CVE-2023-54032

Host crash via unlocked Btrfs quota-root deletion

Published Dec 24, 2025 · Updated Dec 24, 2025

Race condition in Linux kernel Btrfs allows local users to crash the kernel by concurrently disabling quotas and changing roots. The quota-disable path removes the quota root from fs_info->dirty_cowonly_roots without holding trans_lock while another path can add a root to the same list. Reaching the race requires access to Btrfs quota and balance operations; a successful race produces corrupted list state and a kernel panic.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.20%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Race condition in Linux kernel Btrfs allows local users to crash the kernel by concurrently disabling quotas and changing roots. The quota-disable path removes the quota root from fs_info->dirty_cowonly_roots without holding trans_lock while another path can add a root to the same list. Reaching the race requires access to Btrfs quota and balance operations; a successful race produces corrupted list state and a kernel panic.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-54032
Published
Dec 24, 2025
Updated
Dec 24, 2025
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 24, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Dec 24, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=3.6
  2. Affected versionversion=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <365f318da7384cbac5de6b9c098914888a4d63e7
  3. Affected versionversion=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <679c34821ab7cd93c8ccb96fbf57fc44848a78bc
  4. Affected versionversion=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <6819bb0b8552dcc5f82ca606c8911b8c67e0628f
  5. Affected versionversion=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <6da229754099518cfa27cbfcd0fd042618785fad
  6. Affected versionversion=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <7ba0da31dd4a8fd24d416016c538a95a5664ff02
  7. Affected versionversion=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <a53d78d9a8551e72c46ded23e8b0a56e55d32032
  8. Affected versionversion=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <a5cdc4012efa808e07d073c11dc2f366b5394ad3
  9. Affected versionversion=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <b31cb5a6eb7a48b0a7bfdf06832b1fd5088d8c79

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=3.6; version=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <365f318da7384cbac5de6b9c098914888a4d63e7; version=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <679c34821ab7cd93c8ccb96fbf57fc44848a78bc; version=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <6819bb0b8552dcc5f82ca606c8911b8c67e0628f; version=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <6da229754099518cfa27cbfcd0fd042618785fad; version=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <7ba0da31dd4a8fd24d416016c538a95a5664ff02; version=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <a53d78d9a8551e72c46ded23e8b0a56e55d32032; version=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <a5cdc4012efa808e07d073c11dc2f366b5394ad3; version=bed92eae26ccf280d1a2168b7509447b56675a27 <b31cb5a6eb7a48b0a7bfdf06832b1fd5088d8c79

Published CVSS scores

5.5Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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