled fast-commit block count from an unsigned journal limit before checking capacity, so an oversized count wraps and corrupts j_last, j_fc_first, and j_free. Triggering the flaw requires local access and permission to mount the image; the bounded consequence is journal abort and service interruption.
Summary
What happened
Integer underflow in the Linux kernel's JBD2 layer allows local users to abort an ext4 journal via a crafted filesystem image. jbd2_journal_initialize_fast_commit() subtracts an attacker-controlled fast-commit block count from an unsigned journal limit before checking capacity, so an oversized count wraps and corrupts j_last, j_fc_first, and j_free. Triggering the flaw requires local access and permission to mount the image; the bounded consequence is journal abort and service interruption.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-72225
- Published
- Aug 15, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 15, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-191, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 15, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=5.10
- Affected versionversion=6866d7b3f2bb4f011041ba54c98b1584497fe2fd <289a2ca0c9b7eae74f93fc213b0b971669b8683d
- Affected versionversion=6866d7b3f2bb4f011041ba54c98b1584497fe2fd <4450dcaadf7d4aae8b6e4223b5d6ee4eb77097a9
- Affected versionversion=6866d7b3f2bb4f011041ba54c98b1584497fe2fd <4b48dcb88bb9117e3d3f051175a9a8b7cff7f8b6
- Affected versionversion=6866d7b3f2bb4f011041ba54c98b1584497fe2fd <78955fdce8ff654e6d33a2fa90882a1e7eb26330
- Affected versionversion=6866d7b3f2bb4f011041ba54c98b1584497fe2fd <a58fc10adf503969fec2007b5afe8987258046c4
- Affected versionversion=6866d7b3f2bb4f011041ba54c98b1584497fe2fd <e144ad0250f77e23e28949587b8b57e40dc3b512
- Affected versionversion=6866d7b3f2bb4f011041ba54c98b1584497fe2fd <fb9b49618ed7296ebfad62a3835da8945f727001
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo