In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ext4: skip extra isize expansion during mount to prevent deadlock
ext4_try_to_expand_extra_isize() is called from __ext4_mark_inode_dirty()
while holding an active jbd2 handle. During mount (!SB_ACTIVE), the
expand path may move xattrs to external blocks and release ea_inodes via
iput(). When !SB_ACTIVE, iput() calls write_inode_now() which acquires
s_writepages_rwsem, creating a circular lock dependency:
s_writepages_rwsem –> jbd2_handle –> xattr_sem –> s_writepages_rwsem
This can be triggered via:
ext4_process_orphan() -> ext4_truncate() -> ext4_mark_inode_dirty()
-> ext4_try_to_expand_extra_isize()
or:
ext4_evict_inode() -> ext4_mark_inode_dirty()
-> ext4_try_to_expand_extra_isize()
Skip expansion when !SB_ACTIVE. This is a minor loss of functionality
(extra isize won’t grow for these inodes during mount), which e2fsck
can resolve later if needed.
