Cloudanix VulnDB

CVE-2025-22121

None

CVSS

—

EPSS

0.2%

Published

Apr 16, 2025

CISA due date

—

Cloudanix analysis

Monitor only SSVC: Track

A flaw in Linux file system code can cause crashes or let attackers gain more control if they can supply specially made storage images.

Exploitation
Local Privilege
Attacker needs
Local User
Complexity
Moderate
Impact
Full Compromise
Component
OS kernel
Class
Use After Free
Remediation
Upgrade
Effort
Medium
Patch risk
Medium

What it actually does

Use-after-free read in ext4_xattr_inode_dec_ref_all() during inode eviction when xattr stored in inode is not validated, allowing invalid memory access.

Why it matters to the business

Kernel instability or crashes on Linux systems using ext4, with low but present risk of privilege escalation; limited urgency given low EPSS, no KEV listing, and 560 days since publication.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker supplies a crafted ext4 filesystem image containing invalid xattrs in inodes; during mount and orphan cleanup, ext4_evict_inode triggers the unvalidated path in ext4_xattr_delete_inode leading to the UAF read, which can be leveraged for memory disclosure or corruption in combination with other kernel primitives as seen in related privilege escalation campaigns.

How to fix it

Apply kernel patches that add xattr validation via xattr_check_inode() in ext4_iget_extra_inode(); for listed PHP packages on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 upgrade to 0:8.2.25-1.module+el9.5.0+22477+5fdac06d or later.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm kernel source contains the xattr validity check before inode eviction; verify upgraded PHP packages report version 8.2.25-1.module+el9.5.0+22477+5fdac06d; test mount of crafted images no longer triggers KASAN reports.

Typical attack path

  1. Craft malicious ext4 filesystem image with invalid inode xattrs
  2. Mount the image on target system
  3. Trigger inode eviction via orphan cleanup in ext4_fill_super
  4. Trigger UAF read in ext4_xattr_inode_dec_ref_all
  5. Combine with additional kernel bugs for privilege escalation

How to detect it

Inspect kernel logs for KASAN use-after-free reports referencing ext4_xattr_inode_dec_ref_all or ext4_xattr_delete_inode; correlate with mount operations of untrusted ext4 volumes and related privilege escalation attempts by named threat actors.

What your security team should do

  • Prioritize kernel updates on all ext4 systems within normal patch cycles
  • Monitor for related Linux kernel privilege escalation activity from listed threat actors
  • Apply the specified PHP package updates on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
  • Review filesystem mount options and untrusted image handling policies

The record

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: fix out-of-bound read in ext4_xattr_inode_dec_ref_all() There's issue as follows: BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in ext4_xattr_inode_dec_ref_all+0x6ff/0x790 Read of size 4 at addr ffff88807b003000 by task syz-executor.0/15172 CPU: 3 PID: 15172 Comm: syz-executor.0 Call Trace: __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:82 [inline] dump_stack+0xbe/0xfd lib/dump_stack.c:123 print_address_description.constprop.0+0x1e/0x280 mm/kasan/report.c:400 __kasan_report.cold+0x6c/0x84 mm/kasan/report.c:560 kasan_report+0x3a/0x50 mm/kasan/report.c:585 ext4_xattr_inode_dec_ref_all+0x6ff/0x790 fs/ext4/xattr.c:1137 ext4_xattr_delete_inode+0x4c7/0xda0 fs/ext4/xattr.c:2896 ext4_evict_inode+0xb3b/0x1670 fs/ext4/inode.c:323 evict+0x39f/0x880 fs/inode.c:622 iput_final fs/inode.c:1746 [inline] iput fs/inode.c:1772 [inline] iput+0x525/0x6c0 fs/inode.c:1758 ext4_orphan_cleanup fs/ext4/super.c:3298 [inline] ext4_fill_super+0x8c57/0xba40 fs/ext4/super.c:5300 mount_bdev+0x355/0x410 fs/super.c:1446 legacy_get_tree+0xfe/0x220 fs/fs_context.c:611 vfs_get_tree+0x8d/0x2f0 fs/super.c:1576 do_new_mount fs/namespace.c:2983 [inline] path_mount+0x119a/0x1ad0 fs/namespace.c:3316 do_mount+0xfc/0x110 fs/namespace.c:3329 __do_sys_mount fs/namespace.c:3540 [inline] __se_sys_mount+0x219/0x2e0 fs/namespace.c:3514 do_syscall_64+0x33/0x40 arch/x86/entry/common.c:46 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x67/0xd1 Memory state around the buggy address: ffff88807b002f00: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ffff88807b002f80: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 >ffff88807b003000: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ^ ffff88807b003080: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ffff88807b003100: ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff Above issue happens as ext4_xattr_delete_inode() isn't check xattr is valid if xattr is in inode. To solve above issue call xattr_check_inode() check if xattr if valid in inode. In fact, we can directly verify in ext4_iget_extra_inode(), so that there is no divergent verification.

