Free-block misaccounting via metadata reservation underflow
Published Oct 18, 2026 · Updated Oct 18, 2026
Integer underflow in XFS in Linux 6.15 allows attackers to distort free-block accounting via metadata reservation initialization. In xfs_metafile_resv_init, reducing the reservation target below blocks already used makes hidden_space underflow, passing an excessive subtraction to xfs_dec_fdblocks. The condition requires available reservation space below existing metadata usage; attacker control, required privileges, and any resulting crash or shutdown are not documented.
Summary
What happened
Integer underflow in XFS in Linux 6.15 allows attackers to distort free-block accounting via metadata reservation initialization. In xfs_metafile_resv_init, reducing the reservation target below blocks already used makes hidden_space underflow, passing an excessive subtraction to xfs_dec_fdblocks. The condition requires available reservation space below existing metadata usage; attacker control, required privileges, and any resulting crash or shutdown are not documented.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98446
- Published
- Oct 18, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 18, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 18, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=1df8d75030b787a9fae270b59b93eef809dd2011 <476582d754cdc5110f806001417fea6c77824c13
- Affected versionversion=1df8d75030b787a9fae270b59b93eef809dd2011 <930a9c1c321efdaa3e7f8caecb0479cee3baf342
- Affected versionversion=1df8d75030b787a9fae270b59b93eef809dd2011 <f0d8352a39f4a2e329ae45b71bb0d49e2ca0a6dc
- Affected versionversion=6.15
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
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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.
Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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