CVE-2024-42266

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: make cow_file_range_inline() honor locked_page on error The btrfs buffered write path runs through __extent_writepage() which has some tricky return value handling for writepage_delalloc(). Specifically, when that returns 1, we exit, but for other return values we continue and end up calling btrfs_folio_end_all_writers(). If the folio has been unlocked (note that we check the PageLocked bit at the start of __extent_writepage()), this results in an assert panic like this one from syzbot: BTRFS: error (device loop0 state EAL) in free_log_tree:3267: errno=-5 IO failure BTRFS warning (device loop0 state EAL): Skipping commit of aborted transaction. BTRFS: error (device loop0 state EAL) in cleanup_transaction:2018: errno=-5 IO failure assertion failed: folio_test_locked(folio), in fs/btrfs/subpage.c:871 ------------[ cut here ]------------ kernel BUG at fs/btrfs/subpage.c:871! Oops: invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP KASAN PTI CPU: 1 PID: 5090 Comm: syz-executor225 Not tainted 6.10.0-syzkaller-05505-gb1bc554e009e #0 Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 06/27/2024 RIP: 0010:btrfs_folio_end_all_writers+0x55b/0x610 fs/btrfs/subpage.c:871 Code: e9 d3 fb ff ff e8 25 22 c2 fd 48 c7 c7 c0 3c 0e 8c 48 c7 c6 80 3d 0e 8c 48 c7 c2 60 3c 0e 8c b9 67 03 00 00 e8 66 47 ad 07 90 <0f> 0b e8 6e 45 b0 07 4c 89 ff be 08 00 00 00 e8 21 12 25 fe 4c 89 RSP: 0018:ffffc900033d72e0 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: 0000000000000045 RBX: 00fff0000000402c RCX: 663b7a08c50a0a00 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000080000000 RDI: 0000000000000000 RBP: ffffc900033d73b0 R08: ffffffff8176b98c R09: 1ffff9200067adfc R10: dffffc0000000000 R11: fffff5200067adfd R12: 0000000000000001 R13: dffffc0000000000 R14: 0000000000000000 R15: ffffea0001cbee80 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff8880b9500000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007f5f076012f8 CR3: 000000000e134000 CR4: 00000000003506f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 Call Trace: <TASK> __extent_writepage fs/btrfs/extent_io.c:1597 [inline] extent_write_cache_pages fs/btrfs/extent_io.c:2251 [inline] btrfs_writepages+0x14d7/0x2760 fs/btrfs/extent_io.c:2373 do_writepages+0x359/0x870 mm/page-writeback.c:2656 filemap_fdatawrite_wbc+0x125/0x180 mm/filemap.c:397 __filemap_fdatawrite_range mm/filemap.c:430 [inline] __filemap_fdatawrite mm/filemap.c:436 [inline] filemap_flush+0xdf/0x130 mm/filemap.c:463 btrfs_release_file+0x117/0x130 fs/btrfs/file.c:1547 __fput+0x24a/0x8a0 fs/file_table.c:422 task_work_run+0x24f/0x310 kernel/task_work.c:222 exit_task_work include/linux/task_work.h:40 [inline] do_exit+0xa2f/0x27f0 kernel/exit.c:877 do_group_exit+0x207/0x2c0 kernel/exit.c:1026 __do_sys_exit_group kernel/exit.c:1037 [inline] __se_sys_exit_group kernel/exit.c:1035 [inline] __x64_sys_exit_group+0x3f/0x40 kernel/exit.c:1035 x64_sys_call+0x2634/0x2640 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:232 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:52 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xf3/0x230 arch/x86/entry/common.c:83 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f RIP: 0033:0x7f5f075b70c9 Code: Unable to access opcode bytes at 0x7f5f075b709f. I was hitting the same issue by doing hundreds of accelerated runs of generic/475, which also hits IO errors by design. I instrumented that reproducer with bpftrace and found that the undesirable folio_unlock was coming from the following callstack: folio_unlock+5 __process_pages_contig+475 cow_file_range_inline.constprop.0+230 cow_file_range+803 btrfs_run_delalloc_range+566 writepage_delalloc+332 __extent_writepage # inlined in my stacktrace, but I added it here extent_write_cache_pages+622 Looking at the bisected-to pa ---truncated---

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2024-08-17
Last modified 2025-09-29
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Awaiting data

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10
Medium
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
High
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-476

CVE-2024-42266 is a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability

What is NULL Pointer Dereference?

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. Learn more on MITRE CWE

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2024-42266 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2024-42266?

    CVE-2024-42266 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a NULL Pointer Dereference flaw (CWE-476) . CVE-2024-42266 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2024-42266?

    CVE-2024-42266 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2024-42266?

    No patch is currently available for CVE-2024-42266. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.

  • Is CVE-2024-42266 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2024-42266 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

  • What is NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)?

    The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL, typically causing a crash. View CWE-476 on MITRE CWE →