CVE-2025-40303: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: ensure no dirty metadata is written back for an fs with errors [BUG] During develop

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: ensure no dirty metadata is written back for an fs with errors [BUG] During develop

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: ensure no dirty metadata is written back for an fs with errors [BUG] During development of a minor feature (make sure all btrfs_bio::end_io() is called in task context), I noticed a crash in generic/388, where metadata writes triggered new works after btrfs_stop_all_workers(). It turns out that it can even happen without any code modification, just using RAID5 for metadata and the same workload from generic/388 is going to trigger the use-after-free. [CAUSE] If btrfs hits an error, the fs is marked as error, no new transaction is allowed thus metadata is in a frozen state. But there are some metadata modifications before that error, and they are still in the btree inode page cache. Since there will be no real transaction commit, all those dirty folios are just kept as is in the page cache, and they can not be invalidated by invalidate_inode_pages2() call inside close_ctree(), because they are dirty. And finally after btrfs_stop_all_workers(), we call iput() on btree inode, which triggers writeback of those dirty metadata. And if the fs is using RAID56 metadata, this will trigger RMW and queue new wor

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 0.14%, higher than 3% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

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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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