CVE-2026-31446

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's ext4 filesystem. This vulnerability, a use-after-free, occurs due to a timing issue when the update_super_work function attempts to access memory that has already been released during a filesystem unmount operation. A local attacker could potentially exploit this flaw, leading to system instability or a denial of service (DoS).

Red Hat recognizes the upstream ext4 teardown race between sysfs notification and superblock update work. The failure mode involves freed kernfs state during unmount; practical impact is integrity/availability of the local system. Fixes will be delivered through standard kernel maintenance. Unmount-heavy automation should plan for patched kernels.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

To mitigate this issue, prevent the ext4 module from being loaded. See https://access.redhat.com/solutions/41278 for instructions.