[PATCH v3] exfat: initialize caching fields during inode allocation

From: Yang Wen

Date: Wed Mar 04 2026 - 05:28:25 EST


exfat_alloc_inode() does not initialize the cache_lru list head of
struct exfat_inode_info.

If an inode is evicted before its cache structures are properly
initialized (e.g., during a forced unmount), the cleanup
path in __exfat_cache_inval_inode() may observe an uninitialized
list head.

The check:

while (!list_empty(&ei->cache_lru))

may incorrectly succeed when stale pointers remain from a reused
slab object. Subsequent list traversal can then operate on invalid
entries, potentially leading to a NULL pointer dereference or
memory corruption.

Initialize cache_lru, cache_lru_lock, nr_caches, and cache_valid_id
in exfat_alloc_inode() to ensure a well-defined state at allocation
time.

Signed-off-by: Yang Wen <anmuxixixi@xxxxxxxxx>
---
fs/exfat/super.c | 11 ++++++-----
1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/fs/exfat/super.c b/fs/exfat/super.c
index 83396fd265cd..4f99986f390a 100644
--- a/fs/exfat/super.c
+++ b/fs/exfat/super.c
@@ -195,6 +195,12 @@ static struct inode *exfat_alloc_inode(struct super_block *sb)
if (!ei)
return NULL;

+ spin_lock_init(&ei->cache_lru_lock);
+ ei->nr_caches = 0;
+ ei->cache_valid_id = EXFAT_CACHE_VALID + 1;
+ INIT_LIST_HEAD(&ei->cache_lru);
+ INIT_HLIST_NODE(&ei->i_hash_fat);
+
init_rwsem(&ei->truncate_lock);
return &ei->vfs_inode;
}
@@ -879,11 +885,6 @@ static void exfat_inode_init_once(void *foo)
{
struct exfat_inode_info *ei = (struct exfat_inode_info *)foo;

- spin_lock_init(&ei->cache_lru_lock);
- ei->nr_caches = 0;
- ei->cache_valid_id = EXFAT_CACHE_VALID + 1;
- INIT_LIST_HEAD(&ei->cache_lru);
- INIT_HLIST_NODE(&ei->i_hash_fat);
inode_init_once(&ei->vfs_inode);
}

--
2.43.0