diff --git a/fs/overlayfs/dir.c b/fs/overlayfs/dir.c
index 768120c20f85..aab3f5d93556 100644
--- a/fs/overlayfs/dir.c
+++ b/fs/overlayfs/dir.c
@@ -477,7 +477,7 @@ static int ovl_create_over_whiteout(struct dentry *dentry, struct inode *inode,
 		goto out_unlock;
 
 	err = -ESTALE;
-	if (d_is_negative(upper) || !IS_WHITEOUT(d_inode(upper)))
+	if (d_is_negative(upper) || !ovl_upper_is_whiteout(ofs, upper))
 		goto out_dput;
 
 	newdentry = ovl_create_temp(ofs, workdir, cattr);
@@ -1211,7 +1211,7 @@ static int ovl_rename(struct mnt_idmap *idmap, struct inode *olddir,
 		}
 	} else {
 		if (!d_is_negative(newdentry)) {
-			if (!new_opaque || !ovl_is_whiteout(newdentry))
+			if (!new_opaque || !ovl_upper_is_whiteout(ofs, newdentry))
 				goto out_dput;
 		} else {
 			if (flags & RENAME_EXCHANGE)
diff --git a/fs/overlayfs/namei.c b/fs/overlayfs/namei.c
index f10ac4ae35f0..03bc8d5dfa31 100644
--- a/fs/overlayfs/namei.c
+++ b/fs/overlayfs/namei.c
@@ -251,7 +251,10 @@ static int ovl_lookup_single(struct dentry *base, struct ovl_lookup_data *d,
 		err = -EREMOTE;
 		goto out_err;
 	}
-	if (ovl_is_whiteout(this)) {
+
+	path.dentry = this;
+	path.mnt = d->mnt;
+	if (ovl_path_is_whiteout(OVL_FS(d->sb), &path)) {
 		d->stop = d->opaque = true;
 		goto put_and_out;
 	}
@@ -264,8 +267,6 @@ static int ovl_lookup_single(struct dentry *base, struct ovl_lookup_data *d,
 		goto put_and_out;
 	}
 
-	path.dentry = this;
-	path.mnt = d->mnt;
 	if (!d_can_lookup(this)) {
 		if (d->is_dir || !last_element) {
 			d->stop = true;
@@ -438,7 +439,7 @@ int ovl_check_origin_fh(struct ovl_fs *ofs, struct ovl_fh *fh, bool connected,
 	else if (IS_ERR(origin))
 		return PTR_ERR(origin);
 
-	if (upperdentry && !ovl_is_whiteout(upperdentry) &&
+	if (upperdentry && !ovl_upper_is_whiteout(ofs, upperdentry) &&
 	    inode_wrong_type(d_inode(upperdentry), d_inode(origin)->i_mode))
 		goto invalid;
 
@@ -1402,7 +1403,11 @@ bool ovl_lower_positive(struct dentry *dentry)
 				break;
 			}
 		} else {
-			positive = !ovl_is_whiteout(this);
+			struct path path = {
+				.dentry = this,
+				.mnt = parentpath->layer->mnt,
+			};
+			positive = !ovl_path_is_whiteout(OVL_FS(dentry->d_sb), &path);
 			done = true;
 			dput(this);
 		}
diff --git a/fs/overlayfs/overlayfs.h b/fs/overlayfs/overlayfs.h
index 393c6ba9bffa..ca88b2636a57 100644
--- a/fs/overlayfs/overlayfs.h
+++ b/fs/overlayfs/overlayfs.h
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@ enum ovl_xattr {
 	OVL_XATTR_UUID,
 	OVL_XATTR_METACOPY,
 	OVL_XATTR_PROTATTR,
+	OVL_XATTR_XWHITEOUT,
+	OVL_XATTR_XWHITEOUTS,
 };
 
 enum ovl_inode_flag {
@@ -473,6 +475,7 @@ void ovl_inode_update(struct inode *inode, struct dentry *upperdentry);
 void ovl_dir_modified(struct dentry *dentry, bool impurity);
 u64 ovl_inode_version_get(struct inode *inode);
 bool ovl_is_whiteout(struct dentry *dentry);
+bool ovl_path_is_whiteout(struct ovl_fs *ofs, const struct path *path);
 struct file *ovl_path_open(const struct path *path, int flags);
 int ovl_copy_up_start(struct dentry *dentry, int flags);
 void ovl_copy_up_end(struct dentry *dentry);
@@ -480,9 +483,21 @@ bool ovl_already_copied_up(struct dentry *dentry, int flags);
 bool ovl_path_check_dir_xattr(struct ovl_fs *ofs, const struct path *path,
 			      enum ovl_xattr ox);
 bool ovl_path_check_origin_xattr(struct ovl_fs *ofs, const struct path *path);
+bool ovl_path_check_xwhiteout_xattr(struct ovl_fs *ofs, const struct path *path);
+bool ovl_path_check_xwhiteouts_xattr(struct ovl_fs *ofs, const struct path *path);
 bool ovl_init_uuid_xattr(struct super_block *sb, struct ovl_fs *ofs,
 			 const struct path *upperpath);
 
