CVE-2025-68261
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: add i_data_sem protection in ext4_destroy_inline_data_nolock() Fix a race between inline data destruction and block mapping. The function ext4_destroy_inline_data_nolock() changes the inode data layout by clearing EXT4_INODE_INLINE_DATA and setting EXT4_INODE_EXTENTS. At the same time, another thread may execute ext4_map_blocks(), which tests EXT4_INODE_EXTENTS to decide whether to call ext4_ext_map_blocks() or ext4_ind_map_blocks(). Without i_data_sem protection, ext4_ind_map_blocks() may receive inode with EXT4_INODE_EXTENTS flag and triggering assert. kernel BUG at fs/ext4/indirect.c:546! EXT4-fs (loop2): unmounting filesystem. invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN NOPTI Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.12.0-1 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:ext4_ind_map_blocks.cold+0x2b/0x5a fs/ext4/indirect.c:546 Call Trace: <TASK> ext4_map_blocks+0xb9b/0x16f0 fs/ext4/inode.c:681 _ext4_get_block+0x242/0x590 fs/ext4/inode.c:822 ext4_block_write_begin+0x48b/0x12c0 fs/ext4/inode.c:1124 ext4_write_begin+0x598/0xef0 fs/ext4/inode.c:1255 ext4_da_write_begin+0x21e/0x9c0 fs/ext4/inode.c:3000 generic_perform_write+0x259/0x5d0 mm/filemap.c:3846 ext4_buffered_write_iter+0x15b/0x470 fs/ext4/file.c:285 ext4_file_write_iter+0x8e0/0x17f0 fs/ext4/file.c:679 call_write_iter include/linux/fs.h:2271 [inline] do_iter_readv_writev+0x212/0x3c0 fs/read_write.c:735 do_iter_write+0x186/0x710 fs/read_write.c:861 vfs_iter_write+0x70/0xa0 fs/read_write.c:902 iter_file_splice_write+0x73b/0xc90 fs/splice.c:685 do_splice_from fs/splice.c:763 [inline] direct_splice_actor+0x10f/0x170 fs/splice.c:950 splice_direct_to_actor+0x33a/0xa10 fs/splice.c:896 do_splice_direct+0x1a9/0x280 fs/splice.c:1002 do_sendfile+0xb13/0x12c0 fs/read_write.c:1255 __do_sys_sendfile64 fs/read_write.c:1323 [inline] __se_sys_sendfile64 fs/read_write.c:1309 [inline] __x64_sys_sendfile64+0x1cf/0x210 fs/read_write.c:1309 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:51 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80 arch/x86/entry/common.c:81 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0xd8
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
3.16.44,
3.18.107,
4.4.129,
4.9.14,
4.10.2,
4.11
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.10.248,
5.15.198,
6.1.160,
6.6.120,
6.12.62,
6.17.12,
6.18.1,
6.19
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2025-68261 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0cd8feea8777f8d9b9a862b89c688b049a5c8475
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/144c48da33a01d92995aeccd8208eb47d2a8e659
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/22a76b0861ae61a299c8e126c1aca8c4fda820fd
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2025-68261?
CVE-2025-68261 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 3.16.44 onward and has been patched in 5.10.248, 5.15.198, 6.1.160 and others. CVE-2025-68261 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2025-68261?
Yes — CVE-2025-68261 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.248, 5.15.198, 6.1.160 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 3.16.44 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2025-68261 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2025-68261 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.