syzbot


possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked (3)

Status: upstream: reported C repro on 2025/12/30 11:48
Subsystems: ext4
[Documentation on labels]
Reported-by: syzbot+5d19358d7eb30ffb0cc5@syzkaller.appspotmail.com
First crash: 110d, last: 14h11m
Cause bisection: failed (error log, bisect log)
  
Discussions (1)
Title Replies (including bot) Last reply
[syzbot] [ext4?] possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked (3) 1 (3) 2026/02/23 04:21
Similar bugs (5)
Kernel Title Rank 🛈 Repro Cause bisect Fix bisect Count Last Reported Patched Status
upstream possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked ext4 4 3 678d 696d 0/29 auto-obsoleted due to no activity on 2024/09/14 08:21
linux-5.15 possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked 4 80 4h01m 85d 0/3 upstream: reported on 2026/01/20 15:21
linux-6.6 possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked 4 9 7d04h 82d 0/2 upstream: reported on 2026/01/23 09:44
upstream possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked (2) ext4 4 1 461d 457d 0/29 auto-obsoleted due to no activity on 2025/04/18 23:41
linux-6.1 possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked 4 109 3h48m 93d 0/3 upstream: reported on 2026/01/12 10:36

Sample crash report:
======================================================
WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected
syzkaller #0 Not tainted
------------------------------------------------------
kworker/u8:11/1186 is trying to acquire lock:
ffff888036d5ebb0 (jbd2_handle){++++}-{0:0}, at: wait_transaction_locked+0x1a9/0x280 fs/jbd2/transaction.c:151

but task is already holding lock:
ffff888036d52c58 (&sbi->s_writepages_rwsem){++++}-{0:0}, at: percpu_down_read include/linux/percpu-rwsem.h:77 [inline]
ffff888036d52c58 (&sbi->s_writepages_rwsem){++++}-{0:0}, at: ext4_writepages_down_read fs/ext4/ext4.h:1813 [inline]
ffff888036d52c58 (&sbi->s_writepages_rwsem){++++}-{0:0}, at: ext4_writepages+0x205/0x3b0 fs/ext4/inode.c:3018

which lock already depends on the new lock.


the existing dependency chain (in reverse order) is:

-> #2 (&sbi->s_writepages_rwsem){++++}-{0:0}:
       percpu_down_read_internal+0x48/0x1d0 include/linux/percpu-rwsem.h:53
       percpu_down_read include/linux/percpu-rwsem.h:77 [inline]
       ext4_writepages_down_read fs/ext4/ext4.h:1813 [inline]
       ext4_writepages+0x205/0x3b0 fs/ext4/inode.c:3018
       do_writepages+0x32e/0x550 mm/page-writeback.c:2554
       __writeback_single_inode+0x133/0x11a0 fs/fs-writeback.c:1749
       writeback_single_inode+0x488/0xd60 fs/fs-writeback.c:1868
       write_inode_now+0x1c2/0x290 fs/fs-writeback.c:2953
       iput_final fs/inode.c:1956 [inline]
       iput+0x8c1/0xe80 fs/inode.c:2015
       ext4_xattr_block_set+0x1fd4/0x2ad0 fs/ext4/xattr.c:2204
       ext4_xattr_move_to_block fs/ext4/xattr.c:2669 [inline]
       ext4_xattr_make_inode_space fs/ext4/xattr.c:2744 [inline]
       ext4_expand_extra_isize_ea+0x12cf/0x1ea0 fs/ext4/xattr.c:2832
       __ext4_expand_extra_isize+0x30d/0x400 fs/ext4/inode.c:6297
       ext4_try_to_expand_extra_isize fs/ext4/inode.c:6340 [inline]
       __ext4_mark_inode_dirty+0x45c/0x730 fs/ext4/inode.c:6418
       ext4_evict_inode+0x7a1/0xeb0 fs/ext4/inode.c:255
       evict+0x61e/0xb10 fs/inode.c:846
       ext4_orphan_cleanup+0xc38/0x1470 fs/ext4/orphan.c:472
       __ext4_fill_super fs/ext4/super.c:5668 [inline]
       ext4_fill_super+0x5a0b/0x6320 fs/ext4/super.c:5791
       get_tree_bdev_flags+0x431/0x4f0 fs/super.c:1694
       vfs_get_tree+0x92/0x2a0 fs/super.c:1754
       fc_mount fs/namespace.c:1193 [inline]
       do_new_mount_fc fs/namespace.c:3760 [inline]
       do_new_mount+0x341/0xd30 fs/namespace.c:3836
       do_mount fs/namespace.c:4159 [inline]
       __do_sys_mount fs/namespace.c:4348 [inline]
       __se_sys_mount+0x31d/0x420 fs/namespace.c:4325
       do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline]
       do_syscall_64+0x14d/0xf80 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94
       entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f