Affected packages

Ecosystem Package Introduced Fixed
AlmaLinux:10 kernel 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-64k 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-64k-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-64k-debug 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-64k-debug-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-64k-debug-devel 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-64k-debug-modules 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-64k-debug-modules-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-64k-debug-modules-extra 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-64k-devel 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-64k-devel-matched 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-64k-modules 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-64k-modules-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-64k-modules-extra 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-abi-stablelists 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-cross-headers 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-debug 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-debug-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-debug-devel 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-debug-devel-matched 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-debug-modules 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-debug-modules-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-debug-modules-extra 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-debug-uki-virt 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-devel 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-devel-matched 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-doc 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-headers 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-modules 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-modules-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-modules-extra 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-64k 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-64k-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-64k-debug 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-64k-debug-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-64k-debug-devel 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-64k-debug-modules 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-64k-debug-modules-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-64k-debug-modules-extra 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-64k-devel 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-64k-modules 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-64k-modules-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-64k-modules-extra 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-debug 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-debug-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-debug-devel 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-debug-kvm 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-debug-modules 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-debug-modules-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-debug-modules-extra 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-devel 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-kvm 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-modules 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-modules-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-rt-modules-extra 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-tools 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-tools-libs 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-tools-libs-devel 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-uki-virt 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-uki-virt-addons 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-zfcpdump 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-zfcpdump-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-zfcpdump-devel 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-zfcpdump-devel-matched 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-zfcpdump-modules 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-zfcpdump-modules-core 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 kernel-zfcpdump-modules-extra 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 libperf 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 perf 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 python3-perf 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 rtla 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:10 rv 0 6.12.0-55.24.1.el10_0
AlmaLinux:9 kernel 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-64k 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-64k-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-64k-debug 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-64k-debug-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-64k-debug-devel 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-64k-debug-devel-matched 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-64k-debug-modules 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-64k-debug-modules-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-64k-debug-modules-extra 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-64k-devel 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-64k-devel-matched 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-64k-modules 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-64k-modules-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-64k-modules-extra 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-abi-stablelists 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-cross-headers 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-debug 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-debug-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-debug-devel 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-debug-devel-matched 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-debug-modules 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-debug-modules-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-debug-modules-extra 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-debug-uki-virt 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-devel 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-devel-matched 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-doc 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-headers 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-modules 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-modules-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-modules-extra 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-64k 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-64k-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-64k-debug 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-64k-debug-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-64k-debug-devel 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-64k-debug-modules 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-64k-debug-modules-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-64k-debug-modules-extra 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-64k-devel 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-64k-modules 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-64k-modules-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-64k-modules-extra 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-debug 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-debug-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-debug-devel 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-debug-kvm 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-debug-modules 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-debug-modules-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-debug-modules-extra 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-devel 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-kvm 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-modules 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-modules-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-rt-modules-extra 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-tools 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-tools-libs 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-tools-libs-devel 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-uki-virt 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-uki-virt-addons 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-zfcpdump 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-zfcpdump-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-zfcpdump-devel 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-zfcpdump-devel-matched 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-zfcpdump-modules 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-zfcpdump-modules-core 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 kernel-zfcpdump-modules-extra 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 libperf 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 perf 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 python3-perf 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 rtla 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
AlmaLinux:9 rv 0 5.14.0-570.30.1.el9_6
Chainguard hyperv-daemons-6.12 0 6.12.57-r0
Chainguard linux-aws-6.12-boot-installed 0 6.12.57-r0
Chainguard linux-aws-6.12-fips-boot-installed 0 6.12.57-r0
Chainguard linux-aws-6.12-headers 0 6.12.57-r1
Chainguard linux-aws-6.12-modules 0 6.12.57-r0
Chainguard linux-azure-6.12-boot-installed 0 6.12.57-r0
Chainguard linux-azure-6.12-fips-boot-installed 0 6.12.57-r0
Chainguard linux-azure-6.12-headers 0 6.12.57-r1
Chainguard linux-azure-6.12-modules 0 6.12.57-r0
Chainguard linux-gcp-6.12-boot-installed 0 6.12.57-r0
Chainguard linux-gcp-6.12-fips-boot-installed 0 6.12.57-r0
Chainguard linux-gcp-6.12-headers 0 6.12.57-r1
Chainguard linux-gcp-6.12-modules 0 6.12.57-r1
Chainguard linux-qemu-6.12-boot-installed 0 6.12.63-r0
Chainguard linux-qemu-6.12-fips-boot-installed 0 6.12.63-r0
Chainguard linux-qemu-6.12-headers 0 6.12.63-r0
Chainguard linux-qemu-6.12-modules 0 6.12.63-r0
Chainguard linux-vmware-6.12-boot-installed 0 6.12.63-r0
Chainguard linux-vmware-6.12-fips-boot-installed 0 6.12.63-r0
Chainguard linux-vmware-6.12-headers 0 6.12.63-r0
Chainguard linux-vmware-6.12-modules 0 6.12.63-r0
Debian:11 linux 0 No fix
Debian:12 linux 0 No fix
Debian:13 linux 0 No fix
Debian:14 linux 0 6.16.3-1
Linux Kernel 4.13.0 5.10.248
Linux Kernel 4.13.0 6.14.2
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-64kb 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-default 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-default-base 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1.150300.18.124.1
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-docs 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-obs-build 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-preempt 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-source 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Enterprise Storage 7.1 kernel-syms 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP3 kernel-default 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP6 kernel-default 0 6.4.0-150600.23.50.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 kernel-default 0 6.4.0-150700.53.3.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-64kb 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-default 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-default-base 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1.150300.18.124.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-docs 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-obs-build 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-preempt 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-source 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS kernel-syms 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP3 kernel-default 0 5.3.18-150300.59.207.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP3 kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP3_Update_58 0 1-150300.7.3.1

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