+static inline bool ovl_upper_is_whiteout(struct ovl_fs *ofs,
+					 struct dentry *upperdentry)
+{
+	struct path upperpath = {
+		.dentry = upperdentry,
+		.mnt = ovl_upper_mnt(ofs),
+	};
+	return ovl_path_is_whiteout(ofs, &upperpath);
+}
+
 static inline bool ovl_check_origin_xattr(struct ovl_fs *ofs,
 					  struct dentry *upperdentry)
 {
diff --git a/fs/overlayfs/readdir.c b/fs/overlayfs/readdir.c
index de39e067ae65..a490fc47c3e7 100644
--- a/fs/overlayfs/readdir.c
+++ b/fs/overlayfs/readdir.c
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ struct ovl_cache_entry {
 	struct ovl_cache_entry *next_maybe_whiteout;
 	bool is_upper;
 	bool is_whiteout;
+	bool check_xwhiteout;
 	char name[];
 };
 
@@ -47,6 +48,7 @@ struct ovl_readdir_data {
 	int err;
 	bool is_upper;
 	bool d_type_supported;
+	bool in_xwhiteouts_dir;
 };
 
 struct ovl_dir_file {
@@ -162,6 +164,8 @@ static struct ovl_cache_entry *ovl_cache_entry_new(struct ovl_readdir_data *rdd,
 		p->ino = 0;
 	p->is_upper = rdd->is_upper;
 	p->is_whiteout = false;
+	/* Defer check for overlay.whiteout to ovl_iterate() */
+	p->check_xwhiteout = rdd->in_xwhiteouts_dir && d_type == DT_REG;
 
 	if (d_type == DT_CHR) {
 		p->next_maybe_whiteout = rdd->first_maybe_whiteout;
@@ -301,6 +305,8 @@ static inline int ovl_dir_read(const struct path *realpath,
 	if (IS_ERR(realfile))
 		return PTR_ERR(realfile);
 
+	rdd->in_xwhiteouts_dir = rdd->dentry &&
+		ovl_path_check_xwhiteouts_xattr(OVL_FS(rdd->dentry->d_sb), realpath);
 	rdd->first_maybe_whiteout = NULL;
 	rdd->ctx.pos = 0;
 	do {
@@ -447,7 +453,7 @@ static u64 ovl_remap_lower_ino(u64 ino, int xinobits, int fsid,
 }
 
 /*
- * Set d_ino for upper entries. Non-upper entries should always report
+ * Set d_ino for upper entries if needed. Non-upper entries should always report
  * the uppermost real inode ino and should not call this function.
  *
  * When not all layer are on same fs, report real ino also for upper.
@@ -455,8 +461,11 @@ static u64 ovl_remap_lower_ino(u64 ino, int xinobits, int fsid,
  * When all layers are on the same fs, and upper has a reference to
  * copy up origin, call vfs_getattr() on the overlay entry to make
  * sure that d_ino will be consistent with st_ino from stat(2).
+ *
+ * Also checks the overlay.whiteout xattr by doing a full lookup which will return
+ * negative in this case.
  */
-static int ovl_cache_update_ino(const struct path *path, struct ovl_cache_entry *p)
+static int ovl_cache_update(const struct path *path, struct ovl_cache_entry *p, bool update_ino)
 
 {
 	struct dentry *dir = path->dentry;
@@ -467,7 +476,7 @@ static int ovl_cache_update_ino(const struct path *path, struct ovl_cache_entry
 	int xinobits = ovl_xino_bits(ofs);
 	int err = 0;
 
-	if (!ovl_same_dev(ofs))
+	if (!ovl_same_dev(ofs) && !p->check_xwhiteout)
 		goto out;
 
 	if (p->name[0] == '.') {
@@ -481,6 +490,7 @@ static int ovl_cache_update_ino(const struct path *path, struct ovl_cache_entry
 			goto get;
 		}
 	}
+	/* This checks also for xwhiteouts */
 	this = lookup_one(mnt_idmap(path->mnt), p->name, dir, p->len);
 	if (IS_ERR_OR_NULL(this) || !this->d_inode) {
 		/* Mark a stale entry */
@@ -494,6 +504,9 @@ static int ovl_cache_update_ino(const struct path *path, struct ovl_cache_entry
 	}
 