-> #1 (&ei->xattr_sem){++++}-{4:4}:
       down_write+0x3a/0x50 kernel/locking/rwsem.c:1590
       ext4_write_lock_xattr fs/ext4/xattr.h:157 [inline]
       ext4_xattr_set_handle+0x19c/0x14c0 fs/ext4/xattr.c:2372
       ext4_initxattrs+0x9f/0x110 fs/ext4/xattr_security.c:44
       security_inode_init_security+0x296/0x3d0 security/security.c:1344
       __ext4_new_inode+0x332f/0x3d20 fs/ext4/ialloc.c:1324
       ext4_create+0x233/0x470 fs/ext4/namei.c:2820
       lookup_open fs/namei.c:4483 [inline]
       open_last_lookups fs/namei.c:4583 [inline]
       path_openat+0x13b4/0x38a0 fs/namei.c:4827
       do_file_open+0x23e/0x4a0 fs/namei.c:4859
       do_sys_openat2+0x113/0x200 fs/open.c:1366
       do_sys_open fs/open.c:1372 [inline]
       __do_sys_openat fs/open.c:1388 [inline]
       __se_sys_openat fs/open.c:1383 [inline]
       __x64_sys_openat+0x138/0x170 fs/open.c:1383
       do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline]
       do_syscall_64+0x14d/0xf80 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94
       entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f

-> #0 (jbd2_handle){++++}-{0:0}:
       check_prev_add kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3165 [inline]
       check_prevs_add kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3284 [inline]
       validate_chain kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3908 [inline]
       __lock_acquire+0x15a5/0x2cf0 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5237
       lock_acquire+0xf0/0x2e0 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5868
       wait_transaction_locked+0x1c2/0x280 fs/jbd2/transaction.c:151
       add_transaction_credits fs/jbd2/transaction.c:222 [inline]
       start_this_handle+0x7dc/0x2290 fs/jbd2/transaction.c:403
       jbd2__journal_start+0x2c0/0x5b0 fs/jbd2/transaction.c:501
       __ext4_journal_start_sb+0x203/0x620 fs/ext4/ext4_jbd2.c:114
       __ext4_journal_start fs/ext4/ext4_jbd2.h:242 [inline]
       ext4_do_writepages+0xf97/0x46e0 fs/ext4/inode.c:2907
       ext4_writepages+0x241/0x3b0 fs/ext4/inode.c:3019
       do_writepages+0x32e/0x550 mm/page-writeback.c:2554
       __writeback_single_inode+0x133/0x11a0 fs/fs-writeback.c:1749
       writeback_sb_inodes+0x944/0x1970 fs/fs-writeback.c:2040
       __writeback_inodes_wb+0x111/0x240 fs/fs-writeback.c:2117
       wb_writeback+0x46a/0xb70 fs/fs-writeback.c:2228
       wb_check_old_data_flush fs/fs-writeback.c:2332 [inline]
       wb_do_writeback fs/fs-writeback.c:2385 [inline]
       wb_workfn+0xb52/0xf60 fs/fs-writeback.c:2413
       process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3275 [inline]
       process_scheduled_works+0xb02/0x1830 kernel/workqueue.c:3358
       worker_thread+0xa50/0xfc0 kernel/workqueue.c:3439
       kthread+0x388/0x470 kernel/kthread.c:467
       ret_from_fork+0x51e/0xb90 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:158
       ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:245

other info that might help us debug this:

