Forwarded: Re: [syzbot] [kernfs?] INFO: task hung in do_rmdir (7)

From: syzbot

Date: Sun Aug 02 2026 - 01:32:47 EST


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Subject: Re: [syzbot] [kernfs?] INFO: task hung in do_rmdir (7)
Author: matthias.goergens@xxxxxxxxx

#syz test: git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git master

From: Matthias Goergens <matthias.goergens@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [PATCH] ext4: stop retrying saturated xattr cache entries


ext4_xattr_block_set() retries when a cache entry selected for reuse
has a saturated reference count after taking the buffer lock. The retry
returns to the mbcache lookup without making that entry ineligible, so
it can select the same unusable entry indefinitely. A task spinning
there can hold the parent directory's i_rwsem and leave concurrent
rmdir callers blocked.

Normally a reusable entry has a reference count below
EXT4_XATTR_REFCOUNT_MAX because the count and MBE_REUSABLE_B are
updated under the same buffer lock. A corrupted filesystem can violate
that invariant. The syzbot reproducer reports allocator and xattr
corruption before triggering this retry loop.

Check the untrusted on-disk count before incrementing it, avoiding
overflow, and clear MBE_REUSABLE_B when it is already saturated. The
next lookup then skips the entry that was just proven unusable. This
mirrors the normal transition at EXT4_XATTR_REFCOUNT_MAX; the release
path marks the entry reusable again if the count later falls below the
limit.

Using the same QEMU harness and guest parameters, current unpatched
Linux hung in 6 of 8 420-second trials with the do_rmdir signature;
representative NMI backtraces caught the owner spinning in
ext4_xattr_block_set(). The patched kernel completed 20 of 20 trials
without a hung-task report. The final four trials exercised the
reviewed overflow-safe form of the change.

Reported-by: syzbot+e68dbebd9617a9250e8d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Closes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=e68dbebd9617a9250e8d
Fixes: 65f8b80053a1 ("ext4: fix race when reusing xattr blocks")
Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Signed-off-by: Matthias Goergens <matthias.goergens@xxxxxxxxx>
---
fs/ext4/xattr.c | 6 ++++--
1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/fs/ext4/xattr.c b/fs/ext4/xattr.c
index 982a1f831e228..6f4215d4806de 100644
--- a/fs/ext4/xattr.c
+++ b/fs/ext4/xattr.c
@@ -2075,12 +2075,13 @@ ext4_xattr_block_set(handle_t *handle, struct inode *inode,
* stable so we can check the additional
* reference fits.
*/
- ref = le32_to_cpu(BHDR(new_bh)->h_refcount) + 1;
- if (ref > EXT4_XATTR_REFCOUNT_MAX) {
+ ref = le32_to_cpu(BHDR(new_bh)->h_refcount);
+ if (ref >= EXT4_XATTR_REFCOUNT_MAX) {
/*
* Undo everything and check mbcache
* again.
*/
+ clear_bit(MBE_REUSABLE_B, &ce->e_flags);
unlock_buffer(new_bh);
dquot_free_block(inode,
EXT4_C2B(EXT4_SB(sb),
@@ -2091,6 +2092,7 @@ ext4_xattr_block_set(handle_t *handle, struct inode *inode,
new_bh = NULL;
goto inserted;
}
+ ref++;
BHDR(new_bh)->h_refcount = cpu_to_le32(ref);
if (ref == EXT4_XATTR_REFCOUNT_MAX)
clear_bit(MBE_REUSABLE_B, &ce->e_flags);