CVE-2026-45858
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: don't zero the entire extent if EXT4_EXT_DATA_PARTIAL_VALID1 When allocating initialized blocks from a large unwritten extent, or when splitting an unwritten extent during end I/O and converting it to initialized, there is currently a potential issue of stale data if the extent needs to be split in the middle. 0 A B N [UUUUUUUUUUUU] U: unwritten extent [--DDDDDDDD--] D: valid data |<- ->| ----> this range needs to be initialized ext4_split_extent() first try to split this extent at B with EXT4_EXT_DATA_ENTIRE_VALID1 and EXT4_EXT_MAY_ZEROOUT flag set, but ext4_split_extent_at() failed to split this extent due to temporary lack of space. It zeroout B to N and mark the entire extent from 0 to N as written. 0 A B N [WWWWWWWWWWWW] W: written extent [SSDDDDDDDDZZ] Z: zeroed, S: stale data ext4_split_extent() then try to split this extent at A with EXT4_EXT_DATA_VALID2 flag set. This time, it split successfully and left a stale written extent from 0 to A. 0 A B N [WW|WWWWWWWWWW] [SS|DDDDDDDDZZ] Fix this by pass EXT4_EXT_DATA_PARTIAL_VALID1 to ext4_split_extent_at() when splitting at B, don't convert the entire extent to written and left it as unwritten after zeroing out B to N. The remaining work is just like the standard two-part split. ext4_split_extent() will pass the EXT4_EXT_DATA_VALID2 flag when it calls ext4_split_extent_at() for the second time, allowing it to properly handle the split. If the split is successful, it will keep extent from 0 to A as unwritten.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
3.2.33,
3.4.16,
3.6.4,
3.7
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.6.130,
6.12.75,
6.18.14,
6.19.4,
7.0
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-45858 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/1bf6974822d1dba86cf11b5f05498581cf3488a2
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/58ddae5d77b1db3a27b891c75a8fa120239ac092
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7015fcf473796e1d2d876f241bd9e0c36f3d4eef
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-45858?
CVE-2026-45858 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 3.2.33 onward and has been patched in 6.6.130, 6.12.75, 6.18.14 and others. CVE-2026-45858 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-2026-45858?
Yes — CVE-2026-45858 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.6.130, 6.12.75, 6.18.14 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 3.2.33 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-45858 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2026-45858 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.