CVE-2026-64378
HIGHCVE-2026-64378 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) vulnerability in Kernel. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-64378 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
writeback: fix race between cgroup_writeback_umount() and inode_switch_wbs()
Blast Radius
KernelReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Linux packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
writeback: fix race between cgroup_writeback_umount() and inode_switch_wbs()
When a container exits, the following BUG_ON() is occasionally triggered:
================================================================== VFS: Busy inodes after unmount of sdb (ext4) ------------[ cut here ]------------ kernel BUG at fs/super.c:695! CPU: 3 PID: 6 Comm: containerd-shim Tainted: G OE K 6.6 #1 pstate: 63400009 (nZCv daif +PAN -UAO +TCO +DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) pc : generic_shutdown_super+0xf0/0x100 lr : generic_shutdown_super+0xf0/0x100 Call trace: generic_shutdown_super+0xf0/0x100 kill_block_super+0x20/0x48 ext4_kill_sb+0x28/0x60 deactivate_locked_super+0x54/0x130 deactivate_super+0x84/0xa0 cleanup_mnt+0xa4/0x140 __cleanup_mnt+0x18/0x28 task_work_run+0x78/0xe0 do_notify_resume+0x204/0x240
The root cause is a race between cgroup_writeback_umount() and inode_switch_wbs()/cleanup_offline_cgwb(). There is a window between inode_prepare_wbs_switch() returning true and the subsequent wb_queue_isw() call. Following is the process that triggers the issue:
CPU A (umount) | CPU B (writeback)
inode_switch_wbs/cleanup_offline_cgwb
atomic_inc(&isw_nr_in_flight)
inode_prepare_wbs_switch
-> passes SB_ACTIVE check
__iget(inode)
generic_shutdown_super
sb->s_flags &= ~SB_ACTIVE
cgroup_writeback_umount(sb)
smp_mb()
atomic_read(&isw_nr_in_flight)
rcu_barrier()
-> no pending RCU callbacks
flush_workqueue(isw_wq)
-> nothing queued, returns
evict_inodes(sb)
-> Inode skipped as isw still holds a ref.
sop->put_super(sb)
/* destroys percpu counters */
-> VFS: Busy inodes after unmount!
wb_queue_isw()
queue_work(isw_wq, ...)
/* later in work function */
inode_switch_wbs_work_fn
process_inode_switch_wbs
iput() -> evict
percpu_counter_dec() // UAF!
Fix this by extending the RCU read-side critical section in
inode_switch_wbs() and cleanup_offline_cgwb() to cover from
inode_prepare_wbs_switch() through wb_queue_isw(). Since there is
no sleep in this window, rcu_read_lock() can be used. Then add a
synchronize_rcu() in cgroup_writeback_umount() before the existing
rcu_barrier(), so that all in-flight switchers that have passed the
SB_ACTIVE check have completed queue_work() before flush_workqueue()
is called.
The existing rcu_barrier() is intentionally retained so this fix can
be backported unchanged to stable kernels (5.10.y, 6.6.y, ...) that
still queue switches via queue_rcu_work(). It is a no-op on current
mainline (since commit e1b849cfa6b6 ("writeback: Avoid contention on
wb->list_lock when switching inodes")) and is removed in a follow-up
patch.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐧Linux | Kernel | ≥ 4.5.0&&< 5.10.261 | 5.10.261 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for Kernel. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update Kernel to 5.10.261 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-64378 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-64378 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2026-64378. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-64378 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-64378 across Linux dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.