{"api_version":"1","generated_at":"2026-05-27T23:32:12+00:00","cve":"CVE-2026-46002","urls":{"html":"https://cve.report/CVE-2026-46002","api":"https://cve.report/api/cve/CVE-2026-46002.json","docs":"https://cve.report/api","cve_org":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-46002","nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46002"},"summary":{"title":"ext2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget()","description":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\next2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget()\n\next2_iget() already rejects inodes with i_nlink == 0 when i_mode is\nzero or i_dtime is set, treating them as deleted. However, the case of\ni_nlink == 0 with a non-zero mode and zero dtime slips through. Since\next2 has no orphan list, such a combination can only result from\nfilesystem corruption - a legitimate inode deletion always sets either\ni_dtime or clears i_mode before freeing the inode.\n\nA crafted image can exploit this gap to present such an inode to the\nVFS, which then triggers WARN_ON inside drop_nlink() (fs/inode.c) via\next2_unlink(), ext2_rename() and ext2_rmdir():\n\nWARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 609 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336\nCPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 609 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1\nCall Trace:\n <TASK>\n inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]\n ext2_unlink+0x26c/0x300 fs/ext2/namei.c:295\n vfs_unlink+0x2fc/0x9b0 fs/namei.c:4477\n do_unlinkat+0x53e/0x730 fs/namei.c:4541\n __x64_sys_unlink+0xc6/0x110 fs/namei.c:4587\n do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\n </TASK>\n\nWARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 646 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336\nCPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 646 Comm: syz.0.17 Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1\nCall Trace:\n <TASK>\n inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]\n ext2_rename+0x35e/0x850 fs/ext2/namei.c:374\n vfs_rename+0xf2f/0x2060 fs/namei.c:5021\n do_renameat2+0xbe2/0xd50 fs/namei.c:5178\n __x64_sys_rename+0x7e/0xa0 fs/namei.c:5223\n do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\n </TASK>\n\nWARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 634 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336\nCPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 634 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1\nCall Trace:\n <TASK>\n inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]\n ext2_rmdir+0xca/0x110 fs/ext2/namei.c:311\n vfs_rmdir+0x204/0x690 fs/namei.c:4348\n do_rmdir+0x372/0x3e0 fs/namei.c:4407\n __x64_sys_unlinkat+0xf0/0x130 fs/namei.c:4577\n do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\n </TASK>\n\nExtend the existing i_nlink == 0 check to also catch this case,\nreporting the corruption via ext2_error() and returning -EFSCORRUPTED.\nThis rejects the inode at load time and prevents it from reaching any\nof the namei.c paths.\n\nFound by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.","state":"PUBLISHED","assigner":"Linux","published_at":"2026-05-27 14:17:17","updated_at":"2026-05-27 14:48:03"},"problem_types":[],"metrics":[],"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/470264bbec499e276a89a6431144ae58f411ea4d","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/470264bbec499e276a89a6431144ae58f411ea4d","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2dde6377ab2e46bb80cf066c659ef016f3ad7a9b","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2dde6377ab2e46bb80cf066c659ef016f3ad7a9b","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/32e0b925572686399243834ec99e2a9d85c62eae","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/32e0b925572686399243834ec99e2a9d85c62eae","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/25947cc5b2374cd5bf627fe3141496444260d04f","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/25947cc5b2374cd5bf627fe3141496444260d04f","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d3af04a43db86379df7438bf8bade71685b8a239","name":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d3af04a43db86379df7438bf8bade71685b8a239","refsource":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","tags":[],"title":"","mime":"","httpstatus":"","archivestatus":"0"},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-46002","name":"CVE Program record","refsource":"CVE.ORG","tags":["canonical"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46002","name":"NVD vulnerability detail","refsource":"NVD","tags":["canonical","analysis"]}],"affected":[{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 32e0b925572686399243834ec99e2a9d85c62eae git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 d3af04a43db86379df7438bf8bade71685b8a239 git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 2dde6377ab2e46bb80cf066c659ef016f3ad7a9b git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 470264bbec499e276a89a6431144ae58f411ea4d git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 25947cc5b2374cd5bf627fe3141496444260d04f git","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"affected 2.6.12","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 2.6.12 semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 6.6.140 6.6.* semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 6.12.86 6.12.* semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 6.18.27 6.18.* semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 7.0.4 7.0.* semver","platforms":[]},{"source":"CNA","vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","version":"unaffected 7.1-rc1 * original_commit_for_fix","platforms":[]}],"timeline":[],"solutions":[],"workarounds":[],"exploits":[],"credits":[],"nvd_cpes":[],"vendor_comments":[],"enrichments":{"kev":null,"epss":null,"legacy_qids":[]},"source_records":{"cve_program":{"containers":{"cna":{"affected":[{"defaultStatus":"unaffected","product":"Linux","programFiles":["fs/ext2/inode.c"],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","vendor":"Linux","versions":[{"lessThan":"32e0b925572686399243834ec99e2a9d85c62eae","status":"affected","version":"1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2","versionType":"git"},{"lessThan":"d3af04a43db86379df7438bf8bade71685b8a239","status":"affected","version":"1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2","versionType":"git"},{"lessThan":"2dde6377ab2e46bb80cf066c659ef016f3ad7a9b","status":"affected","version":"1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2","versionType":"git"},{"lessThan":"470264bbec499e276a89a6431144ae58f411ea4d","status":"affected","version":"1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2","versionType":"git"},{"lessThan":"25947cc5b2374cd5bf627fe3141496444260d04f","status":"affected","version":"1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2","versionType":"git"}]},{"defaultStatus":"affected","product":"Linux","programFiles":["fs/ext2/inode.c"],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","vendor":"Linux","versions":[{"status":"affected","version":"2.6.12"},{"lessThan":"2.6.12","status":"unaffected","version":"0","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"6.6.*","status":"unaffected","version":"6.6.140","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"6.12.*","status":"unaffected","version":"6.12.86","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"6.18.*","status":"unaffected","version":"6.18.27","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"7.0.*","status":"unaffected","version":"7.0.4","versionType":"semver"},{"lessThanOrEqual":"*","status":"unaffected","version":"7.1-rc1","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}]}],"cpeApplicability":[{"nodes":[{"cpeMatch":[{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"6.6.140","versionStartIncluding":"2.6.12","vulnerable":true},{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"6.12.86","versionStartIncluding":"2.6.12","vulnerable":true},{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"6.18.27","versionStartIncluding":"2.6.12","vulnerable":true},{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"7.0.4","versionStartIncluding":"2.6.12","vulnerable":true},{"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionEndExcluding":"7.1-rc1","versionStartIncluding":"2.6.12","vulnerable":true}],"negate":false,"operator":"OR"}]}],"descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\next2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget()\n\next2_iget() already rejects inodes with i_nlink == 0 when i_mode is\nzero or i_dtime is set, treating them as deleted. However, the case of\ni_nlink == 0 with a non-zero mode and zero dtime slips through. Since\next2 has no orphan list, such a combination can only result from\nfilesystem corruption - a legitimate inode deletion always sets either\ni_dtime or clears i_mode before freeing the inode.\n\nA crafted image can exploit this gap to present such an inode to the\nVFS, which then triggers WARN_ON inside drop_nlink() (fs/inode.c) via\next2_unlink(), ext2_rename() and ext2_rmdir():\n\nWARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 609 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336\nCPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 609 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1\nCall Trace:\n <TASK>\n inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]\n ext2_unlink+0x26c/0x300 fs/ext2/namei.c:295\n vfs_unlink+0x2fc/0x9b0 fs/namei.c:4477\n do_unlinkat+0x53e/0x730 fs/namei.c:4541\n __x64_sys_unlink+0xc6/0x110 fs/namei.c:4587\n do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\n </TASK>\n\nWARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 646 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336\nCPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 646 Comm: syz.0.17 Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1\nCall Trace:\n <TASK>\n inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]\n ext2_rename+0x35e/0x850 fs/ext2/namei.c:374\n vfs_rename+0xf2f/0x2060 fs/namei.c:5021\n do_renameat2+0xbe2/0xd50 fs/namei.c:5178\n __x64_sys_rename+0x7e/0xa0 fs/namei.c:5223\n do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\n </TASK>\n\nWARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 634 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336\nCPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 634 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1\nCall Trace:\n <TASK>\n inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]\n ext2_rmdir+0xca/0x110 fs/ext2/namei.c:311\n vfs_rmdir+0x204/0x690 fs/namei.c:4348\n do_rmdir+0x372/0x3e0 fs/namei.c:4407\n __x64_sys_unlinkat+0xf0/0x130 fs/namei.c:4577\n do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\n </TASK>\n\nExtend the existing i_nlink == 0 check to also catch this case,\nreporting the corruption via ext2_error() and returning -EFSCORRUPTED.