CVE-2026-74321

btrfs: fix invalid pointer dereference in __btrfs_run_delayed_refs()

HIGH
7.5
CVSS Score
Published: August 15, 2026 at 05:58 AM UTC
Updated: October 16, 2026 at 07:17 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorLinux Kernel

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Severity
HIGH7.5
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.7%
SSVC
No known exploit

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.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

0110a4c43451533de1ea1bbdc57b5d452f9d8b25110a4c43451533de1ea1bbdc57b5d452f9d8b254.20
Vendor states this is fixed in 015dc4a1e0c2cba551d4620eba13d26d5081dc34 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 3b15d02be05e74321adb1e0ae0cb4ccfba7c6cb1 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 486f8298b6188ff11ef1f4be7f1d5d2e4d1b1fae (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 65770111a2d47c2b15e20b2ba92bb12198f289d4 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 9faa6b69ad73f03c7bde53e07d75a28822dc9a1a (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in a71143590ce9764dbcb47617647592ff8b4d48bc (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in ba9fa2ff5981589bb49094d3358c339b37c47f53 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in c372ca227e16bace86f1df1fa4ae6849e2fcfa28 (fixed)
Vendor states this is fixed in 4.20 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.10.261 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 5.15.212 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.1.178 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.12.97 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.18.40 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 6.6.145 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.1.5 (unaffected)
Vendor states this is fixed in 7.2 (unaffected)

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet, and no fixed version or vendor advisory is recorded against it.

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitAutomatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

7.5HIGHLinux
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusRECEIVED

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