CVE-2025-38370

Published Jul 25, 2025

Last updated a year ago

Overview

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix failure to rebuild free space tree using multiple transactions If we are rebuilding a free space tree, while modifying the free space tree we may need to allocate a new metadata block group. If we end up using multiple transactions for the rebuild, when we call btrfs_end_transaction() we enter btrfs_create_pending_block_groups() which calls add_block_group_free_space() to add items to the free space tree for the block group. Then later during the free space tree rebuild, at btrfs_rebuild_free_space_tree(), we may find such new block groups and call populate_free_space_tree() for them, which fails with -EEXIST because there are already items in the free space tree. Then we abort the transaction with -EEXIST at btrfs_rebuild_free_space_tree(). Notice that we say "may find" the new block groups because a new block group may be inserted in the block groups rbtree, which is being iterated by the rebuild process, before or after the current node where the rebuild process is currently at. Syzbot recently reported such case which produces a trace like the following: ------------[ cut here ]------------ BTRFS: Transaction aborted (error -17) WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 7626 at fs/btrfs/free-space-tree.c:1341 btrfs_rebuild_free_space_tree+0x470/0x54c fs/btrfs/free-space-tree.c:1341 Modules linked in: CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 7626 Comm: syz.2.25 Not tainted 6.15.0-rc7-syzkaller-00085-gd7fa1af5b33e-dirty #0 PREEMPT Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 05/07/2025 pstate: 60400005 (nZCv daif +PAN -UAO -TCO -DIT -SSBS BTYPE=--) pc : btrfs_rebuild_free_space_tree+0x470/0x54c fs/btrfs/free-space-tree.c:1341 lr : btrfs_rebuild_free_space_tree+0x470/0x54c fs/btrfs/free-space-tree.c:1341 sp : ffff80009c4f7740 x29: ffff80009c4f77b0 x28: ffff0000d4c3f400 x27: 0000000000000000 x26: dfff800000000000 x25: ffff70001389eee8 x24: 0000000000000003 x23: 1fffe000182b6e7b x22: 0000000000000000 x21: ffff0000c15b73d8 x20: 00000000ffffffef x19: ffff0000c15b7378 x18: 1fffe0003386f276 x17: ffff80008f31e000 x16: ffff80008adbe98c x15: 0000000000000001 x14: 1fffe0001b281550 x13: 0000000000000000 x12: 0000000000000000 x11: ffff60001b281551 x10: 0000000000000003 x9 : 1c8922000a902c00 x8 : 1c8922000a902c00 x7 : ffff800080485878 x6 : 0000000000000000 x5 : 0000000000000001 x4 : 0000000000000001 x3 : ffff80008047843c x2 : 0000000000000001 x1 : ffff80008b3ebc40 x0 : 0000000000000001 Call trace: btrfs_rebuild_free_space_tree+0x470/0x54c fs/btrfs/free-space-tree.c:1341 (P) btrfs_start_pre_rw_mount+0xa78/0xe10 fs/btrfs/disk-io.c:3074 btrfs_remount_rw fs/btrfs/super.c:1319 [inline] btrfs_reconfigure+0x828/0x2418 fs/btrfs/super.c:1543 reconfigure_super+0x1d4/0x6f0 fs/super.c:1083 do_remount fs/namespace.c:3365 [inline] path_mount+0xb34/0xde0 fs/namespace.c:4200 do_mount fs/namespace.c:4221 [inline] __do_sys_mount fs/namespace.c:4432 [inline] __se_sys_mount fs/namespace.c:4409 [inline] __arm64_sys_mount+0x3e8/0x468 fs/namespace.c:4409 __invoke_syscall arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:35 [inline] invoke_syscall+0x98/0x2b8 arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:49 el0_svc_common+0x130/0x23c arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:132 do_el0_svc+0x48/0x58 arch/arm64/kernel/syscall.c:151 el0_svc+0x58/0x17c arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:767 el0t_64_sync_handler+0x78/0x108 arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:786 el0t_64_sync+0x198/0x19c arch/arm64/kernel/entry.S:600 irq event stamp: 330 hardirqs last enabled at (329): [<ffff80008048590c>] raw_spin_rq_unlock_irq kernel/sched/sched.h:1525 [inline] hardirqs last enabled at (329): [<ffff80008048590c>] finish_lock_switch+0xb0/0x1c0 kernel/sched/core.c:5130 hardirqs last disabled at (330): [<ffff80008adb9e60>] el1_dbg+0x24/0x80 arch/arm64/kernel/entry-common.c:511 softirqs last enabled at (10): [<ffff8000801fbf10>] local_bh_enable+0 ---truncated---
Source
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
NVD status
Analyzed
Products
linux_kernel

Risk scores

CVSS 3.1

Type
Primary
Base score
5.5
Impact score
3.6
Exploitability score
1.8
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Severity
MEDIUM

Weaknesses

nvd@nist.gov
NVD-CWE-noinfo

Social media

Hype score
Not currently trending

Configurations

  1. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cgroup: Avoid iteration of dying tasks with zero refcount The commit 260fbcb92bbea ("cgroup: Move dying_tasks cleanup from cgroup_task_release() to cgroup_task_free()") extended the lifetime of tasks on the dying_tasks list. The iterators have provision to go through dying_tasks because of dying threadgroup leaders or explicit CSS_TASK_ITER_WITH_DEAD, however, it was expected that such tasks can obtain a new reference (that is possible before cgroup_task_release()/put_task_struct_rcu_user()). The tasks after cgroup_task_release() and before cgroup_task_free() are subject to race when they may or may not have ->usage count > 0. The race window is between css_task_iter_next() invocations when css_set_lock is released and we may arrive at a new ->task_pos. The iterator should not attempt to resurrect tasks whose ->usage count dropped to zero. (When that happens, __put_task_struct_rcu_cb() is already imminent and the returned task_struct would could be used after free.) As for the fix, we cannot simply check the signal->live count of a task on the dying list because that won't distinguish regular zombies waiting to be reaped from RCU remnant tasks that are going to be free'd. Therefore add an extra check to rule out ->usage==0 tasks from any iteration. The repeat: loop in css_task_iter_advance() doesn't consider ->usage count, so add a new loop to css_task_iter_next() to skip de-used tasks on the dying_list. Rough illustration of the possible race R (reader of cgroup.procs) T (thread) L (group leader) --------------------------------- -------------------------------- -------------------------------- L exits, signal->live > 0 cgroup_task_dead(L) css_set_skip_task_iters() // skips only cset->tasks list_add_tail(&L->cg_list, &cset->dying_tasks) css_task_iter_next() take css_set_lock css_task_iter_advance() leader && signal->live != 0 => it->task_pos = &L->cg_list release css_set_lock T exits --signal->live == 0 cgroup_task_dead(T) // css_set_lock release_task(T) cgroup_task_release(T) release_task(L) // zap_leader cgroup_task_release(L) put_task_struct_rcu_user(L) ...RCU... put_task_struct(L) L->usage = 0 /* L still on dying_tasks */ ...RCU... __put_task_struct(L) css_task_iter_next() // another iteration take css_set_lock it->task_pos = &L->cg_list get_task_struct(L) => addition on 0 drop css_set_lock cgroup_task_free(L) css_set_skip_task_iters() // dying skip comes too late free_task(L) cgroup_procs_show() task_pid_vnr(L)•CVE-2026-98163