\nThis rejects the inode at load time and prevents it from reaching any\nof the namei.c paths.\n\nFound by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller."}],"providerMetadata":{"dateUpdated":"2026-05-27T12:55:57.898Z","orgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","shortName":"Linux"},"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/32e0b925572686399243834ec99e2a9d85c62eae"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d3af04a43db86379df7438bf8bade71685b8a239"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2dde6377ab2e46bb80cf066c659ef016f3ad7a9b"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/470264bbec499e276a89a6431144ae58f411ea4d"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/25947cc5b2374cd5bf627fe3141496444260d04f"}],"title":"ext2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget()","x_generator":{"engine":"bippy-1.2.0"}}},"cveMetadata":{"assignerOrgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","assignerShortName":"Linux","cveId":"CVE-2026-46002","datePublished":"2026-05-27T12:55:57.898Z","dateReserved":"2026-05-13T15:03:33.091Z","dateUpdated":"2026-05-27T12:55:57.898Z","state":"PUBLISHED"},"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2"},"nvd":{"publishedDate":"2026-05-27 14:17:17","lastModifiedDate":"2026-05-27 14:48:03","problem_types":[],"metrics":[],"configurations":[]},"legacy_mitre":{"record":{"CveYear":"2026","CveId":"46002","Ordinal":"1","Title":"ext2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_ige","CVE":"CVE-2026-46002","Year":"2026"},"notes":[{"CveYear":"2026","CveId":"46002","Ordinal":"1","NoteData":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\next2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_iget()\n\next2_iget() already rejects inodes with i_nlink == 0 when i_mode is\nzero or i_dtime is set, treating them as deleted. However, the case of\ni_nlink == 0 with a non-zero mode and zero dtime slips through. Since\next2 has no orphan list, such a combination can only result from\nfilesystem corruption - a legitimate inode deletion always sets either\ni_dtime or clears i_mode before freeing the inode.\n\nA crafted image can exploit this gap to present such an inode to the\nVFS, which then triggers WARN_ON inside drop_nlink() (fs/inode.c) via\next2_unlink(), ext2_rename() and ext2_rmdir():\n\nWARNING: CPU: 3 PID: 609 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336\nCPU: 3 UID: 0 PID: 609 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1\nCall Trace:\n <TASK>\n inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]\n ext2_unlink+0x26c/0x300 fs/ext2/namei.c:295\n vfs_unlink+0x2fc/0x9b0 fs/namei.c:4477\n do_unlinkat+0x53e/0x730 fs/namei.c:4541\n __x64_sys_unlink+0xc6/0x110 fs/namei.c:4587\n do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\n </TASK>\n\nWARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 646 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336\nCPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 646 Comm: syz.0.17 Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1\nCall Trace:\n <TASK>\n inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]\n ext2_rename+0x35e/0x850 fs/ext2/namei.c:374\n vfs_rename+0xf2f/0x2060 fs/namei.c:5021\n do_renameat2+0xbe2/0xd50 fs/namei.c:5178\n __x64_sys_rename+0x7e/0xa0 fs/namei.c:5223\n do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\n </TASK>\n\nWARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 634 at fs/inode.c:336 drop_nlink+0xad/0xd0 fs/inode.c:336\nCPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 634 Comm: syz-executor Not tainted 6.12.77+ #1\nCall Trace:\n <TASK>\n inode_dec_link_count include/linux/fs.h:2518 [inline]\n ext2_rmdir+0xca/0x110 fs/ext2/namei.c:311\n vfs_rmdir+0x204/0x690 fs/namei.c:4348\n do_rmdir+0x372/0x3e0 fs/namei.c:4407\n __x64_sys_unlinkat+0xf0/0x130 fs/namei.c:4577\n do_syscall_64+0xf5/0x220 arch/x86/entry/common.c:78\n entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f\n </TASK>\n\nExtend the existing i_nlink == 0 check to also catch this case,\nreporting the corruption via ext2_error() and returning -EFSCORRUPTED.\nThis rejects the inode at load time and prevents it from reaching any\nof the namei.c paths.\n\nFound by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.","Type":"Description","Title":"ext2: reject inodes with zero i_nlink and valid mode in ext2_ige"}]}}}