CVE-2022-50668

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix deadlock due to mbcache entry corruption When manipulating xattr blocks, we can deadlock infinitely looping inside ext4_xattr_block_set() where we constantly keep finding xattr block for reuse in mbcache but we are unable to reuse it because its reference count is too big. This happens because cache entry for the xattr block is marked as reusable (e_reusable set) although its reference count is too big. When this inconsistency happens, this inconsistent state is kept indefinitely and so ext4_xattr_block_set() keeps retrying indefinitely. The inconsistent state is caused by non-atomic update of e_reusable bit. e_reusable is part of a bitfield and e_reusable update can race with update of e_referenced bit in the same bitfield resulting in loss of one of the updates. Fix the problem by using atomic bitops instead. This bug has been around for many years, but it became *much* easier to hit after commit 65f8b80053a1 ("ext4: fix race when reusing xattr blocks").

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-12-09
Last modified 2026-04-15
Patch available
Yes

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 4.6 and later are affected. Fixed in 4.19.270, 5.4.229, 5.10.163, 5.15.87, 6.0.18, 6.1.4, 6.2 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 4.6
Fixed in
✓ 4.19.270 4.19.x ✓ 5.4.229 5.4.x ✓ 5.10.163 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.87 5.15.x ✓ 6.0.18 6.0.x ✓ 6.1.4 6.1.x ✓ 6.2

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2022-50668 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2022-50668?

    CVE-2022-50668 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.6 onward and has been patched in 4.19.270, 5.4.229, 5.10.163 and others. CVE-2022-50668 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2022-50668?

    Yes — CVE-2022-50668 has been patched. Fixed versions include 4.19.270, 5.4.229, 5.10.163 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.6 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2022-50668 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2022-50668 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.