CVE-2021-46958: btrfs: fix race between transaction aborts and fsyncs leading to use-after-free
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
btrfs: fix race between transaction aborts and fsyncs leading to use-after-free
There is a race between a task aborting a transaction during a commit,
a task doing an fsync and the transaction kthread, which leads to an
use-after-free of the log root tree. When this happens, it results in a
stack trace like the following:
BTRFS info (device dm-0): forced readonly
BTRFS warning (device dm-0): Skipping commit of aborted transaction.
BTRFS: error (device dm-0) in cleanup_transaction:1958: errno=-5 IO failure
BTRFS warning (device dm-0): lost page write due to IO error on /dev/mapper/error-test (-5)
BTRFS warning (device dm-0): Skipping commit of aborted transaction.
BTRFS warning (device dm-0): direct IO failed ino 261 rw 0,0 sector 0xa4e8 len 4096 err no 10
BTRFS error (device dm-0): error writing primary super block to device 1
BTRFS warning (device dm-0): direct IO failed ino 261 rw 0,0 sector 0x12e000 len 4096 err no 10
BTRFS warning (device dm-0): direct IO failed ino 261 rw 0,0 sector 0x12e008 len 4096 err no 10
BTRFS warning (device dm-0): direct IO failed ino 261 rw 0,0 sector 0x12e010 len 4096 err no 10
BTRFS: error (device dm-0) in write_all_supers:4110: errno=-5 IO failure (1 errors while writing supers)
BTRFS: error (device dm-0) in btrfs_sync_log:3308: errno=-5 IO failure
general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0x6b6b6b6b6b6b6b68: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP DEBUG_PAGEALLOC PTI
CPU: 2 PID: 2458471 Comm: fsstress Not tainted 5.12.0-rc5-btrfs-next-84 #1
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.14.0-0-g155821a1990b-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014
RIP: 0010:__mutex_lock+0x139/0xa40
Code: c0 74 19 (...)
RSP: 0018:ffff9f18830d7b00 EFLAGS: 00010202
RAX: 6b6b6b6b6b6b6b68 RBX: 0000000000000001 RCX: 0000000000000002
RDX: ffffffffb9c54d13 RSI: 0000000000000000 RDI: 0000000000000000
RBP: ffff9f18830d7bc0 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000
R10: ffff9f18830d7be0 R11: 0000000000000001 R12: ffff8c6cd199c040
R13: ffff8c6c95821358 R14: 00000000fffffffb R15: ffff8c6cbcf01358
FS: 00007fa9140c2b80(0000) GS:ffff8c6fac600000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
CR2: 00007fa913d52000 CR3: 000000013d2b4003 CR4: 0000000000370ee0
DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000
DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400
Call Trace:
? __btrfs_handle_fs_error+0xde/0x146 [btrfs]
? btrfs_sync_log+0x7c1/0xf20 [btrfs]
? btrfs_sync_log+0x7c1/0xf20 [btrfs]
btrfs_sync_log+0x7c1/0xf20 [btrfs]
btrfs_sync_file+0x40c/0x580 [btrfs]
do_fsync+0x38/0x70
__x64_sys_fsync+0x10/0x20
do_syscall_64+0x33/0x80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x44/0xae
RIP: 0033:0x7fa9142a55c3
Code: 8b 15 09 (...)
RSP: 002b:00007fff26278d48 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 000000000000004a
RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 0000563c83cb4560 RCX: 00007fa9142a55c3
RDX: 00007fff26278cb0 RSI: 00007fff26278cb0 RDI: 0000000000000005
RBP: 0000000000000005 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: 00007fff26278d5c
R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000340
R13: 00007fff26278de0 R14: 00007fff26278d96 R15: 0000563c83ca57c0
Modules linked in: btrfs dm_zero dm_snapshot dm_thin_pool (...)
---[ end trace ee2f1b19327d791d ]---
The steps that lead to this crash are the following:
1) We are at transaction N;
2) We have two tasks with a transaction handle attached to transaction N.
Task A and Task B. Task B is doing an fsync;
3) Task B is at btrfs_sync_log(), and has saved fs_info->log_root_tree
into a local variable named 'log_root_tree' at the top of
btrfs_sync_log(). Task B is about to call write_all_supers(), but
before that...
4) Task A calls btrfs_commit_transaction(), and after it sets the
transaction state to TRANS_STATE_COMMIT_START, an error happens before
it w
---truncated---
Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-46958 is a Linux kernel Btrfs bug where a rare race can use freed memory during filesystem sync after a transaction abort. The provided evidence shows kernel crash behavior and forced read-only filesystem state, creating availability and reliability risk for systems using affected Btrfs kernels.
Executive priority
Treat this as a reliability and availability issue for Linux hosts using Btrfs. It is not shown as internet-exploited, but affected storage systems can crash or become read-only under failure conditions, so patch through normal kernel maintenance with higher priority for critical Btrfs deployments.
Technical view
The bug is a Btrfs race between transaction abort, fsync, and the transaction kthread. btrfs_sync_log can retain a log_root_tree pointer while transaction cleanup frees it, leading to use-after-free and a general protection fault. The sources identify stable kernel fixes for affected Linux versions.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to Linux systems using Btrfs on affected kernel versions. The source evidence centers on error and fsync paths, including I/O failure during transaction handling. Systems not using Btrfs are not shown as exposed by the provided sources.
Exploitation context
No provided source reports active exploitation, and KEV is false. The record describes a race-triggered kernel crash scenario, not a remote attack path. Exploitability beyond denial of service or filesystem disruption is not established in the supplied evidence.
Researcher notes
The source bundle lacks CVSS, CWE, CPEs, and detailed vendor advisories. Analysis should remain tied to the upstream Linux CNA description and stable commits. Avoid assuming remote reachability, privilege escalation, or exploit maturity without additional evidence.
Mitigation direction
Inventory Linux systems using Btrfs filesystems.
Compare running kernel versions against the affected and fixed versions in the CVE record.
Update to a kernel containing the referenced stable Btrfs fixes.
Check distribution advisories for backported fixes before relying only on upstream version numbers.
Prioritize systems where Btrfs backs critical workloads or storage-heavy services.
Validation and detection
Confirm whether each system has mounted Btrfs filesystems.
Record kernel version and distribution patch level.
Verify vendor changelogs include the referenced Btrfs transaction/fsync race fix.
Review kernel logs for Btrfs transaction aborts, forced read-only events, or general protection faults.
Run regression testing for critical Btrfs workloads after kernel updates.
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Potential ATT&CK relevance
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
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CVE-2021-46958 mapping review
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