btrfs: reject invalid reloc tree root keys with stack dump
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: reject invalid reloc tree root keys with stack dump [BUG] Syzbot reported a crash that an ASSERT() got triggered inside prepare_to_merge(). That ASSERT() makes sure the reloc tree is properly pointed back by its subvolume tree. [CAUSE] After more debugging output, it turns out we had an invalid reloc tree: BTRFS error (device loop1): reloc tree mismatch, root 8 has no reloc root, expect reloc root key (-8, 132, 8) gen 17 Note the above root key is (TREE_RELOC_OBJECTID, ROOT_ITEM, QUOTA_TREE_OBJECTID), meaning it's a reloc tree for quota tree. But reloc trees can only exist for subvolumes, as for non-subvolume trees, we just COW the involved tree block, no need to create a reloc tree since those tree blocks won't be shared with other trees. Only subvolumes tree can share tree blocks with other trees (thus they have BTRFS_ROOT_SHAREABLE flag). Thus this new debug output proves my previous assumption that corrupted on-disk data can trigger that ASSERT(). [FIX] Besides the dedicated fix and the graceful exit, also let tree-checker to check such root keys, to make sure reloc trees can only exist for subvolumes.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.2.19 to before 5.3; 5.3.4 to before 5.4 | 5.3, 5.4 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 5.4 and later | 5.15.127, 6.1.46, 6.4.11, 6.5 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.2.19 to before 5.3; 5.3.4 to before 5.4 Fixed in 5.3, 5.4 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.4 and later Fixed in 5.15.127, 6.1.46, 6.4.11, 6.5 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 6
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 5.2.19 to before 5.3; 5.3.4 to before 5.15.127; 5.16 to before 6.1.46; 6.2 to before 6.4.11 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc3 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc4 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* | 6.5 rc5 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 5.2.19 to before 5.3; 5.3.4 to before 5.15.127; 5.16 to before 6.1.46; 6.2 to before 6.4.11 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc3 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc4 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.5:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 6.5 rc5 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.3, 5.4
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.127, 6.1.46, 6.4.11, 6.5
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. 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 yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2023-53618
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-2244-8r8j-955v
References
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
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- 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-2023-53618 · CVE Program
- CVE-2023-53618 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-2244-8r8j-955v · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2023-53618 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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