btrfs: fix invalid pointer dereference in __btrfs_run_delayed_refs()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- 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 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
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.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97, 6.18.40, 7.1.5, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-74321
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-frrx-chj7-rchf
- 2026-10-16 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-16 Priority changed: LOW → MEDIUM
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c372ca227e16bace86f1df1fa4ae6849e2fcfa28
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a71143590ce9764dbcb47617647592ff8b4d48bc
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/65770111a2d47c2b15e20b2ba92bb12198f289d4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/015dc4a1e0c2cba551d4620eba13d26d5081dc34
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ba9fa2ff5981589bb49094d3358c339b37c47f53
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3b15d02be05e74321adb1e0ae0cb4ccfba7c6cb1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9faa6b69ad73f03c7bde53e07d75a28822dc9a1a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/486f8298b6188ff11ef1f4be7f1d5d2e4d1b1fae
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Sources
- CVE-2026-74321 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-74321 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-frrx-chj7-rchf · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-74321 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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