---
id: CVE-2026-97552
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  xfs: initialise error in xfs_defer_finish_one()

  xfs_defer_finish_one() declares error without an initialiser and only
  assigns it inside the loop over dfp->dfp_work
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  xfs: initialise error in xfs_defer_finish_one()

  xfs_defer_finish_one() declares error without an initialiser and only
  assigns it inside the loop over dfp->dfp_work.  W…
severity: medium
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= 3f3cec031099c37513727efc978a12b6346e326d <
    30748a24b9f04f9a83599ba907cc8fbff0729f3c
  - >-
    Linux >= 3f3cec031099c37513727efc978a12b6346e326d <
    ba949a14446b7346e92e676ee3fe2bb79d9ce450
  - >-
    Linux >= 3f3cec031099c37513727efc978a12b6346e326d <
    6b507c239884f7d4bf8339f6e9eb8bfcb540afde
  - >-
    Linux >= 3f3cec031099c37513727efc978a12b6346e326d <
    6176d21d7bd609632c5b7e87a3adb9be29ec1e72
  - Linux 6.8
published: '2026-09-25'
updated: '2026-09-25'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-25T11:17:05.647'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97552'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/30748a24b9f04f9a83599ba907cc8fbff0729f3c'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6176d21d7bd609632c5b7e87a3adb9be29ec1e72'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6b507c239884f7d4bf8339f6e9eb8bfcb540afde'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba949a14446b7346e92e676ee3fe2bb79d9ce450'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97552.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-97552'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2541119'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97552'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97552'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-97552.mbox
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
ingestedAt: '2026-09-25T11:06:38.918Z'
epss: 0.002
epssPercentile: 0.09781
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe:
  - CWE-908
---

## Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

xfs: initialise error in xfs_defer_finish_one()

xfs_defer_finish_one() declares error without an initialiser and only
assigns it inside the loop over dfp->dfp_work.  When that list is empty
the loop body never runs, control falls through to the "Done with the
dfp, free it" path, and the function returns an indeterminate value.

An item-less pending item reaches this through xfs_defer_add_barrier(),
which xfs_reap_ag_blocks() uses on any CONFIG_XFS_ONLINE_REPAIR kernel.
xfs_defer_finish_noroll() treats any non-EAGAIN return as fatal, so a
non-zero stack value turns a successful barrier into a
SHUTDOWN_CORRUPT_INCORE in the middle of a repair.  Zero is the correct
result: reaching the free path means the item loop drained without a
non-zero error.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Low · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · updated 2026-10-17 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-97552.json)