---
id: "CVE-2026-98885"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98885"]
title: "Linux kernel: IMA appraisal warns and fails on read-only ext4 at boot"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: 0.00215
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "runtime"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["ext4", "ima", "linux", "runtime"]
not_affected_if: []
published_at: "2026-10-23T12:18:22+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:33+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T12:38:51+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98885", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:33+00:00"}, {"source": "epss", "url": "https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-98885", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-25T12:38:51+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel: IMA appraisal warns and fails on read-only ext4 at boot

During early boot, when the filesystem is read-only, IMA appraisal tries to set a file xattr on ext4, which starts a journal transaction and triggers a kernel warning. The fix makes the kernel detect the read-only state and return an error before the write is attempted.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:33+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98885
- 2026-10-25T12:38:51+00:00 epss https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-98885

## From the sources

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

ima: return error early if file xattr cannot be changed

During early boot, the filesystem is read-only and any changes
to xattrs are not allowed. This fails in case of ext4 because
changing xattr starts an ext4 transaction which fails with the
following warning.

WARNING: fs/ext4/ext4_jbd2.c:75 at ext4_journal_check_start+0x63/0xa0 [ext4], CPU#1: systemd-sysroot/561
CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 561 Comm: systemd-sysroot Not tainted 6.19.12-1-default #1 PREEMPT(voluntary) openSUSE Tumbleweed  c2dfc3c9d9f6f1233251c5d4410574fe82a348ee
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS unknown 02/02/2022
RIP: 0010:ext4_journal_check_start+0x63/0xa0 [ext4]
Call Trace:
  __ext4_journal_start_sb+0x3e/0x180 [ext4 6d025f3bc52c89a957b89a89d211fadf5e9434e1]
  ext4_xattr_set+0x104/0x150 [ext4 6d025f3bc52c89a957b89a89d211fadf5e9434e1]
  __vfs_setxattr+0x9a/0xd0
  __vfs_setxattr_noperm+0x76/0x1f0
  ima_appraise_measurement+0x23e/0xe40
  ima_d_path+0x5a/0xd0
  process_measurement+0xb29/0xc40
  ? copy_from_kernel_nofault+0x21/0xe0
  ? fscrypt_file_open+0xc0/0xe0
  ? ext4_file_open+0x60/0x490 [ext4 6d025f3bc52c89a957b89a89d211fadf5e9434e1]
  ? bpf_prog_31efb7c56239148b_restrict_filesystems+0xab/0x126
  ? __bpf_prog_exit+0x23/0xd0
  ? __bpf_tramp_exit+0xd/0x50
  ? bpf_trampoline_6442530367+0x9f/0xea
  ima_file_check+0x57/0x80
  security_file_post_open+0x50/0xf0
  path_openat+0x493/0x1650
  do_filp_open+0xc7/0x170

Detect the state of the file early and return the error.

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_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_