LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2022-49898: btrfs: fix tree mod log mishandling of reallocated nodes

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix tree mod log mishandling of reallocated nodes We have been seeing the following panic in production kernel BUG at fs/btrfs/tree-mod-log.c:677! invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] SMP RIP: 0010:tree_mod_log_rewind+0x1b4/0x200 RSP: 0000:ffffc9002c02f890 EFLAGS: 00010293 RAX: 0000000000000003 RBX: ffff8882b448c700 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000008000 RSI: 00000000000000a7 RDI: ffff88877d831c00 RBP: 0000000000000002 R08: 000000000000009f R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000100c40 R12: 0000000000000001 R13: ffff8886c26d6a00 R14: ffff88829f5424f8 R15: ffff88877d831a00 FS: 00007fee1d80c780(0000) GS:ffff8890400c0000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007fee1963a020 CR3: 0000000434f33002 CR4: 00000000007706e0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: btrfs_get_old_root+0x12b/0x420 btrfs_search_old_slot+0x64/0x2f0 ? tree_mod_log_oldest_root+0x3d/0xf0 resolve_indirect_ref+0xfd/0x660 ? ulist_alloc+0x31/0x60 ? kmem_cache_alloc_trace+0x114/0x2c0 find_parent_nodes+0x97a/0x17e0 ? ulist_alloc+0x30/0x60 btrfs_find_all_roots_safe+0x97/0x150 iterate_extent_inodes+0x154/0x370 ? btrfs_search_path_in_tree+0x240/0x240 iterate_inodes_from_logical+0x98/0xd0 ? btrfs_search_path_in_tree+0x240/0x240 btrfs_ioctl_logical_to_ino+0xd9/0x180 btrfs_ioctl+0xe2/0x2ec0 ? __mod_memcg_lruvec_state+0x3d/0x280 ? do_sys_openat2+0x6d/0x140 ? kretprobe_dispatcher+0x47/0x70 ? kretprobe_rethook_handler+0x38/0x50 ? rethook_trampoline_handler+0x82/0x140 ? arch_rethook_trampoline_callback+0x3b/0x50 ? kmem_cache_free+0xfb/0x270 ? do_sys_openat2+0xd5/0x140 __x64_sys_ioctl+0x71/0xb0 do_syscall_64+0x2d/0x40 Which is this code in tree_mod_log_rewind() switch (tm->op) { case BTRFS_MOD_LOG_KEY_REMOVE_WHILE_FREEING: BUG_ON(tm->slot < n); This occurs because we replay the nodes in order that they happened, and when we do a REPLACE we will log a REMOVE_WHILE_FREEING for every slot, starting at 0. 'n' here is the number of items in this block, which in this case was 1, but we had 2 REMOVE_WHILE_FREEING operations. The actual root cause of this was that we were replaying operations for a block that shouldn't have been replayed. Consider the following sequence of events 1. We have an already modified root, and we do a btrfs_get_tree_mod_seq(). 2. We begin removing items from this root, triggering KEY_REPLACE for it's child slots. 3. We remove one of the 2 children this root node points to, thus triggering the root node promotion of the remaining child, and freeing this node. 4. We modify a new root, and re-allocate the above node to the root node of this other root. The tree mod log looks something like this logical 0 op KEY_REPLACE (slot 1) seq 2 logical 0 op KEY_REMOVE (slot 1) seq 3 logical 0 op KEY_REMOVE_WHILE_FREEING (slot 0) seq 4 logical 4096 op LOG_ROOT_REPLACE (old logical 0) seq 5 logical 8192 op KEY_REMOVE_WHILE_FREEING (slot 1) seq 6 logical 8192 op KEY_REMOVE_WHILE_FREEING (slot 0) seq 7 logical 0 op LOG_ROOT_REPLACE (old logical 8192) seq 8 >From here the bug is triggered by the following steps 1. Call btrfs_get_old_root() on the new_root. 2. We call tree_mod_log_oldest_root(btrfs_root_node(new_root)), which is currently logical 0. 3. tree_mod_log_oldest_root() calls tree_mod_log_search_oldest(), which gives us the KEY_REPLACE seq 2, and since that's not a LOG_ROOT_REPLACE we incorrectly believe that we don't have an old root, because we expect that the most recent change should be a LOG_ROOT_REPLACE. 4. Back in tree_mod_log_oldest_root() we don't have a LOG_ROOT_REPLACE, so we don't set old_root, we simply use our e ---truncated---

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2022-49898 is a Linux kernel Btrfs bug that can trigger a kernel panic when old Btrfs tree state is reconstructed incorrectly. The public record describes production crashes, not data theft or remote compromise. Business risk is mainly availability for systems using Btrfs on affected kernels.

Executive priority

Treat as a targeted reliability risk for Btrfs-based Linux infrastructure. Patch during normal kernel maintenance, escalating for production systems where a kernel panic would cause material outage. There is no source-supported evidence of active exploitation.

Technical view

Btrfs tree mod log replay can mishandle reallocated nodes and replay operations for a block that should not be replayed. During paths such as logical-to-inode ioctl handling, tree_mod_log_rewind can hit a BUG_ON and panic the kernel. The record lists Linux kernel versions as affected and references stable kernel fixes.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on Linux systems running affected kernel versions with Btrfs filesystems in use. Systems not using Btrfs are less likely to encounter this bug. The provided sources do not identify specific distributions, configurations, or default exploitability conditions.

Exploitation context

The source shows a crash path through Btrfs ioctl handling and states the panic was seen in production. KEV is false, and the bundle provides no evidence of active exploitation, public weaponization, remote exploitation, or privilege escalation.

Researcher notes

The evidence supports an availability-focused kernel panic caused by Btrfs tree mod log state confusion after node reallocation. Severity metadata, CVSS, CWE, and distribution-specific fixed versions are absent from the bundle, so validation should rely on vendor kernel changelogs and the referenced stable commits.

Mitigation direction

  • Update affected Linux kernels through vendor-supported packages.
  • Confirm updates include the referenced stable Btrfs fixes.
  • Prioritize Btrfs-backed production hosts with availability requirements.
  • Check Linux distribution advisories for backported fixes.
  • Limit untrusted local access to Btrfs administrative interfaces where practical.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux hosts using Btrfs filesystems.
  • Map kernel versions against vendor fixed releases or referenced commits.
  • Review crash logs for tree_mod_log_rewind or btrfs_get_old_root panics.
  • Confirm patched kernels are running after reboot.
  • Track vendor advisories for distribution-specific affected ranges.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
5

Public sources used

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

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2022-49898 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
4Source links

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinuxbd989ba359f2acb8bc5f5490e19010fc0a6f8356, bd989ba359f2acb8bc5f5490e19010fc0a6f8356, bd989ba359f2acb8bc5f5490e19010fc0a6f8356unaffected
LinuxLinux3.5, 0, 5.15.78, 6.0.8, 6.1affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.