CVE-2025-40105
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
vfs: Don't leak disconnected dentries on umount
When user calls open_by_handle_at() on some inode that is not cached, we will create disconnected dentry for it. If such dentry is a directory, exportfs_decode_fh_raw() will then try to connect this dentry to the dentry tree through reconnect_path(). It may happen for various reasons (such as corrupted fs or race with rename) that the call to lookup_one_unlocked() in reconnect_one() will fail to find the dentry we are trying to reconnect and instead create a new dentry under the parent. Now this dentry will not be marked as disconnected although the parent still may well be disconnected (at least in case this inconsistency happened because the fs is corrupted and .. doesn't point to the real parent directory). This creates inconsistency in disconnected flags but AFAICS it was mostly harmless. At least until commit f1ee616214cb ("VFS: don't keep disconnected dentries on d_anon") which removed adding of most disconnected dentries to sb->s_anon list. Thus after this commit cleanup of disconnected dentries implicitely relies on the fact that dput() will immediately reclaim such dentries. However when some leaf dentry isn't marked as disconnected, as in the scenario described above, the reclaim doesn't happen and the dentries are "leaked". Memory reclaim can eventually reclaim them but otherwise they stay in memory and if umount comes first, we hit infamous "Busy inodes after unmount" bug. Make sure all dentries created under a disconnected parent are marked as disconnected as well.
AI Insight
LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.
In the Linux kernel, a flaw in VFS dentry connection logic can cause disconnected dentries to persist, leading to a 'Busy inodes after unmount' bug when the filesystem is unmounted.
The vulnerability resides in the VFS layer of the Linux kernel. When open_by_handle_at() is called on an uncached inode, a disconnected dentry is created. If the dentry is a directory, exportfs_decode_fh_raw() attempts to reconnect it via reconnect_path(). Under conditions such as filesystem corruption or a race with rename, lookup_one_unlocked() in reconnect_one() may fail to find the expected dentry and instead create a new dentry under the parent. This new dentry is not marked as disconnected, even though the parent may still be disconnected, creating an inconsistency in the disconnected flags.
Exploitation requires the ability to trigger open_by_handle_at() on a handle that leads to a directory dentry reconnection failure. This could be achieved by an unprivileged user with access to the filesystem, particularly if the filesystem is corrupted or an attacker can induce a race condition. No authentication beyond local access is required, but the attacker must be able to initiate handle-based operations.
The impact is that the inconsistency prevents immediate reclaim of dentries via dput(). While memory reclaim can eventually free them, if an unmount occurs first, the lingering dentries cause a 'Busy inodes after unmount' error, resulting in a denial of service where the filesystem cannot be cleanly unmounted.
The fix ensures that all dentries created under a disconnected parent are marked as disconnected, restoring proper dentry reclaim behavior. The patch has been applied to the Linux kernel stable tree, and users are advised to update to a kernel containing the fix.
AI Insight generated on May 19, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.
Affected products
2Patches
8b5abafd0aa8d20863bb7fbb08004d4b8cbf17e0c8aaf4e28cebfbf40056a620f3b0ede9ceadc49999fa956094ad3eaa2Vulnerability mechanics
Generated on May 9, 2026. Inputs: CWE entries + fix-commit diffs from this CVE's patches. Citations validated against bundle.
References
8- git.kernel.org/stable/c/20863bb7fbb016379f8227122edfabc5c799bc79nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/56094ad3eaa21e6621396cc33811d8f72847a834nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/620f3b0ede9c5cb4976cd0457d0b04ad551e5d6bnvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/7e0c8aaf4e28918abded547a5147c7d52c4af7d2nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/8004d4b8cbf1bd68a23c160d57287e177c82cc69nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b5abafd0aa8d7bcb935c8f91e4cfc2f2820759e4nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/cebfbf40056a4d858b2a3ca59a69936d599bd209nvd
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/eadc49999fa994d6fbd70c332bd5d5051cc42261nvd
News mentions
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