Junglewise Threat Intelligence

CVE-2026-31596: Linux kernel OCFS2 denial of service in ocfs2_group_extend

CVE-2026-31596 · Severity: medium · CVSS 5.5 · Published 2026-04-24

Technologies: Linux Kernel. Vendors: Linux.

Executive brief

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's OCFS2 file system component could allow a local user to crash the system. By using a specially crafted file system image, an attacker can trigger a kernel panic during a disk resize operation. This results in a denial-of-service condition, potentially disrupting business operations and data availability.

Technical details

A vulnerability exists in the ocfs2_group_extend() function within the Linux kernel's OCFS2 file system driver. The function assumes that global bitmap inode blocks returned from ocfs2_inode_lock() are already validated; however, JBD2-managed buffer paths can bypass these structural checks. By providing a crafted filesystem with an invalid dinode signature, a local attacker can trigger a BUG_ON() macro, resulting in a kernel panic (denial of service). The fix involves adding explicit validation for the dinode in ocfs2_group_extend() and returning an error instead of crashing. This issue is reachable via the resize ioctl.

Affected products

  • Linux Linux kernel 2.6.29 to 6.6.136, 6.7 to 6.12.83, 6.13 to 6.18.24, 6.19 to 6.19.14, 7.0 to 7.0.1

Timeline

  • 2026-04-24: disclosed
  • 2026-04-24: advisory
  • 2026-04-15: patched: Initial patch commit in mainline/stable branches

References

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