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CVE-2026-74572
btrfs: zoned: fix deadlock between metadata writeback and transaction commit
Published 2026-08-15 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem fs/btrfs. Debian urgency: unimportant.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-74572 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | not affected | 6.1.190-1 | Nothing to do. bookworm never shipped the vulnerable code. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixedDSA-6466-1 · 2026-08-25 · text | 6.12.105-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6466-1 shipped the fix on 2026-08-25, in 6.12.105-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.1.8-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.8-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.1.8-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.8-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12 | fixedDLA-4788-1 · 2026-09-19 · text | 6.12.107-1~deb12u1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4788-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-19, in 6.12.107-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
When writing out metadata extent buffers in a zoned filesystem, btree_writepages() holds fs_info->zoned_meta_io_lock across the whole writeback loop, including the call to btrfs_check_meta_write_pointer() -> check_bg_is_active(). For the tree-log block group, check_bg_is_active() may fail to activate the zone and fall back to btrfs_zone_finish_one_bg() to free an active zone. That path waits for the running transaction to commit while still holding zoned_meta_io_lock, but the committer needs that same lock to write out the tree extents, so the two tasks deadlock: Task A (kworker, metadata writeback) Task B (fsstress, transaction commit) ------------------------------------ ------------------------------------- wb_workfn() btrfs_commit_transaction(T) btree_writepages() btrfs_write_and_wait_transaction() btrfs_zoned_meta_io_lock() btrfs_write_marked_extents() btrfs_check_meta_write_pointer() btree_writepages() check_bg_is_active() [treelog_bg] btrfs_zoned_meta_io_lock() btrfs_zone_finish_one_bg() <blocks on zoned_meta_io_lock, btrfs_zone_finish() held by Task A> do_zone_finish() btrfs_inc_block_group_ro() btrfs_wait_for_commit() <blocks waiting for commit of transaction T, done by Task B> The sibling branch in check_bg_is_active() already drops zoned_meta_io_lock around do_zone_finish() for this exact reason. Do the same in the tree-log branch: release the lock around btrfs_zone_finish_one_bg() and re-acquire it afterwards. The lock only protects fs_info->active_{meta,system}_bg, which this branch does not touch, and ctx->zoned_bg keeps a reference to the block group across the unlock, so nothing is lost while the lock is dropped. This hang occasionally reproduces with fstests generic/475 on a zoned btrfs filesystem.
Where it lives
The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.
fs/btrfs/zoned.c
- What this is
- BTRFS FILE SYSTEMMAINTAINERS section matched on fs/btrfs/ · linux-btrfs@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- btrfs
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_BLK_DEV_ZONED|CONFIG_BTRFS_FS' /boot/config-$(uname -r)Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.
lsmod | grep -w btrfsPrints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian builds this as a loadable module. Every release below compiles it as a module on every flavour, so whether the code is in the running kernel depends on whether that module is loaded.
- bookworm, trixie, forky, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12m
- m
- a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted
- Build switches
- CONFIG_BLK_DEV_ZONED, CONFIG_BTRFS_FS
- Reads as
- all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.
From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-08-15 (2 months ago)source
- CVSS
- 7.5 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- network (AV:N)source
- EPSS
- 0.35%, higher than 26.6% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- unimportantsource
- Subsystem
- fs/btrfs
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 6.6 | 6.6.151 | 18577e77c2c8 |
| 6.6 | 6.12.103 | c3320873e0c0 |
| 6.6 | 6.18.44 | deddd28fd83c |
| 6.6 | 7.1.8 | 75859a7cd77c |
| 6.6 | 7.2 | 1ebe51c29fa9 |
| 6.5.5 | 0 | 0 |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4788-1 | 2026-09-19 | bookworm 6.12.107-1~deb12u1 | tracker |
| DSA-6466-1 | 2026-08-25 | trixie 6.12.105-1 | tracker |
Why the CNA scored it this way
Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source
- AV:NAttack vector, network
- On storage servers exporting a zoned btrfs volume via nfsd or ksmbd, remote client write/fsync I/O reaches btrfs_commit_transaction() and btree_writepages() on the server kernel without any local syscall access.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The attacker controls both deadlock participants by driving concurrent metadata dirtying/writeback and transaction commits (reproduced with fsstress/fstests generic/475); the kworker writeback side is a direct result of attacker-generated btree dirty pages.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- Exploitation requires only network write access to an NFS or SMB export of the zoned btrfs filesystem; no local account, capability, or init-namespace privilege is needed when the export permits client writes.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- The deadlock is triggered entirely by the attacker's own concurrent write and sync I/O; no victim must mount a filesystem, open a file, or perform any interactive action.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The mutex deadlock freezes btrfs metadata I/O within the same host kernel security authority; it does not cross a VM, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary.
- C:NConfidentiality impact, none
- This is a lock-ordering deadlock with no memory corruption, out-of-bounds access, use-after-free, or information disclosure of any kind.
- I:NIntegrity impact, none
- The bug causes tasks to block indefinitely on locks but does not corrupt, modify, or overwrite any data or enable arbitrary writes or code execution.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- The circular wait between zoned_meta_io_lock and btrfs_wait_for_commit() permanently hangs metadata writeback and transaction commit, freezing all I/O on the affected zoned btrfs filesystem.