possible deadlock in iterate_dir (4)

Status: upstream: reported on 2026/10/02 20:11
Subsystems: overlayfs
Labels: prio:high
[Documentation on labels]
Reported-by: syzbot+7c4b3d05083880a09cdd@syzkaller.appspotmail.com
First crash: 4d04h, last: 1d11h
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ID Workflow Result Correct Bug Created Started Finished Revision
0c1e46f7 assessment-security DenialOfService: ❌ Exploitable: ❌ FilesystemTrigger: ❌ NetworkTrigger: ❌ PeripheralTrigger: ❌ RemoteTrigger: ❌ Unprivileged: ✅ UserNamespace: ✅ VMGuestTrigger: ❌ VMHostTrigger: ❌ ❓ possible deadlock in iterate_dir (4) 2026/09/30 03:10 2026/09/30 03:10 2026/09/30 03:50 69537153
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Title Replies (including bot) Last reply
[syzbot] [overlayfs?] possible deadlock in iterate_dir (4) 0 (1) 2026/10/02 20:11
▶ ▼ Similar bugs (11)
Kernel Title Rank 🛈 Repro Cause bisect Fix bisect Count Last Reported Patched Status
linux-6.1 possible deadlock in iterate_dir (3) origin:lts-only 4 syz, C inconclusive 12 122d 624d 0/3 upstream: reported C repro on 2025/01/16 11:46
linux-5.15 possible deadlock in iterate_dir (3) missing-backport origin:upstream 4 syz, C error 26 86d 912d 0/3 upstream: reported C repro on 2024/04/03 07:56
upstream possible deadlock in iterate_dir (2) fs 4 1 638d 630d 0/29 auto-obsoleted due to no activity on 2025/04/12 17:38
linux-6.1 possible deadlock in iterate_dir (2) 4 2 891d 916d 0/3 auto-obsoleted due to no activity on 2024/08/02 17:42
linux-6.1 possible deadlock in iterate_dir 4 2 1171d 1176d 0/3 auto-obsoleted due to no activity on 2023/10/27 20:39
upstream possible deadlock in iterate_dir (3) prio:high btrfs 4 21 171d 383d 0/29 auto-obsoleted due to no activity on 2026/07/23 09:18
linux-4.14 possible deadlock in iterate_dir ubifs 4 syz, C 11375 1305d 2300d 0/1 upstream: reported C repro on 2020/06/15 06:16
linux-5.15 possible deadlock in iterate_dir (2) 4 2 1038d 1131d 0/3 auto-obsoleted due to no activity on 2024/03/08 13:21
linux-4.19 possible deadlock in iterate_dir 4 1 2472d 2472d 0/1 auto-closed as invalid on 2020/04/24 15:06
upstream possible deadlock in iterate_dir fs 4 23 1136d 1378d 0/29 auto-obsoleted due to no activity on 2023/12/01 22:38
linux-5.15 possible deadlock in iterate_dir 4 1 1285d 1285d 0/3 auto-obsoleted due to no activity on 2023/07/25 13:55

Sample crash report:
======================================================
WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected
syzkaller #0 Not tainted
------------------------------------------------------
syz.1.241/6613 is trying to acquire lock:
ffff888079d74140 (&type->i_mutex_dir_key#4){++++}-{4:4}, at: iterate_dir+0x209/0x4d0 fs/readdir.c:103

but task is already holding lock:
ffff888059293d88 (&ovl_i_mutex_dir_key[depth]#2){++++}-{4:4}, at: wrap_directory_iterator+0x5a/0xe0 fs/readdir.c:56

which lock already depends on the new lock.


the existing dependency chain (in reverse order) is:

