Executive brief
gfs2-utils is a system administration utility for managing GFS2 (Global File System 2) used in high-availability storage clusters. A crafted GFS2 filesystem image can trigger a stack buffer overflow in the savemeta tool when an administrator processes it, potentially leading to unauthorized code execution with the privileges of the user running the tool.
Technical details
This is a classic out-of-bounds write vulnerability (CWE-787) in the savemeta component of gfs2-utils. The vulnerability stems from use of an unchecked height field from on-disk inode metadata as a loop bound without validation, causing the code to write beyond the bounds of a fixed-size stack buffer. The attack requires local access and user interaction—an administrator must explicitly run savemeta on a malicious GFS2 filesystem image. Successful exploitation can result in memory corruption, stack data overwrite, and arbitrary code execution. Red Hat compiler hardening provides partial mitigation. Patches are expected to be available in forthcoming gfs2-utils updates.
Affected products
- Red Hat gfs2-utils
Timeline
- 2026-09-03: disclosed