Chain exists of:
  jbd2_handle --> &ei->xattr_sem --> &sbi->s_writepages_rwsem

 Possible unsafe locking scenario:

       CPU0                    CPU1
       ----                    ----
  rlock(&sbi->s_writepages_rwsem);
                               lock(&ei->xattr_sem);
                               lock(&sbi->s_writepages_rwsem);
  lock(jbd2_handle);

 *** DEADLOCK ***

4 locks held by kworker/u8:11/1186:
 #0: ffff88801f6af138 ((wq_completion)writeback){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3250 [inline]
 #0: ffff88801f6af138 ((wq_completion)writeback){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_scheduled_works+0x9ea/0x1830 kernel/workqueue.c:3358
 #1: ffffc90006487c40 ((work_completion)(&(&wb->dwork)->work)){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3251 [inline]
 #1: ffffc90006487c40 ((work_completion)(&(&wb->dwork)->work)){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: process_scheduled_works+0xa25/0x1830 kernel/workqueue.c:3358
 #2: ffff888036d540d0 (&type->s_umount_key#32){++++}-{4:4}, at: super_trylock_shared+0x20/0xf0 fs/super.c:565
 #3: ffff888036d52c58 (&sbi->s_writepages_rwsem){++++}-{0:0}, at: percpu_down_read include/linux/percpu-rwsem.h:77 [inline]
 #3: ffff888036d52c58 (&sbi->s_writepages_rwsem){++++}-{0:0}, at: ext4_writepages_down_read fs/ext4/ext4.h:1813 [inline]
 #3: ffff888036d52c58 (&sbi->s_writepages_rwsem){++++}-{0:0}, at: ext4_writepages+0x205/0x3b0 fs/ext4/inode.c:3018

stack backtrace:
CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 1186 Comm: kworker/u8:11 Not tainted syzkaller #0 PREEMPT_{RT,(full)} 
Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 02/12/2026
Workqueue: writeback wb_workfn (flush-8:0)
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 dump_stack_lvl+0xe8/0x150 lib/dump_stack.c:120
 print_circular_bug+0x2e1/0x300 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:2043
 check_noncircular+0x12e/0x150 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:2175
 check_prev_add kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3165 [inline]
 check_prevs_add kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3284 [inline]
 validate_chain kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3908 [inline]
 __lock_acquire+0x15a5/0x2cf0 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5237
 lock_acquire+0xf0/0x2e0 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5868
 wait_transaction_locked+0x1c2/0x280 fs/jbd2/transaction.c:151
 add_transaction_credits fs/jbd2/transaction.c:222 [inline]
 start_this_handle+0x7dc/0x2290 fs/jbd2/transaction.c:403
 jbd2__journal_start+0x2c0/0x5b0 fs/jbd2/transaction.c:501
 __ext4_journal_start_sb+0x203/0x620 fs/ext4/ext4_jbd2.c:114
 __ext4_journal_start fs/ext4/ext4_jbd2.h:242 [inline]
 ext4_do_writepages+0xf97/0x46e0 fs/ext4/inode.c:2907
 ext4_writepages+0x241/0x3b0 fs/ext4/inode.c:3019
 do_writepages+0x32e/0x550 mm/page-writeback.c:2554
 __writeback_single_inode+0x133/0x11a0 fs/fs-writeback.c:1749
 writeback_sb_inodes+0x944/0x1970 fs/fs-writeback.c:2040
 __writeback_inodes_wb+0x111/0x240 fs/fs-writeback.c:2117
 wb_writeback+0x46a/0xb70 fs/fs-writeback.c:2228
 wb_check_old_data_flush fs/fs-writeback.c:2332 [inline]
 wb_do_writeback fs/fs-writeback.c:2385 [inline]
 wb_workfn+0xb52/0xf60 fs/fs-writeback.c:2413
 process_one_work kernel/workqueue.c:3275 [inline]
 process_scheduled_works+0xb02/0x1830 kernel/workqueue.c:3358
 worker_thread+0xa50/0xfc0 kernel/workqueue.c:3439
 kthread+0x388/0x470 kernel/kthread.c:467
 ret_from_fork+0x51e/0xb90 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:158
 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:245
 </TASK>