-> #2 (&ovl_i_mutex_dir_key[depth]#2){++++}-{4:4}:
       down_read+0x45/0x320 kernel/locking/rwsem.c:1574
       inode_lock_shared include/linux/fs.h:1039 [inline]
       lookup_slow+0x46/0x80 fs/namei.c:1935
       ovl_lookup_positive_unlocked fs/overlayfs/namei.c:216 [inline]
       ovl_lookup_single+0x323/0xe90 fs/overlayfs/namei.c:260
       ovl_lookup_layer+0x377/0x440 fs/overlayfs/namei.c:365
       ovl_lookup_layers fs/overlayfs/namei.c:1168 [inline]
       ovl_lookup+0x9ae/0x1c80 fs/overlayfs/namei.c:1403
       lookup_open+0x94b/0x1970 fs/namei.c:4530
       open_last_lookups fs/namei.c:4769 [inline]
       path_openat+0x673/0x1da0 fs/namei.c:5008
       do_file_open+0x23e/0x4a0 fs/namei.c:5040
       do_sys_openat2+0x115/0x200 fs/open.c:1442
       do_sys_open fs/open.c:1448 [inline]
       __do_sys_openat fs/open.c:1464 [inline]
       __se_sys_openat fs/open.c:1459 [inline]
       __x64_sys_openat+0x138/0x170 fs/open.c:1459
       do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:61 [inline]
       do_syscall_64+0x166/0x520 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:84
       entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f

-> #1 (DCACHE_PAR_LOOKUP){+.+.}-{0:0}:
       d_wait_lookup fs/dcache.c:2838 [inline]
       __d_alloc_parallel+0xc32/0x1700 fs/dcache.c:2942
       __lookup_slow+0x82/0x2f0 fs/namei.c:1904
       lookup_slow+0x59/0x80 fs/namei.c:1936
       walk_component fs/namei.c:2282 [inline]
       lookup_last fs/namei.c:2789 [inline]
       path_lookupat+0x3f5/0x8c0 fs/namei.c:2813
       filename_lookup+0x265/0x5d0 fs/namei.c:2842
       do_readlinkat+0xe3/0x510 fs/stat.c:571
       __do_sys_readlink fs/stat.c:605 [inline]
       __se_sys_readlink fs/stat.c:602 [inline]
       __x64_sys_readlink+0x7f/0x90 fs/stat.c:602
       do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:61 [inline]
       do_syscall_64+0x166/0x520 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:84
       entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f

-> #0 (&type->i_mutex_dir_key#4){++++}-{4:4}:
       check_prev_add kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3209 [inline]
       check_prevs_add kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3328 [inline]
       validate_chain kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3952 [inline]
       __lock_acquire+0x164c/0x2de0 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5288
       lock_acquire+0x115/0x350 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5942
       down_read_killable+0x4b/0x3b0 kernel/locking/rwsem.c:1599
       iterate_dir+0x209/0x4d0 fs/readdir.c:103
       ovl_dir_read+0x141/0x4a0 fs/overlayfs/readdir.c:388
       ovl_dir_read_merged+0x2fb/0x520 fs/overlayfs/readdir.c:451
       ovl_cache_get fs/overlayfs/readdir.c:504 [inline]
       ovl_iterate_merged fs/overlayfs/readdir.c:846 [inline]
       ovl_iterate+0xd5a/0x2160 fs/overlayfs/readdir.c:906
       wrap_directory_iterator+0x96/0xe0 fs/readdir.c:67
       iterate_dir+0x2e2/0x4d0 fs/readdir.c:110
       __do_sys_getdents64 fs/readdir.c:399 [inline]
       __se_sys_getdents64+0xf1/0x280 fs/readdir.c:384
       do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:61 [inline]
       do_syscall_64+0x166/0x520 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:84
       entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f

other info that might help us debug this:

Chain exists of:
  &type->i_mutex_dir_key#4 --> DCACHE_PAR_LOOKUP --> &ovl_i_mutex_dir_key[depth]#2

 Possible unsafe locking scenario:

       CPU0                    CPU1
       ----                    ----
  lock(&ovl_i_mutex_dir_key[depth]#2);
                               lock(DCACHE_PAR_LOOKUP);
                               lock(&ovl_i_mutex_dir_key[depth]#2);
  rlock(&type->i_mutex_dir_key#4);

