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CVE Record

CVE-2023-53865: btrfs: fix warning when putting transaction with qgroups enabled after abort

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix warning when putting transaction with qgroups enabled after abort If we have a transaction abort with qgroups enabled we get a warning triggered when doing the final put on the transaction, like this: [552.6789] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [552.6815] WARNING: CPU: 4 PID: 81745 at fs/btrfs/transaction.c:144 btrfs_put_transaction+0x123/0x130 [btrfs] [552.6817] Modules linked in: btrfs blake2b_generic xor (...) [552.6819] CPU: 4 PID: 81745 Comm: btrfs-transacti Tainted: G W 6.4.0-rc6-btrfs-next-134+ #1 [552.6819] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.16.2-0-gea1b7a073390-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 [552.6819] RIP: 0010:btrfs_put_transaction+0x123/0x130 [btrfs] [552.6821] Code: bd a0 01 00 (...) [552.6821] RSP: 0018:ffffa168c0527e28 EFLAGS: 00010286 [552.6821] RAX: ffff936042caed00 RBX: ffff93604a3eb448 RCX: 0000000000000000 [552.6821] RDX: ffff93606421b028 RSI: ffffffff92ff0878 RDI: ffff93606421b010 [552.6821] RBP: ffff93606421b000 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: ffffa168c0d07c20 [552.6821] R10: 0000000000000000 R11: ffff93608dc52950 R12: ffffa168c0527e70 [552.6821] R13: ffff93606421b000 R14: ffff93604a3eb420 R15: ffff93606421b028 [552.6821] FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff93675fb00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [552.6821] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [552.6821] CR2: 0000558ad262b000 CR3: 000000014feda005 CR4: 0000000000370ee0 [552.6822] DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 [552.6822] DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 [552.6822] Call Trace: [552.6822] <TASK> [552.6822] ? __warn+0x80/0x130 [552.6822] ? btrfs_put_transaction+0x123/0x130 [btrfs] [552.6824] ? report_bug+0x1f4/0x200 [552.6824] ? handle_bug+0x42/0x70 [552.6824] ? exc_invalid_op+0x14/0x70 [552.6824] ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x16/0x20 [552.6824] ? btrfs_put_transaction+0x123/0x130 [btrfs] [552.6826] btrfs_cleanup_transaction+0xe7/0x5e0 [btrfs] [552.6828] ? _raw_spin_unlock_irqrestore+0x23/0x40 [552.6828] ? try_to_wake_up+0x94/0x5e0 [552.6828] ? __pfx_process_timeout+0x10/0x10 [552.6828] transaction_kthread+0x103/0x1d0 [btrfs] [552.6830] ? __pfx_transaction_kthread+0x10/0x10 [btrfs] [552.6832] kthread+0xee/0x120 [552.6832] ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 [552.6832] ret_from_fork+0x29/0x50 [552.6832] </TASK> [552.6832] ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- This corresponds to this line of code: void btrfs_put_transaction(struct btrfs_transaction *transaction) { (...) WARN_ON(!RB_EMPTY_ROOT( &transaction->delayed_refs.dirty_extent_root)); (...) } The warning happens because btrfs_qgroup_destroy_extent_records(), called in the transaction abort path, we free all entries from the rbtree "dirty_extent_root" with rbtree_postorder_for_each_entry_safe(), but we don't actually empty the rbtree - it's still pointing to nodes that were freed. So set the rbtree's root node to NULL to avoid this warning (assign RB_ROOT).

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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysisunknown

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This Linux kernel Btrfs issue can trigger a kernel warning after a transaction abort when quota groups are enabled. The source describes stale tree metadata pointing at freed entries, then a warning during cleanup. The provided evidence does not show data theft, privilege escalation, or confirmed service impact.

Executive priority

Treat as a targeted Linux reliability concern until vendor severity guidance says otherwise. Prioritize hosts running Btrfs with qgroups enabled, but the provided evidence does not support emergency response.

Technical view

In Btrfs transaction abort cleanup with qgroups enabled, btrfs_qgroup_destroy_extent_records() frees dirty_extent_root entries but leaves the rbtree root non-empty. Later btrfs_put_transaction() checks dirty_extent_root and triggers WARN_ON. The fix resets the rbtree root to RB_ROOT after destroying records.

Likely exposure

Exposure appears limited to Linux systems using Btrfs with qgroups enabled and affected kernel builds. The bundle lists Linux kernel affected entries including 5.4.251, 5.10.188, 5.15.123, 6.1.42, 6.4.7, and 6.5.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not cite active exploitation, public exploit use, KEV listing, CVSS, or CWE mapping. It describes a cleanup warning after an abort path, not an attacker-controlled exploit path.

Researcher notes

Evidence is narrow: the CVE text explains a stale rbtree root after record destruction and a WARN_ON during transaction final put. Impact beyond warning is not established in the supplied sources.

Mitigation direction

  • Check distribution or kernel vendor advisories for a fixed kernel package.
  • Prioritize patching systems using Btrfs with qgroups enabled.
  • Review the listed stable kernel commits for applicable backports.
  • If patching is delayed, monitor affected hosts for Btrfs transaction abort warnings.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux hosts using Btrfs filesystems.
  • Check whether Btrfs qgroups are enabled on those filesystems.
  • Map running kernel versions against vendor-fixed packages or listed stable commits.
  • Review kernel logs for matching btrfs_put_transaction warnings after aborts.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
8

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

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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
7Source 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

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Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux40ea30638d20c92b44107247415842b72c460459, 81f7eb00ff5bb8326e82503a32809421d14abb8a, 81f7eb00ff5bb8326e82503a32809421d14abb8a, 81f7eb00ff5bb8326e82503a32809421d14abb8a, 81f7eb00ff5bb8326e82503a32809421d14abb8a, 81f7eb00ff5bb8326e82503a32809421d14abb8a, 4e2e49d4211db43e0ec932579dab6a969e7e8df1, 5.4.23, 5.5.7unaffected
LinuxLinux5.6, 0, 5.4.251, 5.10.188, 5.15.123, 6.1.42, 6.4.7, 6.5affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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