In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: release path before initializing extent tree in btrfs_read_locked_inode() In btrfs_read_locked_inode() we are calling btrfs_init_file_extent_tree() while holding a path with a read locked leaf from a subvolume tree, and btrfs_init_file_extent_tree() may do a GFP_KERNEL allocation, which can trigger reclaim. This can create a circular lock dependency which lockdep warns about with the following splat: [6.1433] ====================================================== [6.1574] WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected [6.1583] 6.18.0+ #4 Tainted: G U [6.1591] ------------------------------------------------------ [6.1599] kswapd0/117 is trying to acquire lock: [6.1606] ffff8d9b6333c5b8 (&delayed_node->mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: __btrfs_release_delayed_node.part.0+0x39/0x2f0 [6.1625] but task is already holding lock: [6.1633] ffffffffa4ab8ce0 (fs_reclaim){+.+.}-{0:0}, at: balance_pgdat+0x195/0xc60 [6.1646] which lock already depends on the new lock. [6.1657] the existing dependency chain (in reverse order) is: [6.1667] -> #2 (fs_reclaim){+.+.}-{0:0}: [6.1677] fs_reclaim_acquire+0x9d/0xd0 [6.1685] __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x59/0x750 [6.1694] btrfs_init_file_extent_tree+0x90/0x100 [6.1702] btrfs_read_locked_inode+0xc3/0x6b0 [6.1710] btrfs_iget+0xbb/0xf0 [6.1716] btrfs_lookup_dentry+0x3c5/0x8e0 [6.1724] btrfs_lookup+0x12/0x30 [6.1731] lookup_open.isra.0+0x1aa/0x6a0 [6.1739] path_openat+0x5f7/0xc60 [6.1746] do_filp_open+0xd6/0x180 [6.1753] do_sys_openat2+0x8b/0xe0 [6.1760] __x64_sys_openat+0x54/0xa0 [6.1768] do_syscall_64+0x97/0x3e0 [6.1776] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e [6.1784] -> #1 (btrfs-tree-00){++++}-{3:3}: [6.1794] lock_release+0x127/0x2a0 [6.1801] up_read+0x1b/0x30 [6.1808] btrfs_search_slot+0x8e0/0xff0 [6.1817] btrfs_lookup_inode+0x52/0xd0 [6.1825] __btrfs_update_delayed_inode+0x73/0x520 [6.1833] btrfs_commit_inode_delayed_inode+0x11a/0x120 [6.1842] btrfs_log_inode+0x608/0x1aa0 [6.1849] btrfs_log_inode_parent+0x249/0xf80 [6.1857] btrfs_log_dentry_safe+0x3e/0x60 [6.1865] btrfs_sync_file+0x431/0x690 [6.1872] do_fsync+0x39/0x80 [6.1879] __x64_sys_fsync+0x13/0x20 [6.1887] do_syscall_64+0x97/0x3e0 [6.1894] entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e [6.1903] -> #0 (&delayed_node->mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}: [6.1913] __lock_acquire+0x15e9/0x2820 [6.1920] lock_acquire+0xc9/0x2d0 [6.1927] __mutex_lock+0xcc/0x10a0 [6.1934] __btrfs_release_delayed_node.part.0+0x39/0x2f0 [6.1944] btrfs_evict_inode+0x20b/0x4b0 [6.1952] evict+0x15a/0x2f0 [6.1958] prune_icache_sb+0x91/0xd0 [6.1966] super_cache_scan+0x150/0x1d0 [6.1974] do_shrink_slab+0x155/0x6f0 [6.1981] shrink_slab+0x48e/0x890 [6.1988] shrink_one+0x11a/0x1f0 [6.1995] shrink_node+0xbfd/0x1320 [6.1002] balance_pgdat+0x67f/0xc60 [6.1321] kswapd+0x1dc/0x3e0 [6.1643] kthread+0xff/0x240 [6.1965] ret_from_fork+0x223/0x280 [6.1287] ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 [6.1616] other info that might help us debug this: [6.1561] Chain exists of: &delayed_node->mutex --> btrfs-tree-00 --> fs_reclaim [6.1503] Possible unsafe locking scenario: [6.1110] CPU0 CPU1 [6.1411] ---- ---- [6.1707] lock(fs_reclaim); [6.1998] lock(btrfs-tree-00); [6.1291] lock(fs_reclaim); [6.1581] lock(&del ---truncated---
Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-23018 is rated Low Risk (23.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.
Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.
EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).
| # | Date | Old EPSS score | New EPSS score | Delta (New - Old) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026-01-31 | — | 0.02% | — |
Full EPSS history (1 record total)
CVSS metrics for this CVE.
| Base score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability | Impact | Score source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | 3.1 | MEDIUM |
|
1.8 | 3.6 | [email protected] |
| vendor | priority | summary | link |
|---|---|---|---|
debian
|
unimportant | CVE-2026-23018 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. | https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-23018 |
redhat
|
low | — | https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-23018 |
suse
|
medium | CVE-2026-23018 severity moderate: SUSE including 141 source package names (2.2.1-5.81:libblkid1-2.40.4-slfo.1.1_4.1, 2.2.1-5.81:libfdisk1-2.40.4-slfo.1.1_4.1, …), 472 product×package rows across 53 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/baremetal-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/base-os-container, … (53 product lines)): Fixed 227, Known Not Affected 220, First Fixed 25. | https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-23018/ |
ubuntu
|
medium | CVE-2026-23018 medium priority: Ubuntu including 157 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1256 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 871, ignored 165, not-affected 119, released 83, needed 18. | https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-23018 |
| Vendor | Product | Version | Raw CPE |
|---|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | >= 6.16.9, < 6.17 | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| linux | linux_kernel | >= 6.17.1, < 6.18.6 | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.17 | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:-:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.19 | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.19 | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.19 | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.19 | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.19 | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.19 | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.19 | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| linux | linux_kernel | 6.19 | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:* |