CVE-2026-68459

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's f2fs (Flash-Friendly File System) component. When a device is mounted with the gc_merge option, a specific interaction between kernel worker threads, the garbage collection thread, and the truncator can lead to a deadlock in the f2fs_balance_fs() function. This occurs when a memory page (folio) is locked and simultaneously awaited by multiple processes, resulting in a system-wide Denial of Service (DoS) condition.

This vulnerability is rated as Moderate severity because exploitation requires local access and non-standard filesystem mount options to trigger a system deadlock, restricting the impact to denial of service. The Flash-Friendly File System (f2fs) is not enabled in standard Red Hat Enterprise Linux kernel builds, and the vulnerable code is not included in shipped releases. As a result, supported Red Hat platforms are not affected under default configurations.

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.