CVE-2023-54002

EPSS 0.0%
  • Published: 2025-12-24T11:15:53.117

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

btrfs: fix assertion of exclop condition when starting balance

Balance as exclusive state is compatible with paused balance and device
add, which makes some things more complicated. The assertion of valid
states when starting from paused balance needs to take into account two
more states, the combinations can be hit when there are several threads
racing to start balance and device add. This won’t typically happen when
the commands are started from command line.

Scenario 1: With exclusive_operation state == BTRFS_EXCLOP_NONE.

Concurrently adding multiple devices to the same mount point and
btrfs_exclop_finish executed finishes before assertion in
btrfs_exclop_balance, exclusive_operation will changed to
BTRFS_EXCLOP_NONE state which lead to assertion failed:

fs_info->exclusive_operation == BTRFS_EXCLOP_BALANCE ||
fs_info->exclusive_operation == BTRFS_EXCLOP_DEV_ADD,
in fs/btrfs/ioctl.c:456
Call Trace:

btrfs_exclop_balance+0x13c/0x310
? memdup_user+0xab/0xc0
? PTR_ERR+0x17/0x20
btrfs_ioctl_add_dev+0x2ee/0x320
btrfs_ioctl+0x9d5/0x10d0
? btrfs_ioctl_encoded_write+0xb80/0xb80
__x64_sys_ioctl+0x197/0x210
do_syscall_64+0x3c/0xb0
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

Scenario 2: With exclusive_operation state == BTRFS_EXCLOP_BALANCE_PAUSED.

Concurrently adding multiple devices to the same mount point and
btrfs_exclop_balance executed finish before the latter thread execute
assertion in btrfs_exclop_balance, exclusive_operation will changed to
BTRFS_EXCLOP_BALANCE_PAUSED state which lead to assertion failed:

fs_info->exclusive_operation == BTRFS_EXCLOP_BALANCE ||
fs_info->exclusive_operation == BTRFS_EXCLOP_DEV_ADD ||
fs_info->exclusive_operation == BTRFS_EXCLOP_NONE,
fs/btrfs/ioctl.c:458
Call Trace:

btrfs_exclop_balance+0x240/0x410
? memdup_user+0xab/0xc0
? PTR_ERR+0x17/0x20
btrfs_ioctl_add_dev+0x2ee/0x320
btrfs_ioctl+0x9d5/0x10d0
? btrfs_ioctl_encoded_write+0xb80/0xb80
__x64_sys_ioctl+0x197/0x210
do_syscall_64+0x3c/0xb0
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

An example of the failed assertion is below, which shows that the
paused balance is also needed to be checked.

root@syzkaller:/home/xsk# ./repro
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
[ 416.611428][ T7970] BTRFS info (device loop0): fs_info exclusive_operation: 0
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
[ 416.613973][ T7971] BTRFS info (device loop0): fs_info exclusive_operation: 3
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
[ 416.615456][ T7972] BTRFS info (device loop0): fs_info exclusive_operation: 3
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
[ 416.617528][ T7973] BTRFS info (device loop0): fs_info exclusive_operation: 3
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
[ 416.618359][ T7974] BTRFS info (device loop0): fs_info exclusive_operation: 3
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
[ 416.622589][ T7975] BTRFS info (device loop0): fs_info exclusive_operation: 3
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
[ 416.624034][ T7976] BTRFS info (device loop0): fs_info exclusive_operation: 3
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
[ 416.626420][ T7977] BTRFS info (device loop0): fs_info exclusive_operation: 3
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
[ 416.627643][ T7978] BTRFS info (device loop0): fs_info exclusive_operation: 3
Failed to add device /dev/vda, errno 14
[ 416.629006][ T7979] BTRFS info (device loop0): fs_info exclusive_operation: 3
[ 416.630298][ T7980] BTRFS info (device loop0): fs_info exclusive_operation: 3
Fai
—truncated—

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How to fix CVE-2023-54002

CVE-2023-54002 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix assertion of exclop condition when starting balance Balance as exclusive state is compatible with paused balance and device add, which makes some things more complicated. The assertion of valid states when starting from paused balance needs to take into account two more states, […]

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

Dec 24, 2025
Vulnerability Published

CVE details first published to NVD database

Dec 24, 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.