[PATCH 1/3] ntfs: fix volume flag update races
From: Hongling Zeng
Date: Wed Sep 02 2026 - 22:20:37 EST
ntfs_set_volume_flags() and ntfs_clear_volume_flags() both read
vol->vol_flags outside any lock to compute the new value before handing
it to ntfs_write_volume_flags(), which only takes ni->mrec_lock around
the actual write. The read-modify-write is therefore not atomic, and two
concurrent callers can lose an update: ntfs_sync_fs() may derive a
"clean" value from vol->vol_flags while a writer concurrently records an
error and sets VOLUME_IS_DIRTY; the locked write then silently
overwrites the freshly-set dirty bit. The on-disk volume looks clean
despite the recorded errors, so chkdsk will not run on the next mount
and corrupted metadata can persist.
Fix by moving the read-modify-write inside the mrec_lock: pass the bits
to set and to clear separately, and combine them with the current flag
state under the lock inside ntfs_write_volume_flags(). The set/clear
helpers pass only the bits to modify, not the complete flag state. The
bit manipulation is done on CPU-endian values, and the result is
converted back to little-endian before storing it. The wrappers keep
their signatures so callers are unchanged.
Cc: stable@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Signed-off-by: Hongling Zeng <zenghongling@xxxxxxxxxx>
---
- Also fix the ntfs_sync_fs() race by checking NVolErrors() and clearing
VOLUME_IS_DIRTY under ni->mrec_lock.
- Keep ntfs_set_volume_flags() and ntfs_clear_volume_flags() semantics
unchanged.
- Do not tie setting VOLUME_IS_DIRTY to NVolSetErrors() in the generic
set helper.
---
fs/ntfs/super.c | 62 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------
1 file changed, 45 insertions(+), 17 deletions(-)
diff --git a/fs/ntfs/super.c b/fs/ntfs/super.c
index a1813093222b..a7977b95b967 100644
--- a/fs/ntfs/super.c
+++ b/fs/ntfs/super.c
@@ -353,31 +353,45 @@ void ntfs_handle_error(struct super_block *sb)
}
/*
- * ntfs_write_volume_flags - write new flags to the volume information flags
+ * ntfs_write_volume_flags - apply flag changes to the volume information flags
* @vol: ntfs volume on which to modify the flags
- * @flags: new flags value for the volume information flags
+ * @set_bits: bits to set in the volume information flags
+ * @clear_bits: bits to clear in the volume information flags
*
* Internal function. You probably want to use ntfs_{set,clear}_volume_flags()
* instead (see below).
*
- * Replace the volume information flags on the volume @vol with the value
- * supplied in @flags. Note, this overwrites the volume information flags, so
- * make sure to combine the flags you want to modify with the old flags and use
- * the result when calling ntfs_write_volume_flags().
+ * Combine @set_bits and @clear_bits with the current in-memory flag state and
+ * write the result back. The set/clear helpers pass only the bits to modify,
+ * not the complete flag state. The read-modify-write happens under
+ * ni->mrec_lock so that concurrent set/clear operations cannot lose updates.
+ * All bit manipulation is done on CPU-endian values, and the result is
+ * converted back to little-endian before storing it.
*
* Return 0 on success and -errno on error.
