btrfs: do not start relocation until in progress drops are done
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: do not start relocation until in progress drops are done We hit a bug with a recovering relocation on mount for one of our file systems in production. I reproduced this locally by injecting errors into snapshot delete with balance running at the same time. This presented as an error while looking up an extent item WARNING: CPU: 5 PID: 1501 at fs/btrfs/extent-tree.c:866 lookup_inline_extent_backref+0x647/0x680 CPU: 5 PID: 1501 Comm: btrfs-balance Not tainted 5.16.0-rc8+ #8 RIP: 0010:lookup_inline_extent_backref+0x647/0x680 RSP: 0018:ffffae0a023ab960 EFLAGS: 00010202 RAX: 0000000000000001 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 000000000000000c RDI: 0000000000000000 RBP: ffff943fd2a39b60 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000001 R10: 0001434088152de0 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: 0000000001d05000 R13: ffff943fd2a39b60 R14: ffff943fdb96f2a0 R15: ffff9442fc923000 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff944e9eb40000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007f1157b1fca8 CR3: 000000010f092000 CR4: 0000000000350ee0 Call Trace: <TASK> insert_inline_extent_backref+0x46/0xd0 __btrfs_inc_extent_ref.isra.0+0x5f/0x200 ? btrfs_merge_delayed_refs+0x164/0x190 __btrfs_run_delayed_refs+0x561/0xfa0 ? btrfs_search_slot+0x7b4/0xb30 ? btrfs_update_root+0x1a9/0x2c0 btrfs_run_delayed_refs+0x73/0x1f0 ? btrfs_update_root+0x1a9/0x2c0 btrfs_commit_transaction+0x50/0xa50 ? btrfs_update_reloc_root+0x122/0x220 prepare_to_merge+0x29f/0x320 relocate_block_group+0x2b8/0x550 btrfs_relocate_block_group+0x1a6/0x350 btrfs_relocate_chunk+0x27/0xe0 btrfs_balance+0x777/0xe60 balance_kthread+0x35/0x50 ? btrfs_balance+0xe60/0xe60 kthread+0x16b/0x190 ? set_kthread_struct+0x40/0x40 ret_from_fork+0x22/0x30 </TASK> Normally snapshot deletion and relocation are excluded from running at the same time by the fs_info->cleaner_mutex. However if we had a pending balance waiting to get the ->cleaner_mutex, and a snapshot deletion was running, and then the box crashed, we would come up in a state where we have a half deleted snapshot. Again, in the normal case the snapshot deletion needs to complete before relocation can start, but in this case relocation could very well start before the snapshot deletion completes, as we simply add the root to the dead roots list and wait for the next time the cleaner runs to clean up the snapshot. Fix this by setting a bit on the fs_info if we have any DEAD_ROOT's that had a pending drop_progress key. If they do then we know we were in the middle of the drop operation and set a flag on the fs_info. Then balance can wait until this flag is cleared to start up again. If there are DEAD_ROOT's that don't have a drop_progress set then we're safe to start balance right away as we'll be properly protected by the cleaner_mutex.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 3.10 and later | 5.15.27, 5.16.13, 5.17 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 3.10 and later Fixed in 5.15.27, 5.16.13, 5.17 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 7
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 5.15.27; 5.16 to before 5.16.13 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.17:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.17 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.17:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.17 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.17:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.17 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.17:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.17 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.17:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.17 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.17:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.17 rc6 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 5.15.27; 5.16 to before 5.16.13 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.17:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.17 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.17:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.17 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.17:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.17 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.17:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.17 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.17:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.17 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:5.17:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.17 rc6 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.27, 5.16.13, 5.17
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2022-48901
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-hq36-r5x9-pmq2
References
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2022-48901 · CVE Program
- CVE-2022-48901 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-hq36-r5x9-pmq2 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2022-48901 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences