---
id: CVE-2026-89601
title: 'kernel: ext2: Fix lost inode updates for IS_SYNC inodes (CVE-2026-89601)'
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's ext2 filesystem. This vulnerability
  occurs in the `ext2_setsize()` and `ext2_xattr_set2()` functions, where inode
  updates for `IS_SYNC` inodes may be lost. This happens because the
  `sync_inode_metadat…
severity: medium
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-821
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 6
published: '2026-09-11'
updated: '2026-09-16'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-16T05:51:17+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-89601.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-89601.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-89601'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2532345'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-89601'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89601'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-89601.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/356984d1a5c32e94810cbb6c8dc7d8ff2d4d919a'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5efb3350230fef831167740e69e6db2861101186'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
  - score-dispute
epss: 0.00348
epssPercentile: 0.28501
scores:
  vendor: 6.1
  cna: 8.8
ingestedAt: '2026-09-14T15:23:07.474Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's ext2 filesystem. This vulnerability occurs in the `ext2_setsize()` and `ext2_xattr_set2()` functions, where inode updates for `IS_SYNC` inodes may be lost. This happens because the `sync_inode_metadata()` function only processes inodes that are already marked as dirty, leading to potential data corruption or loss of metadata if the inode is not unconditionally marked dirty beforehand. A local attacker could potentially exploit this to cause data integrity issues.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Low · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 · updated 2026-09-16 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-89601.json)

**kernel: ext2: Fix lost inode updates for IS_SYNC inodes** — rated Low by Red Hat. Released 2026-09-11, updated 2026-09-16.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

## Remediation

Out of support scope