 get:
+	if (!ovl_same_dev(ofs) || !update_ino)
+		goto out;
+
 	type = ovl_path_type(this);
 	if (OVL_TYPE_ORIGIN(type)) {
 		struct kstat stat;
@@ -572,7 +585,7 @@ static int ovl_dir_read_impure(const struct path *path,  struct list_head *list,
 	list_for_each_entry_safe(p, n, list, l_node) {
 		if (strcmp(p->name, ".") != 0 &&
 		    strcmp(p->name, "..") != 0) {
-			err = ovl_cache_update_ino(path, p);
+			err = ovl_cache_update(path, p, true);
 			if (err)
 				return err;
 		}
@@ -778,13 +791,13 @@ static int ovl_iterate(struct file *file, struct dir_context *ctx)
 	while (od->cursor != &od->cache->entries) {
 		p = list_entry(od->cursor, struct ovl_cache_entry, l_node);
 		if (!p->is_whiteout) {
-			if (!p->ino) {
-				err = ovl_cache_update_ino(&file->f_path, p);
+			if (!p->ino || p->check_xwhiteout) {
+				err = ovl_cache_update(&file->f_path, p, !p->ino);
 				if (err)
 					goto out;
 			}
 		}
-		/* ovl_cache_update_ino() sets is_whiteout on stale entry */
+		/* ovl_cache_update() sets is_whiteout on stale entry */
 		if (!p->is_whiteout) {
 			if (!dir_emit(ctx, p->name, p->len, p->ino, p->type))
 				break;
diff --git a/fs/overlayfs/super.c b/fs/overlayfs/super.c
index 0a42a25656fa..1a95ee237fa9 100644
--- a/fs/overlayfs/super.c
+++ b/fs/overlayfs/super.c
@@ -585,7 +585,7 @@ static int ovl_check_rename_whiteout(struct ovl_fs *ofs)
 	if (IS_ERR(whiteout))
 		goto cleanup_temp;
 
-	err = ovl_is_whiteout(whiteout);
+	err = ovl_upper_is_whiteout(ofs, whiteout);
 
 	/* Best effort cleanup of whiteout and temp file */
 	if (err)
diff --git a/fs/overlayfs/util.c b/fs/overlayfs/util.c
index f8455fcb8b07..73ac47b49218 100644
--- a/fs/overlayfs/util.c
+++ b/fs/overlayfs/util.c
@@ -601,6 +601,16 @@ bool ovl_is_whiteout(struct dentry *dentry)
 	return inode && IS_WHITEOUT(inode);
 }
 
+/*
+ * Use this over ovl_is_whiteout for upper and lower files, as it also
+ * handles overlay.whiteout xattr whiteout files.
+ */
+bool ovl_path_is_whiteout(struct ovl_fs *ofs, const struct path *path)
+{
+	return ovl_is_whiteout(path->dentry) ||
+		ovl_path_check_xwhiteout_xattr(ofs, path);
+}
+
 struct file *ovl_path_open(const struct path *path, int flags)
 {
 	struct inode *inode = d_inode(path->dentry);
@@ -716,6 +726,32 @@ bool ovl_path_check_origin_xattr(struct ovl_fs *ofs, const struct path *path)
 	return false;
 }
 
+bool ovl_path_check_xwhiteout_xattr(struct ovl_fs *ofs, const struct path *path)
+{
+	struct dentry *dentry = path->dentry;
+	int res;
+
+	/* xattr.whiteout must be a zero size regular file */
+	if (!d_is_reg(dentry) || i_size_read(d_inode(dentry)) != 0)
+		return false;
+
+	res = ovl_path_getxattr(ofs, path, OVL_XATTR_XWHITEOUT, NULL, 0);
+	return res >= 0;
+}
+
+bool ovl_path_check_xwhiteouts_xattr(struct ovl_fs *ofs, const struct path *path)
+{
+	struct dentry *dentry = path->dentry;
+	int res;
+
+	/* xattr.whiteouts must be a directory */
+	if (!d_is_dir(dentry))
+		return false;
+
+	res = ovl_path_getxattr(ofs, path, OVL_XATTR_XWHITEOUTS, NULL, 0);
+	return res >= 0;
+}
+
 /*
  * Load persistent uuid from xattr into s_uuid if found, or store a new
  * random generated value in s_uuid and in xattr.
@@ -800,6 +836,8 @@ bool ovl_path_check_dir_xattr(struct ovl_fs *ofs, const struct path *path,
 #define OVL_XATTR_UUID_POSTFIX		"uuid"
 #define OVL_XATTR_METACOPY_POSTFIX	"metacopy"
 #define OVL_XATTR_PROTATTR_POSTFIX	"protattr"
+#define OVL_XATTR_XWHITEOUT_POSTFIX	"whiteout"
+#define OVL_XATTR_XWHITEOUTS_POSTFIX	"whiteouts"
 
 #define OVL_XATTR_TAB_ENTRY(x) \
 	[x] = { [false] = OVL_XATTR_TRUSTED_PREFIX x ## _POSTFIX, \
@@ -815,6 +853,8 @@ const char *const ovl_xattr_table[][2] = {
 	OVL_XATTR_TAB_ENTRY(OVL_XATTR_UUID),
 	OVL_XATTR_TAB_ENTRY(OVL_XATTR_METACOPY),
 	OVL_XATTR_TAB_ENTRY(OVL_XATTR_PROTATTR),
+	OVL_XATTR_TAB_ENTRY(OVL_XATTR_XWHITEOUT),
+	OVL_XATTR_TAB_ENTRY(OVL_XATTR_XWHITEOUTS),
 };
 
 int ovl_check_setxattr(struct ovl_fs *ofs, struct dentry *upperdentry,