Linux EXT4 FS development
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From: Yun Zhou <yun.zhou@windriver.com>
To: <tytso@mit.edu>, <adilger.kernel@dilger.ca>,
	<libaokun@linux.alibaba.com>, <jack@suse.cz>,
	<ojaswin@linux.ibm.com>, <ritesh.list@gmail.com>,
	<yi.zhang@huawei.com>
Cc: <linux-ext4@vger.kernel.org>, <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>,
	<yun.zhou@windriver.com>
Subject: [PATCH] ext4: prevent inline data creation on extent-based inodes
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2026 09:09:06 +0800	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260702010906.3213788-1-yun.zhou@windriver.com> (raw)

ext4_prepare_inline_data() only checks EXT4_STATE_MAY_INLINE_DATA
before creating inline data.  However, after ext4_convert_inline_data()
converts an inode to use extents, a concurrent write can race and
re-create inline data via ext4_create_inline_data(), which re-sets
MAY_INLINE_DATA.  This leads to an inconsistent state where an
extent-based inode has inline data, causing BUG_ON in
ext4_do_writepages() when dirty mmap pages exist.

The race window is between ext4_convert_inline_data() clearing
MAY_INLINE_DATA and the concurrent write checking it:

  page_mkwrite:                     write:
    ext4_convert_inline_data()        ext4_da_write_begin()
      ext4_has_inline_data = false      MAY_INLINE_DATA set (from iget)
      clear MAY_INLINE_DATA             ext4_prepare_inline_data()
      return 0                            ext4_create_inline_data() success!
    block_page_mkwrite() success            re-sets MAY_INLINE_DATA!
    folio dirty, PTE writable
                                    writepages:
                                      ext4_has_inline_data = TRUE
                                      MAY_INLINE_DATA = TRUE
                                      dirty page exists
                                      -> BUG_ON!

Fix this by adding a check for EXT4_INODE_EXTENTS in
ext4_prepare_inline_data().  Once an inode has been converted to use
extents, it must never go back to inline data regardless of the
MAY_INLINE_DATA state.

Reported-by: syzbot+d1da16f03614058fdc48@syzkaller.appspotmail.com
Closes: https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?extid=d1da16f03614058fdc48
Fixes: 7b4cc9787fe3 ("ext4: evict inline data when writing to memory map")
Signed-off-by: Yun Zhou <yun.zhou@windriver.com>
---
An alternative (or complementary) approach would be to convert inline
data at mmap_prepare time (ext4_file_mmap_prepare) rather than at
page_mkwrite time.  This eliminates the race window entirely by
converting before the mapping is established, making both this fix
and commit 7b4cc9787fe3 unnecessary.

 fs/ext4/inline.c | 7 +++++++
 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+)

diff --git a/fs/ext4/inline.c b/fs/ext4/inline.c
index 26d9164d0609..f9af38620cc7 100644
--- a/fs/ext4/inline.c
+++ b/fs/ext4/inline.c
@@ -418,6 +418,13 @@ static int ext4_prepare_inline_data(handle_t *handle, struct inode *inode,
 		return -ENOSPC;
 
 	ext4_write_lock_xattr(inode, &no_expand);
+
+	/* Once converted to extents, never go back to inline data. */
+	if (ext4_test_inode_flag(inode, EXT4_INODE_EXTENTS)) {
+		ext4_write_unlock_xattr(inode, &no_expand);
+		return -ENOSPC;
+	}
+
 	/*
 	 * ei->i_inline_size may have changed since the initial check
 	 * if other xattrs were added. Recalculate to ensure
-- 
2.43.0


             reply	other threads:[~2026-07-02  1:20 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 2+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2026-07-02  1:09 Yun Zhou [this message]
     [not found] ` <20260702013848.129961F000E9@smtp.kernel.org>
2026-07-02  7:41   ` [PATCH] ext4: prevent inline data creation on extent-based inodes Zhou, Yun

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