From: Chia-Ming Chang <chiamingc@synology.com>
To: jack@suse.cz
Cc: amir73il@gmail.com, serge@hallyn.com, ebiederm@xmission.com,
n.borisov.lkml@gmail.com, linux-fsdevel@vger.kernel.org,
linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org,
Chia-Ming Chang <chiamingc@synology.com>,
stable@vger.kernel.org, robbieko <robbieko@synology.com>
Subject: [PATCH] inotify: fix watch count leak when fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails
Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2026 17:34:42 +0800 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260224093442.3076294-1-chiamingc@synology.com> (raw)
When fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails in inotify_new_watch(),
the error path calls inotify_remove_from_idr() but does not call
dec_inotify_watches() to undo the preceding inc_inotify_watches().
This leaks a watch count, and repeated failures can exhaust the
max_user_watches limit with -ENOSPC even when no watches are active.
Prior to commit 1cce1eea0aff ("inotify: Convert to using per-namespace
limits"), the watch count was incremented after fsnotify_add_mark_locked()
succeeded, so this path was not affected. The conversion moved
inc_inotify_watches() before the mark insertion without adding the
corresponding rollback.
Add the missing dec_inotify_watches() call in the error path.
Fixes: 1cce1eea0aff ("inotify: Convert to using per-namespace limits")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Chia-Ming Chang <chiamingc@synology.com>
Signed-off-by: robbieko <robbieko@synology.com>
---
fs/notify/inotify/inotify_user.c | 1 +
1 file changed, 1 insertion(+)
diff --git a/fs/notify/inotify/inotify_user.c b/fs/notify/inotify/inotify_user.c
index b372fb2c56bd..0d813c52ff9c 100644
--- a/fs/notify/inotify/inotify_user.c
+++ b/fs/notify/inotify/inotify_user.c
@@ -621,6 +621,7 @@ static int inotify_new_watch(struct fsnotify_group *group,
if (ret) {
/* we failed to get on the inode, get off the idr */
inotify_remove_from_idr(group, tmp_i_mark);
+ dec_inotify_watches(group->inotify_data.ucounts);
goto out_err;
}
--
2.34.1
Disclaimer: The contents of this e-mail message and any attachments are confidential and are intended solely for addressee. The information may also be legally privileged. This transmission is sent in trust, for the sole purpose of delivery to the intended recipient. If you have received this transmission in error, any use, reproduction or dissemination of this transmission is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please immediately notify the sender by reply e-mail or phone and delete this message and its attachments, if any.
next reply other threads:[~2026-02-24 9:44 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 3+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-02-24 9:34 Chia-Ming Chang [this message]
2026-02-26 7:58 ` [PATCH] inotify: fix watch count leak when fsnotify_add_inode_mark_locked() fails Nikolay Borisov
2026-02-26 14:12 ` Jan Kara
Reply instructions:
You may reply publicly to this message via plain-text email
using any one of the following methods:
* Save the following mbox file, import it into your mail client,
and reply-to-all from there: mbox
Avoid top-posting and favor interleaved quoting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Interleaved_style
* Reply using the --to, --cc, and --in-reply-to
switches of git-send-email(1):
git send-email \
--in-reply-to=20260224093442.3076294-1-chiamingc@synology.com \
--to=chiamingc@synology.com \
--cc=amir73il@gmail.com \
--cc=ebiederm@xmission.com \
--cc=jack@suse.cz \
--cc=linux-fsdevel@vger.kernel.org \
--cc=linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org \
--cc=n.borisov.lkml@gmail.com \
--cc=robbieko@synology.com \
--cc=serge@hallyn.com \
--cc=stable@vger.kernel.org \
/path/to/YOUR_REPLY
https://kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-send-email.html
* If your mail client supports setting the In-Reply-To header
via mailto: links, try the mailto: link
Be sure your reply has a Subject: header at the top and a blank line
before the message body.
This is a public inbox, see mirroring instructions
for how to clone and mirror all data and code used for this inbox