In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
btrfs: don't drop extent_map for free space inode on write error
While running the CI for an unrelated change I hit the following panic
with generic/648 on btrfs_holes_spacecache.
assertion failed: block_start != EXTENT_MAP_HOLE, in fs/btrfs/extent_io.c:1385
------------[ cut here ]------------
kernel BUG at fs/btrfs/extent_io.c:1385!
invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] PREEMPT SMP NOPTI
CPU: 1 PID: 2695096 Comm: fsstress Kdump: loaded Tainted: G W 6.8.0-rc2+ #1
RIP: 0010:__extent_writepage_io.constprop.0+0x4c1/0x5c0
Call Trace:
extent_write_cache_pages+0x2ac/0x8f0
extent_writepages+0x87/0x110
do_writepages+0xd5/0x1f0
filemap_fdatawrite_wbc+0x63/0x90
__filemap_fdatawrite_range+0x5c/0x80
btrfs_fdatawrite_range+0x1f/0x50
btrfs_write_out_cache+0x507/0x560
btrfs_write_dirty_block_groups+0x32a/0x420
commit_cowonly_roots+0x21b/0x290
btrfs_commit_transaction+0x813/0x1360
btrfs_sync_file+0x51a/0x640
__x64_sys_fdatasync+0x52/0x90
do_syscall_64+0x9c/0x190
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0x76
This happens because we fail to write out the free space cache in one
instance, come back around and attempt to write it again. However on
the second pass through we go to call btrfs_get_extent() on the inode to
get the extent mapping. Because this is a new block group, and with the
free space inode we always search the commit root to avoid deadlocking
with the tree, we find nothing and return a EXTENT_MAP_HOLE for the
requested range.
This happens because the first time we try to write the space cache out
we hit an error, and on an error we drop the extent mapping. This is
normal for normal files, but the free space cache inode is special. We
always expect the extent map to be correct. Thus the second time
through we end up with a bogus extent map.
Since we're deprecating this feature, the most straightforward way to
fix this is to simply skip dropping the extent map range for this failed
range.
I shortened the test by using error injection to stress the area to make
it easier to reproduce. With this patch in place we no longer panic
with my error injection test.
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (5.5): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 5.5 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 5.5 MEDIUMCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 0.3% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-25). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at every mission impact level.CISA BOD 26-04: 60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at every mission impact level.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it