Crashes (174):
Time Kernel Commit Syzkaller Config Log Report Syz repro C repro VM info Assets (help?) Manager Title
2026/02/22 20:59 upstream 32a92f8c8932 6e7b5511 .config console log report syz / log C [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] [mounted in repro (corrupt fs)] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/04/15 03:21 upstream 508fed679541 e2e976a8 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-badwrites-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/04/13 02:51 upstream 028ef9c96e96 38c8e246 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-badwrites-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/04/13 00:52 upstream 028ef9c96e96 38c8e246 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/04/12 18:46 upstream f5459048c38a 38c8e246 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/04/11 13:25 upstream e774d5f1bc27 38c8e246 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/04/11 08:43 upstream e774d5f1bc27 38c8e246 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/04/10 19:36 upstream 7c6c4ed80b87 38c8e246 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/04/09 17:50 upstream 8b02520ec5f7 38c8e246 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-badwrites-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/04/07 21:39 upstream 3036cd0d3328 628666c6 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/04/03 06:23 upstream d8a9a4b11a13 4440e7c2 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/31 03:11 upstream d0c3bcd5b897 d0af506e .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-badwrites-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/27 19:37 upstream 46b513250491 74a13a23 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/27 16:54 upstream 46b513250491 74a13a23 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/27 15:06 upstream 46b513250491 74a13a23 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/27 12:39 upstream 46b513250491 74a13a23 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/27 08:16 upstream 46b513250491 766b6434 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/27 06:51 upstream 46b513250491 766b6434 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/27 03:47 upstream 46b513250491 50cdcaa1 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/26 12:56 upstream 0138af2472df 766b6434 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/26 03:01 upstream d2a43e7f89da c6143aac .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/25 22:40 upstream d2a43e7f89da c6143aac .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/25 18:09 upstream bbeb83d3182a 8ee77f7d .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/25 06:56 upstream bbeb83d3182a 74e70d19 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/25 00:19 upstream e3c33bc767b5 74e70d19 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/24 17:34 upstream e3c33bc767b5 74e70d19 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/24 14:12 upstream c369299895a5 74e70d19 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/24 12:41 upstream c369299895a5 74e70d19 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/24 09:47 upstream c369299895a5 baf8bf12 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/24 08:37 upstream c369299895a5 baf8bf12 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/23 23:52 upstream c369299895a5 4933dba2 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/23 15:51 upstream c369299895a5 4933dba2 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/23 06:56 upstream 8d8bd2a5aa98 5b92003d .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/23 05:41 upstream 8d8bd2a5aa98 5b92003d .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/22 21:51 upstream 8d8bd2a5aa98 5b92003d .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/22 19:22 upstream 8d8bd2a5aa98 5b92003d .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-badwrites-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/19 02:38 upstream 8a30aeb0d1b4 0199f9a1 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/18 13:56 upstream a989fde763f4 0199f9a1 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-badwrites-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/16 22:24 upstream 2d1373e4246d 0737c18f .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/14 18:32 upstream 69237f8c1f69 ee8d34d6 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/12 10:12 upstream 80234b5ab240 4efadf07 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/11 01:36 upstream b4f0dd314b39 86914af9 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/09 13:02 upstream 1f318b96cc84 176bead5 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/07 14:41 upstream 4ae12d8bd9a8 5cb44a80 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci2-upstream-fs possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/06 23:08 upstream 651690480a96 41d8037d .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2025/12/30 01:22 upstream 8640b74557fc d6526ea3 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/04/07 11:27 linux-next cc13002a9f98 628666c6 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-linux-next-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/04/02 15:47 linux-next cc13002a9f98 8b15d4ae .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-linux-next-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/30 15:26 linux-next 3b058d1aeeef 458630d8 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-linux-next-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/03/12 19:10 linux-next 5c9e55fecf93 4efadf07 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-linux-next-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2026/02/08 11:57 git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/arm64/linux.git for-kernelci 59e4d31a0470 4c131dc4 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-gce-arm64 possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
2025/12/26 11:41 git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/arm64/linux.git for-kernelci 8f0b4cce4481 d6526ea3 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-gce-arm64 possible deadlock in wait_transaction_locked
* Struck through repros no longer work on HEAD.