[PATCH] jfs: fix directory tree corruption in dtSplitRoot()

From: Deepanshu Kartikey

Date: Sun Dec 07 2025 - 01:51:49 EST


When reusing transaction locks for DTREE operations, the index field
may contain stale values from previous operations, causing assertion
failures in dtSplitRoot():

ASSERT(dtlck->index == 0)

This results in kernel crashes like:

kernel BUG at fs/jfs/jfs_dtree.c:1942!
Call Trace:
dtSplitRoot+0x1694/0x16c0 fs/jfs/jfs_dtree.c:1942
dtSplitUp fs/jfs/jfs_dtree.c:1244 [inline]
dtInsert+0x2525/0x5f40 fs/jfs/jfs_dtree.c:871
jfs_create+0x6c8/0xa80 fs/jfs/namei.c:137

The bug occurs because txLock() has multiple code paths for lock
acquisition:

1. Fresh allocation (allocateLock) - correctly initializes index to 0
2. Lock reuse (same transaction) - skips initialization
3. Anonymous lock acquisition - skips initialization

Paths 2 and 3 jump directly to the grantLock label, bypassing the
index initialization. When dtSplitRoot() is called multiple times
within a batched transaction (which JFS uses for performance), it may
receive a reused lock with index=3 from a previous operation instead
of the expected index=0.

Example sequence:
Transaction tid=1:
- First dtSplitRoot: gets fresh lock, index=0 ✓
- Modifies entries, index becomes 3
- Lock returned to pool but not freed

Transaction tid=1 (continues):
- Second dtSplitRoot: reuses same lock
- index still = 3 (stale value) ✗
- ASSERT(index == 0) fails → crash

Fix by resetting dtlck->index to 0 at the grantLock label, but only
for operations with the tlckNEW flag set. This ensures:

- New pages (like dtSplitRoot) start with clean state (index=0)
- Existing pages preserve accumulated changes within a transaction
- No performance impact (only affects new page operations)

The tlckNEW flag is used by dtSplitRoot() when creating a new root
page, making this fix targeted to the exact scenario that requires
index=0.

Reported-by: syzbot+a099d674daa27a9272db@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Closes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=a099d674daa27a9272db
Signed-off-by: Deepanshu Kartikey <kartikey406@xxxxxxxxx>
---
fs/jfs/jfs_txnmgr.c | 11 +++++++++++
1 file changed, 11 insertions(+)

diff --git a/fs/jfs/jfs_txnmgr.c b/fs/jfs/jfs_txnmgr.c
index c16578af3a77..5ce2fc17d967 100644
--- a/fs/jfs/jfs_txnmgr.c
+++ b/fs/jfs/jfs_txnmgr.c
@@ -811,6 +811,17 @@ struct tlock *txLock(tid_t tid, struct inode *ip, struct metapage * mp,
* update tlock vector
*/
grantLock:
+ /*
+ * Reset index for new DTREE locks to ensure clean state.
+ * When locks are reused, index may contain stale values from
+ * previous operations. Operations like dtSplitRoot() expect
+ * index to be 0 when creating new pages (tlckNEW flag).
+ */
+ if ((type & tlckDTREE) && (type & tlckNEW)) {
+ struct dt_lock *dtlck = (struct dt_lock *)&tlck->lock;
+
+ dtlck->index = 0;
+ }
tlck->type |= type;

return tlck;
--
2.43.0