Skip to main content
VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-31450: Linux kernel · ext4: publish jinode after initialization

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.8 High · fixed in e4325e84727e539c8597bd5b8491349f57f7fb17 : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:55 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
8.8High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 35% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CISA SSVC
Exploitation
No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
Automatable
Attackers cannot reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
Technical impact
Total control over the software or total information disclosure

CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-10-16.

Patch
Available – fixed in e4325e84727e539c8597bd5b8491349f57f7fb17, e76bcb727e4874a2f9d0297f8e3f8eced89b0764, be54c0055407a73b60349c093c8ce621cb8fa232 +5
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 22 Apr 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ a361293f5fedea0016a10599f409631a15d47ee7, < e4325e84727e539c8597bd5b8491349f57f7fb17
Fixed in
  • e4325e84727e539c8597bd5b8491349f57f7fb17
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ a361293f5fedea0016a10599f409631a15d47ee7, < e76bcb727e4874a2f9d0297f8e3f8eced89b0764
Fixed in
  • e76bcb727e4874a2f9d0297f8e3f8eced89b0764
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ a361293f5fedea0016a10599f409631a15d47ee7, < be54c0055407a73b60349c093c8ce621cb8fa232
Fixed in
  • be54c0055407a73b60349c093c8ce621cb8fa232
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ a361293f5fedea0016a10599f409631a15d47ee7, < a070d5a872ffe0e0fe5c46eda6386140ded39adb
Fixed in
  • a070d5a872ffe0e0fe5c46eda6386140ded39adb
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ a361293f5fedea0016a10599f409631a15d47ee7, < 4855a59e21789c79f003a9b5f4135c95a7495c6b
Fixed in
  • 4855a59e21789c79f003a9b5f4135c95a7495c6b
LinuxLinuxAffected
  • ≥ a361293f5fedea0016a10599f409631a15d47ee7, < 33f486987af21531a7b18973d11795ede3da9ddd
Fixed in
  • 33f486987af21531a7b18973d11795ede3da9ddd

AI-suggested

A fix is available and has been applied in multiple Linux kernel commits. Users should update their Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix identified by the listed commit hashes. No additional mitigation steps are required beyond applying the official patch.

Description

CVE-2026-31450 is a high-severity vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ext4 filesystem code. It involves a race condition where the ext4_inode_attach_jinode() function publishes a pointer to a journal inode (jinode) before it is fully initialized. This can cause concurrent readers to dereference an uninitialized pointer, leading to a kernel crash (NULL pointer dereference). The issue is fixed by properly initializing the jinode before publishing it using memory barriers and atomic operations.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…