In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ext4: fix bug_on in __es_tree_search caused by bad boot loader inode
In the above issue, ioctl invokes the swap_inode_boot_loader function to
swap inode<5> and inode<12>. However, inode<5> contain incorrect imode and
disordered extents, and i_nlink is set to 1. The extents check for inode in
the ext4_iget function can be bypassed bacause 5 is EXT4_BOOT_LOADER_INO.
While links_count is set to 1, the extents are not initialized in
swap_inode_boot_loader. After the ioctl command is executed successfully,
the extents are swapped to inode<12>, in this case, run the cat command
to view inode<12>. And Bug_ON is triggered due to the incorrect extents.
When the boot loader inode is not initialized, its imode can be one of the following:
The BUG_ON may be triggered by bypassing the check in cases 1 and 2. Therefore, when the boot loader inode is bad_inode or its imode is not S_IFREG, initialize the inode to avoid triggering the BUG.
No affected software listed.