CVE-2022-50845

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix inode leak in ext4_xattr_inode_create() on an error path There is issue as follows when do setxattr with inject fault: [localhost]# fsck.ext4 -fn /dev/sda e2fsck 1.46.6-rc1 (12-Sep-2022) Pass 1: Checking inodes, blocks, and sizes Pass 2: Checking directory structure Pass 3: Checking directory connectivity Pass 4: Checking reference counts Unattached zero-length inode 15. Clear? no Unattached inode 15 Connect to /lost+found? no Pass 5: Checking group summary information /dev/sda: ********** WARNING: Filesystem still has errors ********** /dev/sda: 15/655360 files (0.0% non-contiguous), 66755/2621440 blocks This occurs in 'ext4_xattr_inode_create()'. If 'ext4_mark_inode_dirty()' fails, dropping i_nlink of the inode is needed. Or will lead to inode leak.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2025-12-30
Last modified 2026-04-15
Patch available
Yes

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 4.13 and later are affected. Fixed in 4.14.303, 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
≥ 4.13
Fixed in
✓ 4.14.303 4.14.x ✓ 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-2022-50845 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-2022-50845?

    CVE-2022-50845 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.13 onward and has been patched in 4.14.303, 4.19.270, 5.4.229 and others. CVE-2022-50845 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2022-50845?

    Yes — CVE-2022-50845 has been patched. Fixed versions include 4.14.303, 4.19.270, 5.4.229 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.13 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2022-50845 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2022-50845 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.