btrfs: avoid potential out-of-bounds in btrfs_encode_fh()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: avoid potential out-of-bounds in btrfs_encode_fh() The function btrfs_encode_fh() does not properly account for the three cases it handles. Before writing to the file handle (fh), the function only returns to the user BTRFS_FID_SIZE_NON_CONNECTABLE (5 dwords, 20 bytes) or BTRFS_FID_SIZE_CONNECTABLE (8 dwords, 32 bytes). However, when a parent exists and the root ID of the parent and the inode are different, the function writes BTRFS_FID_SIZE_CONNECTABLE_ROOT (10 dwords, 40 bytes). If *max_len is not large enough, this write goes out of bounds because BTRFS_FID_SIZE_CONNECTABLE_ROOT is greater than BTRFS_FID_SIZE_CONNECTABLE originally returned. This results in an 8-byte out-of-bounds write at fid->parent_root_objectid = parent_root_id. A previous attempt to fix this issue was made but was lost. https://lore.kernel.org/all/[email protected]/ Although this issue does not seem to be easily triggerable, it is a potential memory corruption bug that should be fixed. This patch resolves the issue by ensuring the function returns the appropriate size for all three cases and validates that *max_len is large enough before writing any data.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
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 | 2.6.29 and later | 5.4.301, 5.10.246, 5.15.195, 6.1.157, 6.6.113, 6.12.54, 6.17.4, 6.18 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.29 and later Fixed in 5.4.301, 5.10.246, 5.15.195, 6.1.157, 6.6.113, 6.12.54, 6.17.4, 6.18 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.4.301, 5.10.246, 5.15.195, 6.1.157, 6.6.113, 6.12.54, 6.17.4, 6.18
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-2025-40205
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-7v4m-qg52-mxg3
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/60de2f55d2aca53e81b4ef2a67d7cc9e1eb677db
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/742b44342204e5dfe3926433823623c1a0c581df
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d3a9a8e1275eb9b87f006b5562a287aea3f6885f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d91f6626133698362bba08fbc04bd72c466806d3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0276c8582488022f057b4cec21975a5edf079f47
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/361d67276eb8ec6be8f27f4ad6c6090459438fee
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/43143776b0a7604d873d1a6f3e552a00aa930224
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dff4f9ff5d7f289e4545cc936362e01ed3252742
More Linux 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-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel 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
Sources
- CVE-2025-40205 · CVE Program
- CVE-2025-40205 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-7v4m-qg52-mxg3 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2025-40205 · 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