published September 12, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
jbd2: bound shrinker scans by examined checkpoint buffers
The jbd2 shrinker currently accounts only checkpoint buffers that it
successfully releases against nr_to_scan. Busy buffers therefore do not
consume the scan budget.
If a checkpoint transaction contains mostly busy buffers, the shrinker
can scan its entire checkpoint list while holding journal->j_list_lock.
Large checkpoint lists can result in excessive lock hold times and leave
other CPUs spinning on j_list_lock, causing soft lockups or RCU stalls.
Pass nr_to_scan into journal_shrink_one_cp_list() and decrement it for
every buffer examined, including busy buffers. Pass NULL from checkpoint
cleanup paths so their existing full-list behavior is preserved.
This restores the scan-budget semantics that existed before
journal_shrink_one_cp_list() was changed to always scan a complete
checkpoint list.