VulnerabilityPublished 24 Sep 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-93269: Linux kernel · ext4: fix circular lock dependency in ext4_ext_migrate

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · fixed in e4223231b6860141813637a6413c2371ae4d6fa8 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated Medium by Threat Radar's AI analysis · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 8% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in e4223231b6860141813637a6413c2371ae4d6fa8, ada23457d4748d6e9c36c6f871fc29a6f558c48c, a897682793eba5de51ee6f3152760374afa629cf +7

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 24 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: 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 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected >=4.9.215 <4.10 >=4.14.172 <4.15 >=4.19.107 <4.20 >=5.4.23 <5.5 >=5.5.7 <5.6	Fixed in e4223231b6860141813637a6413c2371ae4d6fa8 ada23457d4748d6e9c36c6f871fc29a6f558c48c a897682793eba5de51ee6f3152760374afa629cf 452950461241dfed8b1d32e94b227db38c99c5af 32f7ab52875ec7f800ca67e7176e5743a84baddf 5.6 5.5 4.20 4.15 4.10
LinuxLinux	Affected =5.6	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

This issue has been fixed in Linux kernel versions 4.10, 4.15, 4.20, 5.5, and 5.6 and later. Users should upgrade to these or later kernel versions to mitigate the deadlock vulnerability. No additional mitigation steps are indicated.

Description

A deadlock vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ext4 filesystem code was fixed by changing the order of inode release to avoid a circular lock dependency. The issue involved a temporary inode used during extent tree migration, where holding certain locks in the wrong order could cause a deadlock between filesystem write operations and inode eviction.

Impact

The vulnerability can cause a deadlock in the kernel ext4 filesystem code, potentially leading to system hangs or degraded performance during extent migration or mount operations involving orphan cleanup. There is no indication of code execution or data corruption, only a denial of service via deadlock.

Summary

CVE-2026-93269 addresses a circular lock dependency in the ext4_ext_migrate function of the Linux kernel. The vulnerability arises from a deadlock scenario involving the s_writepages_rwsem lock and the sb_internal lock during extent migration and inode eviction. The fix moves the iput(tmp_inode) call after releasing the s_writepages_rwsem lock to prevent the circular dependency. The tmp_inode is a temporary inode with zero link count used for building the extent tree, and its eviction does not require holding the s_writepages_rwsem lock, making the deferred iput() safe.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Oct 2026, 13:46 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats