CVE-2026-43065

ext4: always drain queued discard work in ext4_mb_release()

Published May 5, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 5.5 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ext4: always drain queued discard work in ext4_mb_release()

While reviewing recent ext4 patch[1], Sashiko raised the following
concern[2]:

> If the filesystem is initially mounted with the discard option,
> deleting files will populate sbi->s_discard_list and queue
> s_discard_work. If it is then remounted with nodiscard, the
> EXT4_MOUNT_DISCARD flag is cleared, but the pending s_discard_work is
> neither cancelled nor flushed.

[1] https://lore.kernel.org/r/20260319094545.19291-1-qiang.zhang@linux.dev/
[2] https://sashiko.dev/#/patchset/20260319094545.19291-1-qiang.zhang%40linux.dev

The concern was valid, but it had nothing to do with the patch[1].
One of the problems with Sashiko in its current (early) form is that
it will detect pre-existing issues and report it as a problem with the
patch that it is reviewing.

In practice, it would be hard to hit deliberately (unless you are a
malicious syzkaller fuzzer), since it would involve mounting the file
system with -o discard, and then deleting a large number of files,
remounting the file system with -o nodiscard, and then immediately
unmounting the file system before the queued discard work has a change
to drain on its own.

Fix it because it's a real bug, and to avoid Sashiko from raising this
concern when analyzing future patches to mballoc.c.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8567-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8574-1 Linux kernel (GCP FIPS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8575-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8576-1 Linux kernel (NVIDIA Tegra) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8574-2 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8595-1 Linux kernel (Oracle) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8596-1 Linux kernel (NVIDIA) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8575-2 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8576-2 Linux kernel (NVIDIA Tegra) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8597-1 Linux kernel (IBM) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8575-3 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8595-2 Linux kernel (AWS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8606-1 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8607-1 Linux kernel (Azure CVM) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8608-1 Linux kernel (Azure FIPS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8609-1 Linux kernel (Azure CVM) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8610-1 Linux kernel (Azure CVM) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8574-3 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8595-3 Linux kernel (AWS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8619-1 Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8620-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8620-2 Linux kernel (Azure FIPS) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8620-3 Linux kernel (Intel IoTG) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8620-4 Linux kernel (Intel IoTG) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8665-1 Linux kernel (Raspberry Pi) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8668-1 Linux kernel (GCP) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8668-2 Linux kernel (Raspberry Pi) vulnerabilities
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses NVD-CWE-noinfo
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-584
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-772
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

threat_severity

Moderate

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-584
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: always drain queued discard work in ext4_mb_release() While reviewing recent ext4 patch[1], Sashiko raised the following concern[2]: > If the filesystem is initially mounted with the discard option, > deleting files will populate sbi->s_discard_list and queue > s_discard_work. If it is then remounted with nodiscard, the > EXT4_MOUNT_DISCARD flag is cleared, but the pending s_discard_work is > neither cancelled nor flushed. [1] https://lore.kernel.org/r/20260319094545.19291-1-qiang.zhang@linux.dev/ [2] https://sashiko.dev/#/patchset/20260319094545.19291-1-qiang.zhang%40linux.dev The concern was valid, but it had nothing to do with the patch[1]. One of the problems with Sashiko in its current (early) form is that it will detect pre-existing issues and report it as a problem with the patch that it is reviewing. In practice, it would be hard to hit deliberately (unless you are a malicious syzkaller fuzzer), since it would involve mounting the file system with -o discard, and then deleting a large number of files, remounting the file system with -o nodiscard, and then immediately unmounting the file system before the queued discard work has a change to drain on its own. Fix it because it's a real bug, and to avoid Sashiko from raising this concern when analyzing future patches to mballoc.c.
Title ext4: always drain queued discard work in ext4_mb_release()
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References
Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
Linux
Published
Updated
Nov 6, 2026, 3:32 PM
Reserved
May 1, 2026, 2:12 PM
Status
Analyzed
Published
May 5, 2026, 4:16 PM
Modified
Nov 11, 2026, 9:10 PM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
May 5, 2026, 12:00 AM