Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2026-23249

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfs: check for deleted cursors when revalidating two btrees The free space and inode btree repair f…

Published Mar 18, 2026 · catalog updated Jun 17, 2026 · linux kernel

Check if you run it

No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-23249. EPSS is 0.15%. Act only if a listed version of linux kernel is installed.

Gaps on this record

  • No version range is stored. A customer cannot check an installed version against this record.
  • No vendor fix or required action is stored. Compare the linked advisory before you change production.
Severity
Medium5.5
Known exploitation
Not in CISA/VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
0.15%
Remediation
Advisory link
Affected products
cpe linux/linux kernel

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfs: check for deleted cursors when revalidating two btrees The free space and inode btree repair functions will rebuild both btrees at the same time, after which it needs to evaluate both btrees to confirm that the corruptions are gone. However, Jiaming Zhang ran syzbot and produced a crash in the second xchk_allocbt call. His root-cause analysis is as follows (with minor corrections): In xrep_revalidate_allocbt(), xchk_allocbt() is called twice (first for BNOBT, second for CNTBT). The cause of this issue is that the first call nullified the cursor required by the second call. Let's first enter xrep_revalidate_allocbt() via following call chain: xfs_file_ioctl() -> xfs_ioc_scrubv_metadata() -> xfs_scrub_metadata() -> -> xrep_revalidate_allocbt() xchk_allocbt() is called twice in this function. In the first call: /* Note that sc->sm->sm_type is XFS_SCRUB_TYPE_BNOPT now */ xchk_allocbt() -> xchk_btree() -> -> xchk_allocbt_rec() -> xchk_allocbt_xref() -> xchk_allocbt_xref_other() since sm_type is XFS_SCRUB_TYPE_BNOBT, pur is set to &sc->sa.cnt_cur. Kernel called xfs_alloc_get_rec() and returned -EFSCORRUPTED. Call chain: xfs_alloc_get_rec() -> xfs_btree_get_rec() -> xfs_btree_check_block() -> (XFS_IS_CORRUPT || XFS_TEST_ERROR), the former is false and the latter is true, return -EFSCORRUPTED. This should be caused by ioctl$XFS_IOC_ERROR_INJECTION I guess. Back to xchk_allocbt_xref_other(), after receiving -EFSCORRUPTED from xfs_alloc_get_rec(), kernel called xchk_should_check_xref(). In this function, *curpp (points to sc->sa.cnt_cur) is nullified. Back to xrep_revalidate_allocbt(), since sc->sa.cnt_cur has been nullified, it then triggered null-ptr-deref via xchk_allocbt() (second call) -> xchk_btree(). So. The bnobt revalidation failed on a cross-reference attempt, so we deleted the cntbt cursor, and then crashed when we tried to revalidate the cntbt. Therefore, check for a null cntbt cursor before

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  • cpe linux/linux kernelversion unspecified

How to fix CVE-2026-23249

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-23249. EPSS is 0.15%. Act only if a listed version of linux kernel is installed.

Which versions are affected?

Affected version ranges are not on this record. Compare the installed version with the linked vendor advisory before you change production.

What should an analyst verify?

CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference. EPSS 0.15%. There is no CISA KEV listing. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Mar 18, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Detected

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfs: check for deleted cursors when revalidating two btrees The free space and inode btree repair functions will rebuild both btrees at the same time, after which it needs to evaluate both btrees to confirm that the corruptions are gone. However, Jiaming Zhang ran syzbot and produced a crash in the second xchk_allocbt call. His ro

  2. Jun 17, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Updated

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfs: check for deleted cursors when revalidating two btrees The free space and inode btree repair functions will rebuild both btrees at the same time, after which it needs to evaluate both btrees to confirm that the corruptions are gone. However, Jiaming Zhang ran syzbot and produced a crash in the second xchk_allocbt call. His ro

Sources

  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2026-23249

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2026-23249

    30-day exploitation probability 0.1%

    first.org
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2026-23249

    In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfs: check for deleted cursors when revalidating two btrees The free space and inode btree repair functions will rebuild both btrees at the same time, after which it needs to evaluate both btrees to confirm tha

    nvd.nist.gov

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Oct 18, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.