In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfs: drop dquot flush lock when we can't find a buffer to flush LOLLM noticed… (CVE-2026-98444)

The vulnerability in the Linux kernel's XFS subsystem involved the function xfs_qm_flush_one not releasing the dquot flush lock (dqflock) when it failed to acquire the buffer associated with the dquot. Because no buffer was found, the lock was not released, potentially leading to a deadlock or resource contention. The fix ensures that the dquot flush lock is properly dropped in such cases to maintain correct lock management.

If exploited or triggered, this flaw could cause a lock to remain held indefinitely, potentially leading to deadlocks or resource contention within the XFS filesystem operations. This could degrade system stability or performance but no specific exploitation or widespread impact is documented.

A fix has been applied to the Linux kernel to address this issue by ensuring the dquot flush lock is dropped even when no buffer is found. Users should update to the fixed kernel version once available. No additional mitigation steps are indicated.