CVE Intelligence
Medium

CVE-2025-39779 — btrfs: subpage: keep TOWRITE tag until folio is cleaned

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: subpage: keep TOWRITE tag until folio is cleaned btrfs_subpage_set_writeback() calls folio_start_writeback() the first time a folio is written back, and it also clears the PAGECACHE_TAG_TOWRITE tag even if there are still dirty blocks in the folio. This can break ordering guarantees, such as those required by btrfs_wait_ordered_extents(). That ordering breakage leads to a real failure. For example, running generic/464 on a zoned setup will hit the following ASSERT. This happens because the broken ordering fails to flush existing dirty pages before the file size is truncated. assertion failed: !list_empty(&ordered->list) :: 0, in fs/btrfs/zoned.c:1899 ------------[ cut here ]------------ kernel BUG at fs/btrfs/zoned.c:1899! Oops: invalid opcode: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 1906169 Comm: kworker/u130:2 Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.16.0-rc6-BTRFS-ZNS+ #554 PREEMPT(voluntary) Hardware name: Supermicro Super Server/H12SSL-NT, BIOS 2.0 02/22/2021 Workqueue: btrfs-endio-write btrfs_work_helper [btrfs] RIP: 0010:btrfs_finish_ordered_zoned.cold+0x50/0x52 [btrfs] RSP: 0018:ffffc9002efdbd60 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: 000000000000004c RBX: ffff88811923c4e0 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: ffffffff827e38b1 RDI: 00000000ffffffff RBP: ffff88810005d000 R08: 00000000ffffdfff R09: ffffffff831051c8 R10: ffffffff83055220 R11: 0000000000000000 R12: ffff8881c2458c00 R13: ffff88811923c540 R14: ffff88811923c5e8 R15: ffff8881c1bd9680 FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88a04acd0000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 00007f907c7a918c CR3: 0000000004024000 CR4: 0000000000350ef0 Call Trace: <TASK> ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f btrfs_finish_ordered_io+0x4a/0x60 [btrfs] btrfs_work_helper+0xf9/0x490 [btrfs] process_one_work+0x204/0x590 ? srso_return_thunk+0x5/0x5f worker_thread+0x1d6/0x3d0 ? __pfx_worker_thread+0x10/0x10 kthread+0x118/0x230 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork+0x205/0x260 ? __pfx_kthread+0x10/0x10 ret_from_fork_asm+0x1a/0x30 </TASK> Consider process A calling writepages() with WB_SYNC_NONE. In zoned mode or for compressed writes, it locks several folios for delalloc and starts writing them out. Let's call the last locked folio folio X. Suppose the write range only partially covers folio X, leaving some pages dirty. Process A calls btrfs_subpage_set_writeback() when building a bio. This function call clears the TOWRITE tag of folio X, whose size = 8K and the block size = 4K. It is following state. 0 4K 8K |/////|/////| (flag: DIRTY, tag: DIRTY) <-----> Process A will write this range. Now suppose process B concurrently calls writepages() with WB_SYNC_ALL. It calls tag_pages_for_writeback() to tag dirty folios with PAGECACHE_TAG_TOWRITE. Since folio X is still dirty, it gets tagged. Then, B collects tagged folios using filemap_get_folios_tag() and must wait for folio X to be written before returning from writepages(). 0 4K 8K |/////|/////| (flag: DIRTY, tag: DIRTY|TOWRITE) However, between tagging and collecting, process A may call btrfs_subpage_set_writeback() and clear folio X's TOWRITE tag. 0 4K 8K | |/////| (flag: DIRTY|WRITEBACK, tag: DIRTY) As a result, process B won't see folio X in its batch, and returns without waiting for it. This breaks the WB_SYNC_ALL ordering requirement. Fix this by using btrfs_subpage_set_writeback_keepwrite(), which retains the TOWRITE tag. We now manually clear the tag only after the folio becomes clean, via the xas operation.

Published Sep 11, 2025 · Updated Oct 19, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: Linux

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.2% (30-day exploitation probability)+1
  • Technical severity (medium)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.15%
ahead of 4% of scored CVEs · Oct 19, 2026
Affects
Linux
Linux and 1 more
CVSS base
5.5
Medium · 4 source(s)
Prioritization reference: 7.8 provisional

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Linux Linux, Linux Linux Kernel).
  2. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Linux Linux ≥ 3470da3b7d87fde4b9729d4e29c2dc074cd59c10 and < 3d61136945a7008fc90d013c3c67007ce0c96131≥ 3470da3b7d87fde4b9729d4e29c2dc074cd59c10 and < bce7a5c77a1e7a759e227b7713dde18c52da4759≥ 3470da3b7d87fde4b9729d4e29c2dc074cd59c10 and < b1511360c8ac882b0c52caa263620538e8d73220version 5.13 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Linux Linux Kernel ≥ 5.13 and < 6.12.44≥ 6.13 and < 6.16.4version 6.17-rc1version 6.17-rc2 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High 1.8 5.9 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High — — Linux via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
5.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium 1.8 3.6 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
5.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)
Scoring entities (NIST, CNA, ADP) score independently; each score is shown with its origin. For prioritization we use 7.8 (416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database) as a conservative provisional reference — not a definitive official score.

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · linux/linux
    Oct 19, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 19, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 19, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Affected products added · linux/linux kernel
    Oct 19, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 5.5
    Oct 19, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Modified
    Oct 19, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 19, 2026 · Alertas do Telegram
  • 2025
  • CVE published
    Sep 11, 2025 · Linux

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 19, 2026 – Oct 19, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 19, 2026 – Oct 19, 2026

References

5 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Linux
every CVE for this vendor

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-98866 sched/cache: Introduce task_struct->sched_cache_grp to fix UAF 1d
  • CVE-2026-98867 dm-pcache: bound the logical key offset from persistent memory 1d
  • CVE-2026-98868 dm-pcache: reject a kset that overruns its segment 1d
  • CVE-2026-98856 kprobes: Skip disarmed probes when checking optkprobe overlap 1d
  • CVE-2026-98857 ipvs: bound LBLCR and LBLC cache growth 1d
  • CVE-2026-98858 io_uring: fix task_work add use-after-free with SQPOLL 1d

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No CISA SSVC assessment.
  • No CWE classification.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2025-39779 is "btrfs: subpage: keep TOWRITE tag until folio is cleaned", rated Medium. It affects Linux (Linux); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.15% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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