Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

btrfs: fix xattr replace when multiple xattrs are packed in the same item

If we have a btrfs_dir_item item that packs multiple xattrs and then we
replace the value of one of them (with the setxattr(2) family of syscalls)
with another value of a different size, we end up not having a fully
initialized btrfs_dir_item, resulting in a corruption that the tree
checker will detect at extent buffer writeback time.

This is because in btrfs_setxattr() when we find a btrfs_dir_item with
multiple xattrs (due to the crc32c hash of their name being the same)
we delete one of the xattr items (btrfs_dir_item) and then insert a new
one, but the deletion and insertion results in shifting existing data in
the leaf and therefore when the new value of a xattr has a different size,
the new btrfs_dir_item is placed in a leaf section that was not
initialized and we only copy the value's data and set the value's length
in the new btrfs_dir_item, without setting the name, the name's length,
the key (which must be all zeroes for xattrs), flags (BTRFS_FT_XATTR) and
transaction ID.

The following script reproduces the issue:

$ cat test.sh
#!/bin/bash

DEV=/dev/sdi
MNT=/mnt/sdi

mkfs.btrfs -f $DEV
mount $DEV $MNT

touch $MNT/testfile

# Add two xattrs that, on btrfs, have the same hash (crc32c) for their
# name and therefore are packed into the same btrfs_dir_item.
setfattr -n user.foobar -v 123 $MNT/testfile
setfattr -n user.WvG1c1Td -v qwerty $MNT/testfile

# Verify the xattrs are present.
echo "xattrs before:"
getfattr --absolute-names --dump $MNT/testfile

# Now replace the value of the foobar xattr with a significantly larger
# value.
setfattr -n user.foobar -v abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz $MNT/testfile

# Check the xattrs have the expected values.
echo "xattrs after:"
getfattr --absolute-names --dump $MNT/testfile

umount $MNT

Running it:

$ ./test.sh
(...)
xattrs before:
# file: /mnt/sdi/testfile
user.WvG1c1Td="qwerty"
user.foobar="123"

xattrs after:
# file: /mnt/sdi/testfile
user.WvG1c1Td="qwerty"

So the "user.foobar" xattr is missing and there was a transaction abort
when unmounting the fs with the following traces in dmesg:

$ dmesg
[869800.159271] BTRFS warning (device sdi): access to eb bytenr 30474240 len 16384 out of range start 16015 len 25964
[869800.159293] ------------[ cut here ]------------
[869800.159296] WARNING: fs/btrfs/extent_io.c:4408 at report_eb_range+0x44/0x60 [btrfs], CPU#8: getfattr/2605179
[869800.168961] Modules linked in: btrfs dm_thin_pool (...)
[869800.190527] CPU: 8 UID: 0 PID: 2605179 Comm: getfattr Tainted: G W 7.3.0-rc3-btrfs-next-244+ #1 PREEMPT(full)
[869800.193726] Tainted: [W]=WARN
[869800.194502] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.16.2-0-gea1b7a073390-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014
[869800.197576] RIP: 0010:report_eb_range+0x44/0x60 [btrfs]
[869800.198985] Code: 48 8b 7b 18 (...)
[869800.203531] RSP: 0018:ffffce4541937d58 EFLAGS: 00010246
[869800.204609] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff8dde054b8738 RCX: 0000000000000000
[869800.206137] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: ffffffffc04c92a0
[869800.207645] RBP: 0000000000003e8f R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 3fffffffffefffff
[869800.226175] R10: ffffce4541937a88 R11: 0000000000000003 R12: 000000000000656c
[869800.227594] R13: ffff8dde14be800f R14: 000000000000656c R15: 0000000000000069
[869800.229097] FS: 00007f59023bb780(0000) GS:ffff8de5788ed000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
[869800.231137] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
[869800.232321] CR2: 0000558dc45e6a78 CR3: 0000000765b16004 CR4: 0000000000370ef0
[869800.233783] Call Trace:
[869800.234330] <TASK>
[869800.234791] read_extent_buffer+0x4d/0x100 [btrfs]
[869800.235898] btrfs_listxattr+0x199/0x240 [btrfs]
[869800.236912] vfs_listxattr+0x51/0
---truncated---
Published: 2026-10-23
Score: n/a
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
AI Analysis

Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record.