*/
-static int ntfs_write_volume_flags(struct ntfs_volume *vol, const __le16 flags)
+static int ntfs_write_volume_flags(struct ntfs_volume *vol,
+ const __le16 set_bits, const __le16 clear_bits,
+ const bool skip_if_errors)
{
struct ntfs_inode *ni = NTFS_I(vol->vol_ino);
struct volume_information *vi;
struct ntfs_attr_search_ctx *ctx;
+ u16 flags;
int err;
- ntfs_debug("Entering, old flags = 0x%x, new flags = 0x%x.",
- le16_to_cpu(vol->vol_flags), le16_to_cpu(flags));
mutex_lock(&ni->mrec_lock);
- if (vol->vol_flags == flags)
+
+ if (skip_if_errors && NVolErrors(vol))
+ goto done;
+
+ flags = le16_to_cpu(vol->vol_flags);
+ flags |= le16_to_cpu(set_bits) & le16_to_cpu(VOLUME_FLAGS_MASK);
+ flags &= ~(le16_to_cpu(clear_bits) & le16_to_cpu(VOLUME_FLAGS_MASK));
+ ntfs_debug("Entering, old flags = 0x%x, new flags = 0x%x.",
+ le16_to_cpu(vol->vol_flags), flags);
+
+ if (le16_to_cpu(vol->vol_flags) == flags)
goto done;
ctx = ntfs_attr_get_search_ctx(ni, NULL);
@@ -393,7 +407,7 @@ static int ntfs_write_volume_flags(struct ntfs_volume *vol, const __le16 flags)
vi = (struct volume_information *)((u8 *)ctx->attr +
le16_to_cpu(ctx->attr->data.resident.value_offset));
- vol->vol_flags = vi->flags = flags;
+ vol->vol_flags = vi->flags = cpu_to_le16(flags);
mark_mft_record_dirty(ctx->ntfs_ino);
ntfs_attr_put_search_ctx(ctx);
done:
@@ -414,13 +428,14 @@ static int ntfs_write_volume_flags(struct ntfs_volume *vol, const __le16 flags)
* @flags: flags to set on the volume
*
* Set the bits in @flags in the volume information flags on the volume @vol.
+ * The bits are combined with the current flag state under the lock in
+ * ntfs_write_volume_flags(), so concurrent updates are not lost.
*
* Return 0 on success and -errno on error.
*/
int ntfs_set_volume_flags(struct ntfs_volume *vol, __le16 flags)
{
- flags &= VOLUME_FLAGS_MASK;
- return ntfs_write_volume_flags(vol, vol->vol_flags | flags);
+ return ntfs_write_volume_flags(vol, flags, 0, false);
}
/*
@@ -429,14 +444,27 @@ int ntfs_set_volume_flags(struct ntfs_volume *vol, __le16 flags)
* @flags: flags to clear on the volume
*
* Clear the bits in @flags in the volume information flags on the volume @vol.
+ * The bits are combined with the current flag state under the lock in
+ * ntfs_write_volume_flags(), so concurrent updates are not lost.
*
* Return 0 on success and -errno on error.
*/
int ntfs_clear_volume_flags(struct ntfs_volume *vol, __le16 flags)
{
- flags &= VOLUME_FLAGS_MASK;
- flags = vol->vol_flags & cpu_to_le16(~le16_to_cpu(flags));
- return ntfs_write_volume_flags(vol, flags);
+ return ntfs_write_volume_flags(vol, 0, flags, false);
+}
+
+/*
+ * ntfs_clear_volume_dirty_if_no_errors - clear dirty bit if no errors exist
+ * @vol: ntfs volume whose dirty bit should be cleared
+ *
+ * Check NVolErrors() and clear VOLUME_IS_DIRTY under the same mrec_lock so
+ * ntfs_sync_fs() cannot clear the dirty bit after a concurrent error has been
+ * recorded.
+ */
+static int ntfs_clear_volume_dirty_if_no_errors(struct ntfs_volume *vol)
+{
+ return ntfs_write_volume_flags(vol, 0, VOLUME_IS_DIRTY, true);
}
int ntfs_write_volume_label(struct ntfs_volume *vol, char *label)
@@ -1862,7 +1890,7 @@ static int ntfs_sync_fs(struct super_block *sb, int wait)
return 0;
/* If there are some dirty buffers in the bdev inode */
- if (ntfs_clear_volume_flags(vol, VOLUME_IS_DIRTY)) {
+ if (ntfs_clear_volume_dirty_if_no_errors(vol)) {
ntfs_warning(sb, "Failed to clear dirty bit in volume information flags. Run chkdsk.");
err = -EIO;
}
--
2.25.1