CVE-2024-44963: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: do not BUG_ON() when freeing tree block after error When freeing a tree block, at b

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: do not BUG_ON() when freeing tree block after error When freeing a tree block, at b

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: do not BUG_ON() when freeing tree block after error When freeing a tree block, at btrfs_free_tree_block(), if we fail to create a delayed reference we don't deal with the error and just do a BUG_ON(). The error most likely to happen is -ENOMEM, and we have a comment mentioning that only -ENOMEM can happen, but that is not true, because in case qgroups are enabled any error returned from btrfs_qgroup_trace_extent_post() (can be -EUCLEAN or anything returned from btrfs_search_slot() for example) can be propagated back to btrfs_free_tree_block(). So stop doing a BUG_ON() and return the error to the callers and make them abort the transaction to prevent leaking space. Syzbot was triggering this, likely due to memory allocation failure injection.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.24%, higher than 15% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored November 9, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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