CVE-2026-80808: Linux kernel · ext4: stop retrying saturated xattr cache entries
Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · fixed in dbd4aea175ad3c46436acb251e817b4374628072 : patch Linux kernel soon.
Data as of 6 Nov 2026, 17:34 UTC
Rated High by Threat Radar's AI analysis · CVSS not yet scored by NVD
Thin evidence
One scorer or none- 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
- Limited control over the software or limited information exposure
CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-11-06.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in dbd4aea175ad3c46436acb251e817b4374628072, a40c45268f4358207aa9c53764fed2e05f62986a, 61631352a5b405c89be579de00903b72e6888aa4 +12
Exploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 4 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by 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 6 Nov 2026.
What to do
Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
A fix for this vulnerability has been implemented and is available in Linux kernel versions 5.10.267, 5.15.218, 4.20, 5.5, 5.19, 5.20, and later. Users and administrators should upgrade to these fixed kernel versions to remediate the issue. No additional mitigation is required beyond applying the official kernel updates.
Description
CVE-2026-80808 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ext4 filesystem related to the handling of extended attribute (xattr) cache entries. The flaw causes the ext4_xattr_block_set() function to retry indefinitely on saturated cache entries, potentially causing a task to spin while holding a directory lock and blocking concurrent directory removal operations. This issue arises from corrupted filesystem states violating reference count invariants. The vulnerability has been fixed by adding checks to prevent overflow and skipping unusable cache entries during lookup.
References
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/119a2f053242ed75bdd2ebc95baf3ae7db6ccacf (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/61631352a5b405c89be579de00903b72e6888aa4 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/8865cd664484517703df5c18a965dc3227572b87 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/a40c45268f4358207aa9c53764fed2e05f62986a (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/889ec86464d261f026f6c334040cfc6c58c99d58 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/4902a5cba21aeaf91e6b29e20e0967a5f6abdcd9 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/55ee6533c1db7f7656fa8dd19637f3f8b8c08dc5 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/dbd4aea175ad3c46436acb251e817b4374628072 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/54b6bd40898de7906acb2bccc9a96d1b8e6b4323 (opens in a new tab)