CVE-2023-53618

  • Published: 2025-10-07T16:15:44.297

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

btrfs: reject invalid reloc tree root keys with stack dump

[BUG]
Syzbot reported a crash that an ASSERT() got triggered inside
prepare_to_merge().

That ASSERT() makes sure the reloc tree is properly pointed back by its
subvolume tree.

[CAUSE]
After more debugging output, it turns out we had an invalid reloc tree:

BTRFS error (device loop1): reloc tree mismatch, root 8 has no reloc root, expect reloc root key (-8, 132, 8) gen 17

Note the above root key is (TREE_RELOC_OBJECTID, ROOT_ITEM,
QUOTA_TREE_OBJECTID), meaning it’s a reloc tree for quota tree.

But reloc trees can only exist for subvolumes, as for non-subvolume
trees, we just COW the involved tree block, no need to create a reloc
tree since those tree blocks won’t be shared with other trees.

Only subvolumes tree can share tree blocks with other trees (thus they
have BTRFS_ROOT_SHAREABLE flag).

Thus this new debug output proves my previous assumption that corrupted
on-disk data can trigger that ASSERT().

[FIX]
Besides the dedicated fix and the graceful exit, also let tree-checker to
check such root keys, to make sure reloc trees can only exist for subvolumes.

Related CVE by CWE

No related CWE found.

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How to fix CVE-2023-53618

CVE-2023-53618 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: reject invalid reloc tree root keys with stack dump [BUG] Syzbot reported a crash that an ASSERT() got triggered inside prepare_to_merge(). That ASSERT() makes sure the reloc tree is properly pointed back by its subvolume tree. [CAUSE] After more debugging output, it turns out […]

Exploit Difficulty: HARD
⏱️ Time to exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public exploits: Rare or not public

How to Fix:

1 Identify affected systems

- Check if you're running the affected product

2 Immediate actions

- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access

3 Verification

- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)

4 Long-term prevention

- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations

Exploit Difficulty Assessment

HARD
⏱️ Time to Exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Skills Required: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public Exploits: Rare or not public

Vulnerability Timeline

Oct 07, 2025
Vulnerability Published

CVE details first published to NVD database

Nov 12, 2025
Imported to Database

Added to this CVE tracking system

Detection Rules & IOCs

No specific detection rules generated for this vulnerability type.

No vendor/product data available.