CVE-2024-37078: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nilfs2: fix potential kernel bug due to lack of writeback flag waiting Destructive writes

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nilfs2: fix potential kernel bug due to lack of writeback flag waiting Destructive writes

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nilfs2: fix potential kernel bug due to lack of writeback flag waiting Destructive writes to a block device on which nilfs2 is mounted can cause a kernel bug in the folio/page writeback start routine or writeback end routine (__folio_start_writeback in the log below): kernel BUG at mm/page-writeback.c:3070! Oops: invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN PTI ... RIP: 0010:__folio_start_writeback+0xbaa/0x10e0 Code: 25 ff 0f 00 00 0f 84 18 01 00 00 e8 40 ca c6 ff e9 17 f6 ff ff e8 36 ca c6 ff 4c 89 f7 48 c7 c6 80 c0 12 84 e8 e7 b3 0f 00 90 <0f> 0b e8 1f ca c6 ff 4c 89 f7 48 c7 c6 a0 c6 12 84 e8 d0 b3 0f 00 ... Call Trace: <TASK> nilfs_segctor_do_construct+0x4654/0x69d0 [nilfs2] nilfs_segctor_construct+0x181/0x6b0 [nilfs2] nilfs_segctor_thread+0x548/0x11c0 [nilfs2] kthread+0x2f0/0x390 ret_from_fork+0x4b/0x80 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 </TASK> This is because when the log writer starts a writeback for segment summary blocks or a super root block that use the backing device's page cache, it does not wait for the ongoing folio/page writeback, resulting in an inconsistent writeback state.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.26%, higher than 17% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

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Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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