CVE-2025-39884

btrfs: fix subvolume deletion lockup caused by inodes xarray race

Published Sep 23, 2025 CVSS 3.1 · 4.7 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

btrfs: fix subvolume deletion lockup caused by inodes xarray race

There is a race condition between inode eviction and inode caching that
can cause a live struct btrfs_inode to be missing from the root->inodes
xarray. Specifically, there is a window during evict() between the inode
being unhashed and deleted from the xarray. If btrfs_iget() is called
for the same inode in that window, it will be recreated and inserted
into the xarray, but then eviction will delete the new entry, leaving
nothing in the xarray:

Thread 1 Thread 2
---------------------------------------------------------------
evict()
remove_inode_hash()
btrfs_iget_path()
btrfs_iget_locked()
btrfs_read_locked_inode()
btrfs_add_inode_to_root()
destroy_inode()
btrfs_destroy_inode()
btrfs_del_inode_from_root()
__xa_erase

In turn, this can cause issues for subvolume deletion. Specifically, if
an inode is in this lost state, and all other inodes are evicted, then
btrfs_del_inode_from_root() will call btrfs_add_dead_root() prematurely.
If the lost inode has a delayed_node attached to it, then when
btrfs_clean_one_deleted_snapshot() calls btrfs_kill_all_delayed_nodes(),
it will loop forever because the delayed_nodes xarray will never become
empty (unless memory pressure forces the inode out). We saw this
manifest as soft lockups in production.

Fix it by only deleting the xarray entry if it matches the given inode
(using __xa_cmpxchg()).

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
EUVD EUVD EUVD-2025-30851 In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix subvolume deletion lockup caused by inodes xarray race There is a race condition between inode eviction and inode caching that can cause a live struct btrfs_inode to be missing from the root->inodes xarray. Specifically, there is a window during evict() between the inode being unhashed and deleted from the xarray. If btrfs_iget() is called for the same inode in that window, it will be recreated and inserted into the xarray, but then eviction will delete the new entry, leaving nothing in the xarray: Thread 1 Thread 2 --------------------------------------------------------------- evict() remove_inode_hash() btrfs_iget_path() btrfs_iget_locked() btrfs_read_locked_inode() btrfs_add_inode_to_root() destroy_inode() btrfs_destroy_inode() btrfs_del_inode_from_root() __xa_erase In turn, this can cause issues for subvolume deletion. Specifically, if an inode is in this lost state, and all other inodes are evicted, then btrfs_del_inode_from_root() will call btrfs_add_dead_root() prematurely. If the lost inode has a delayed_node attached to it, then when btrfs_clean_one_deleted_snapshot() calls btrfs_kill_all_delayed_nodes(), it will loop forever because the delayed_nodes xarray will never become empty (unless memory pressure forces the inode out). We saw this manifest as soft lockups in production. Fix it by only deleting the xarray entry if it matches the given inode (using __xa_cmpxchg()).
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-667
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

cvssV3_1

{'score': 4.7, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

threat_severity

Low

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix subvolume deletion lockup caused by inodes xarray race There is a race condition between inode eviction and inode caching that can cause a live struct btrfs_inode to be missing from the root->inodes xarray. Specifically, there is a window during evict() between the inode being unhashed and deleted from the xarray. If btrfs_iget() is called for the same inode in that window, it will be recreated and inserted into the xarray, but then eviction will delete the new entry, leaving nothing in the xarray: Thread 1 Thread 2 --------------------------------------------------------------- evict() remove_inode_hash() btrfs_iget_path() btrfs_iget_locked() btrfs_read_locked_inode() btrfs_add_inode_to_root() destroy_inode() btrfs_destroy_inode() btrfs_del_inode_from_root() __xa_erase In turn, this can cause issues for subvolume deletion. Specifically, if an inode is in this lost state, and all other inodes are evicted, then btrfs_del_inode_from_root() will call btrfs_add_dead_root() prematurely. If the lost inode has a delayed_node attached to it, then when btrfs_clean_one_deleted_snapshot() calls btrfs_kill_all_delayed_nodes(), it will loop forever because the delayed_nodes xarray will never become empty (unless memory pressure forces the inode out). We saw this manifest as soft lockups in production. Fix it by only deleting the xarray entry if it matches the given inode (using __xa_cmpxchg()).
Title btrfs: fix subvolume deletion lockup caused by inodes xarray race
References
Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
Linux
Published
Updated
May 11, 2026, 9:38 PM
Reserved
Apr 16, 2025, 7:20 AM
Status
Modified
Published
Sep 23, 2025, 6:15 AM
Modified
Oct 19, 2026, 9:10 PM
Severity
Low
Public date
Sep 23, 2025, 12:00 AM