CVE-2026-23018

MEDIUM EPSS 1.1%
Published Jan 31, 20265mo ago · Modified Jun 17, 20262w ago
5.5 CVSS 3.1
Medium
Find Similar
Published Jan 31, 2026 5mo ago
Last Modified Jun 17, 2026 2w ago

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: release path before initializing extent tree in btrfs_read_locked_inode() In btrfs_read_locked_inode() we are calling btrfs_init_file_extent_tree() while holding a path with a read locked leaf from a subvolume tree, and btrfs_init_file_extent_tree() may do a GFP_KERNEL allocation, which can trigger reclaim. This can create a circular lock dependency which lockdep warns about with the following splat: [6.1433] ====================================================== [6.1574] WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected [6.1583] 6.18.0+ #4 Tainted: G U [6.1591] ------------------------------------------------------ [6.1599] kswapd0/117 is trying to acquire lock: [6.1606] ffff8d9b6333c5b8 (&delayed_node->mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: __btrfs_release_delayed_node.part.0+0x39/0x2f0 [6.1625] but task is already holding lock: [6.1633] ffffffffa4ab8ce0 (fs_reclaim){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: balance_pgdat+0x195/0xc60 [6.1646] which lock already depends on the new lock. [6.1657] the existing dependency chain (in reverse order) is: [6.1667] -> #2 (fs_reclaim){+.+.}-{0:0}: [6.1677] fs_reclaim_acquire+0x9d/0xd0 [6.1685] __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x59/0x750 [6.1694] btrfs_init_file_extent_tree+0x90/0x100 [6.1702] btrfs_read_locked_inode+0xc3/0x6b0 [6.1710] btrfs_iget+0xbb/0xf0 [6.1716] btrfs_lookup_dentry+0x3c5/0x8e0 [6.1724] btrfs_lookup+0x12/0x30 [6.1731] lookup_open.isra.0+0x1aa/0x6a0 [6.1739] path_openat+0x5f7/0xc60 [6.1746] do_filp_open+0xd6/0x180 [6.1753] do_sys_openat2+0x8b/0xe0 [6.1760] __x64_sys_openat+0x54/0xa0 [6.1768] do_syscall_64+0x97/0x3e0 [6.1776] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e [6.1784] -> #1 (btrfs-tree-00){++++}-{3:3}: [6.1794] lock_release+0x127/0x2a0 [6.1801] up_read+0x1b/0x30 [6.1808] btrfs_search_slot+0x8e0/0xff0 [6.1817] btrfs_lookup_inode+0x52/0xd0 [6.1825] __btrfs_update_delayed_inode+0x73/0x520 [6.1833] btrfs_commit_inode_delayed_inode+0x11a/0x120 [6.1842] btrfs_log_inode+0x608/0x1aa0 [6.1849] btrfs_log_inode_parent+0x249/0xf80 [6.1857] btrfs_log_dentry_safe+0x3e/0x60 [6.1865] btrfs_sync_file+0x431/0x690 [6.1872] do_fsync+0x39/0x80 [6.1879] __x64_sys_fsync+0x13/0x20 [6.1887] do_syscall_64+0x97/0x3e0 [6.1894] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e [6.1903] -> #0 (&delayed_node->mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}: [6.1913] __lock_acquire+0x15e9/0x2820 [6.1920] lock_acquire+0xc9/0x2d0 [6.1927] __mutex_lock+0xcc/0x10a0 [6.1934] __btrfs_release_delayed_node.part.0+0x39/0x2f0 [6.1944] btrfs_evict_inode+0x20b/0x4b0 [6.1952] evict+0x15a/0x2f0 [6.1958] prune_icache_sb+0x91/0xd0 [6.1966] super_cache_scan+0x150/0x1d0 [6.1974] do_shrink_slab+0x155/0x6f0 [6.1981] shrink_slab+0x48e/0x890 [6.1988] shrink_one+0x11a/0x1f0 [6.1995] shrink_node+0xbfd/0x1320 [6.1002] balance_pgdat+0x67f/0xc60 [6.1321] kswapd+0x1dc/0x3e0 [6.1643] kthread+0xff/0x240 [6.1965] ret_from_fork+0x223/0x280 [6.1287] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 [6.1616] other info that might help us debug this: [6.1561] Chain exists of: &delayed_node->mutex --> btrfs-tree-00 --> fs_reclaim [6.1503] Possible unsafe locking scenario: [6.1110] CPU0 CPU1 [6.1411] ---- ---- [6.1707] lock(fs_reclaim); [6.1998] lock(btrfs-tree-00); [6.1291] lock(fs_reclaim); [6.1581] lock(&del ---truncated---

CVSS Details

Base Score
5.5
Exploitability
1.8
Impact
3.6
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Attack Vector Local
Attack Complexity Low
Privileges Required Low
User Interaction None
Scope Unchanged
Confidentiality None
Integrity None
Availability High

Threat Intelligence

EPSS Exploit Probability
1.1% percentile
Exploit & Patch Status
No Known Exploit
Patch Available

Affected Products 11

VendorProductVersionRange
linuxlinux_kernel*≥6.16.9  –  <6.17
linuxlinux_kernel*≥6.17.1  –  <6.18.6
linuxlinux_kernel6.17any
linuxlinux_kernel6.19any
linuxlinux_kernel6.19any
linuxlinux_kernel6.19any
linuxlinux_kernel6.19any
linuxlinux_kernel6.19any
linuxlinux_kernel6.19any
linuxlinux_kernel6.19any
linuxlinux_kernel6.19any

References 2

  • git.kernel.org https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8731f2c50b0b1d2b58ed5b9671ef2c4bdc2f8347
    Patch
  • git.kernel.org https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/92a5590851144f034adc51fee55e6878ccac716e
    Patch

Remediation

  • git.kernel.org https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8731f2c50b0b1d2b58ed5b9671ef2c4bdc2f8347
    Patch
  • git.kernel.org https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/92a5590851144f034adc51fee55e6878ccac716e
    Patch