Copyright © 2012 Red Hat, Inc. All rights reserved. Moderate 2026-05-27T00:00:00 kernel: hfsplus: return error when node already exists in hfs_bnode_create 5.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H CWE-911

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hfsplus: return error when node already exists in hfs_bnode_create When hfs_bnode_create() finds that a node is already hashed (which should not happen in normal operation), it currently returns the existing node without incrementing its reference count. This causes a reference count inconsistency that leads to a kernel panic when the node is later freed in hfs_bnode_put(): kernel BUG at fs/hfsplus/bnode.c:676! BUG_ON(!atomic_read(&node->refcnt)) This scenario can occur when hfs_bmap_alloc() attempts to allocate a node that is already in use (e.g., when node 0's bitmap bit is incorrectly unset), or due to filesystem corruption. Returning an existing node from a create path is not normal operation. Fix this by returning ERR_PTR(-EEXIST) instead of the node when it's already hashed. This properly signals the error condition to callers, which already check for IS_ERR() return values.

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's hfsplus filesystem. When the `hfs_bnode_create()` function attempts to create a node that already exists, it returns the existing node without properly incrementing its reference count. This can occur due to filesystem corruption or when a node is incorrectly marked as available. This inconsistency can lead to a kernel panic, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Not affected kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Out of support scope kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Not affected kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Not affected kernel-rt Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Not affected kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Not affected kernel-rt Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Not affected kernel Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Not affected kernel-rt https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-45960 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-45960 https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2026052733-CVE-2026-45960-ff23@gregkh/T