CVE-2026-74321
Published: August 18, 2026Last modified: August 18, 2026
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix invalid pointer dereference in __btrfs_run_delayed_refs() In the beginning of the loop, we try to obtain a locked delayed ref head, if 'locked_ref' is currently NULL, by calling btrfs_select_ref_head(), which can return an error pointer. If the error pointer is -EAGAIN we do a continue and go back to the beginning of the loop, which will not try again to call btrfs_select_ref_head() since 'locked_ref' is no longer NULL but it's ERR_PTR(-EAGAIN), and then we do: spin_lock(&locked_ref->lock); against a ERR_PTR(-EAGAIN) value, generating an invalid pointer dereference. Fix this by ensuring that 'locked_ref' is set to NULL when btrfs_select_ref_head() returns ERR_PTR(-EAGAIN) and incrementing 'count' as well, to prevent infinite looping. We do this by doing a goto to the bottom of the loop that already sets 'locked_ref' to NULL and does a cond_resched(), with an increment to 'count' right before the goto. These measures were in place before the refactoring in commit 0110a4c43451 ("btrfs: refactor __btrfs_run_delayed_refs loop") but were unintentionally lost afterwards.
Severity score breakdown
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Base score | 7.5 |
| Attack Vector | NETWORK |
| Attack complexity | LOW |
| Privileges required | NONE |
| User interaction | NONE |
| Scope | UNCHANGED |
| Confidentiality | NONE |
| Integrity impact | NONE |
| Availability impact | HIGH |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H |
Status
| Product | Release | Package | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpaquita Linux | 23 LTS | linux-lts | Fixed (6.1.182-r0) |
| 25 LTS | linux-lts | Fixed (6.12.103-r0) | |
| Stream | linux-lts | Fixed (6.18.43-r0) |
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/015dc4a1e0c2cba551d4620eba13d26d5081dc34
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3b15d02be05e74321adb1e0ae0cb4ccfba7c6cb1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/486f8298b6188ff11ef1f4be7f1d5d2e4d1b1fae
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/65770111a2d47c2b15e20b2ba92bb12198f289d4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9faa6b69ad73f03c7bde53e07d75a28822dc9a1a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a71143590ce9764dbcb47617647592ff8b4d48bc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba9fa2ff5981589bb49094d3358c339b37c47f53
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c372ca227e16bace86f1df1fa4ae6849e2fcfa28