 *** DEADLOCK ***

locks held by syz.1.241/6613: 2, last CPU#1:
 #0: ffff88807eb65cf0 (&f->f_pos_lock){+.+.}-{4:4}, at: fdget_pos+0x118/0x160 fs/file.c:1408
 #1: ffff888059293d88 (&ovl_i_mutex_dir_key[depth]#2){++++}-{4:4}, at: wrap_directory_iterator+0x5a/0xe0 fs/readdir.c:56

stack backtrace:
CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 6613 Comm: syz.1.241 Not tainted syzkaller #0 PREEMPT(full) 
Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 07/24/2026
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 dump_stack_lvl+0xe8/0x150 lib/dump_stack.c:120
 print_circular_bug+0x2e2/0x300 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:2087
 check_noncircular+0x12f/0x150 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:2219
 check_prev_add kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3209 [inline]
 check_prevs_add kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3328 [inline]
 validate_chain kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3952 [inline]
 __lock_acquire+0x164c/0x2de0 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5288
 lock_acquire+0x115/0x350 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5942
 down_read_killable+0x4b/0x3b0 kernel/locking/rwsem.c:1599
 iterate_dir+0x209/0x4d0 fs/readdir.c:103
 ovl_dir_read+0x141/0x4a0 fs/overlayfs/readdir.c:388
 ovl_dir_read_merged+0x2fb/0x520 fs/overlayfs/readdir.c:451
 ovl_cache_get fs/overlayfs/readdir.c:504 [inline]
 ovl_iterate_merged fs/overlayfs/readdir.c:846 [inline]
 ovl_iterate+0xd5a/0x2160 fs/overlayfs/readdir.c:906
 wrap_directory_iterator+0x96/0xe0 fs/readdir.c:67
 iterate_dir+0x2e2/0x4d0 fs/readdir.c:110
 __do_sys_getdents64 fs/readdir.c:399 [inline]
 __se_sys_getdents64+0xf1/0x280 fs/readdir.c:384
 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:61 [inline]
 do_syscall_64+0x166/0x520 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:84
 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f
RIP: 0033:0x7f5cfbb9e159
Code: ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 44 00 00 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 e8 ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48
RSP: 002b:00007f5cfc9c0028 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 00000000000000d9
RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007f5cfbe25fa0 RCX: 00007f5cfbb9e159
RDX: 0000000000001000 RSI: 0000200000001dc0 RDI: 0000000000000009
RBP: 00007f5cfbc3506b R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000
R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000000
R13: 00007f5cfbe26038 R14: 00007f5cfbe25fa0 R15: 00007ffe433bef38
 </TASK>

Crashes (17):
Time Kernel Commit Syzkaller Config Log Report Syz repro C repro VM info Assets (help?) Manager Title
2026/10/01 12:38 linux-next 6474fa070f2b 38f7f0d1 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-rust-kasan-gce possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/10/01 12:35 linux-next 6474fa070f2b 38f7f0d1 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-rust-kasan-gce possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/10/01 12:20 linux-next 6474fa070f2b 38f7f0d1 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-rust-kasan-gce possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/10/01 11:35 linux-next 6c2cb8b8b843 38f7f0d1 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-linux-next-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/10/01 11:33 linux-next 6474fa070f2b 38f7f0d1 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-rust-kasan-gce possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/10/01 11:28 linux-next 6474fa070f2b 38f7f0d1 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-rust-kasan-gce possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/10/01 10:47 linux-next 6474fa070f2b 38f7f0d1 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-rust-kasan-gce possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/10/01 10:14 linux-next 6474fa070f2b 38f7f0d1 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-rust-kasan-gce possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/10/01 10:07 linux-next 6474fa070f2b 38f7f0d1 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-rust-kasan-gce possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/09/30 13:22 linux-next 6474fa070f2b 892a21ec .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-linux-next-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/09/30 13:21 linux-next 6474fa070f2b 892a21ec .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-linux-next-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/09/30 13:21 linux-next 6474fa070f2b 892a21ec .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-linux-next-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/09/29 21:11 linux-next 6474fa070f2b 7808aef4 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-linux-next-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/09/29 17:56 linux-next 6375e61c01e9 7bf4ea23 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-rust-kasan-gce possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/09/29 05:59 linux-next 6375e61c01e9 7bf4ea23 .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-rust-kasan-gce possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/09/28 20:08 linux-next 6375e61c01e9 a3c7249d .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-linux-next-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in iterate_dir
2026/09/28 20:08 linux-next 6375e61c01e9 a3c7249d .config console log report info [disk image] [vmlinux] [kernel image] ci-upstream-linux-next-kasan-gce-root possible deadlock in iterate_dir
* Struck through repros no longer work on HEAD.