In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfs: don't let memory failures leak blocks and kill repairs LOLLM complains that… (CVE-2026-98445)

The Linux kernel XFS filesystem had a vulnerability where a memory allocation failure in the function xrep_newbt_add_blocks during online repair could leak blocks and cause the repair process to fail catastrophically. The codebase limitation prevented callers from undoing partial transactions and returning errors gracefully, resulting in filesystem crashes. The patch addressed this by using a no-fail allocation for the small btree space reservation object (~48 bytes), effectively eliminating the memory failure condition.

If triggered, this vulnerability could cause the XFS filesystem repair process to leak allocated blocks and potentially crash, leading to filesystem instability or downtime during repair operations. There is no indication of remote exploitation or data corruption beyond the repair process impact.

A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel to address this issue by changing the memory allocation to a no-fail approach for the affected code path. Users should update to the patched kernel version once available. No additional mitigation is indicated.