CVE-2026-98941 (CVSS 7)

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: don't enable large folios on encrypted inodes Commit 709f0f1f1bf5 ("ext4: add checks for large folio incompatibilities when BS > PS") disables large folios at mount time if the "encrypt" feature is set. However, enabling that feature on a mounted filesystem circumvents that check, and writing encrypted data results in a crash: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000028 Workqueue: ext4-rsv-conversion ext4_end_io_rsv_work RIP: 0010:ext4_finish_bio+0xf7/0x3e0 Call Trace: ext4_release_io_end+0x51/0x110 ext4_end_io_end+0x4c/0xe0 ext4_end_io_rsv_work+0xb3/0x100 Fix this by disabling large folios on encrypted inodes, as is already done for inodes that use data journaling. This affects all kernels between v6.19 and v7.2, but it is not needed in v7.3, where the code was significantly refactored.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.0

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0014

Probability of exploitation

0.04%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

References

Other References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/40554d1221e3d2ff2e0d192b74a05d89eb3620e7

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-98941? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: don't enable large folios on encrypted inodes Commit 709f0f1f1bf5 ("ext4: add checks for large folio incompatibilities when BS > PS") disables large folios at mount time if the "encrypt" feature is set. However, enabling that feature on a mounted filesystem circumvents that check, and writing encrypted data results in a crash: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000028 Workqueue: ext4-rsv-conversion ext4_end_io_rsv_work RIP: 0010:ext4_finish_bio+0xf7/0x3e0 Call Trace: ext4_release_io_end+0x51/0x110 ext4_end_io_end+0x4c/0xe0 ext4_end_io_rsv_work+0xb3/0x100 Fix this by disabling large folios on encrypted inodes, as is already done for inodes that use data journaling. This affects all kernels between v6.19 and v7.2, but it is not needed in v7.3, where the code was significantly refactored. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.0 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-98941? +

CVE-2026-98941 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.0 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0014, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-98941? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

CVE-2026-98941