Additional remediation guidance may be available on OpenCVE Cloud.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 18:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-665

Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix xattr replace when multiple xattrs are packed in the same item If we have a btrfs_dir_item item that packs multiple xattrs and then we replace the value of one of them (with the setxattr(2) family of syscalls) with another value of a different size, we end up not having a fully initialized btrfs_dir_item, resulting in a corruption that the tree checker will detect at extent buffer writeback time. This is because in btrfs_setxattr() when we find a btrfs_dir_item with multiple xattrs (due to the crc32c hash of their name being the same) we delete one of the xattr items (btrfs_dir_item) and then insert a new one, but the deletion and insertion results in shifting existing data in the leaf and therefore when the new value of a xattr has a different size, the new btrfs_dir_item is placed in a leaf section that was not initialized and we only copy the value's data and set the value's length in the new btrfs_dir_item, without setting the name, the name's length, the key (which must be all zeroes for xattrs), flags (BTRFS_FT_XATTR) and transaction ID. The following script reproduces the issue: $ cat test.sh #!/bin/bash DEV=/dev/sdi MNT=/mnt/sdi mkfs.btrfs -f $DEV mount $DEV $MNT touch $MNT/testfile # Add two xattrs that, on btrfs, have the same hash (crc32c) for their # name and therefore are packed into the same btrfs_dir_item. setfattr -n user.foobar -v 123 $MNT/testfile setfattr -n user.WvG1c1Td -v qwerty $MNT/testfile # Verify the xattrs are present. echo "xattrs before:" getfattr --absolute-names --dump $MNT/testfile # Now replace the value of the foobar xattr with a significantly larger # value. setfattr -n user.foobar -v abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz $MNT/testfile # Check the xattrs have the expected values. echo "xattrs after:" getfattr --absolute-names --dump $MNT/testfile umount $MNT Running it: $ ./test.sh (...) xattrs before: # file: /mnt/sdi/testfile user.WvG1c1Td="qwerty" user.foobar="123" xattrs after: # file: /mnt/sdi/testfile user.WvG1c1Td="qwerty" So the "user.foobar" xattr is missing and there was a transaction abort when unmounting the fs with the following traces in dmesg: $ dmesg [869800.159271] BTRFS warning (device sdi): access to eb bytenr 30474240 len 16384 out of range start 16015 len 25964 [869800.159293] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [869800.159296] WARNING: fs/btrfs/extent_io.c:4408 at report_eb_range+0x44/0x60 [btrfs], CPU#8: getfattr/2605179 [869800.168961] Modules linked in: btrfs dm_thin_pool (...) [869800.190527] CPU: 8 UID: 0 PID: 2605179 Comm: getfattr Tainted: G W 7.3.0-rc3-btrfs-next-244+ #1 PREEMPT(full) [869800.193726] Tainted: [W]=WARN [869800.194502] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.16.2-0-gea1b7a073390-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 [869800.197576] RIP: 0010:report_eb_range+0x44/0x60 [btrfs] [869800.198985] Code: 48 8b 7b 18 (...) [869800.203531] RSP: 0018:ffffce4541937d58 EFLAGS: 00010246 [869800.204609] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff8dde054b8738 RCX: 0000000000000000 [869800.206137] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: ffffffffc04c92a0 [869800.207645] RBP: 0000000000003e8f R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 3fffffffffefffff [869800.226175] R10: ffffce4541937a88 R11: 0000000000000003 R12: 000000000000656c [869800.227594] R13: ffff8dde14be800f R14: 000000000000656c R15: 0000000000000069 [869800.229097] FS: 00007f59023bb780(0000) GS:ffff8de5788ed000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [869800.231137] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [869800.232321] CR2: 0000558dc45e6a78 CR3: 0000000765b16004 CR4: 0000000000370ef0 [869800.233783] Call Trace: [869800.234330] <TASK> [869800.234791] read_extent_buffer+0x4d/0x100 [btrfs] [869800.235898] btrfs_listxattr+0x199/0x240 [btrfs] [869800.236912] vfs_listxattr+0x51/0 ---truncated---
Title btrfs: fix xattr replace when multiple xattrs are packed in the same item
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Subscriptions

Linux Linux Kernel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-10-23T12:19:27.679Z

Reserved: 2026-09-25T10:25:14.382Z

Link: CVE-2026-98959

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-10-23T13:17:17.233

Modified: 2026-10-23T13:17:17.233

Link: CVE-2026-98959

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-10-23T17:45:17Z

Weaknesses