CVE-2023-54224

EPSS 0.0%
  • Published: 2025-12-30T13:16:10.743

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

btrfs: fix lockdep splat and potential deadlock after failure running delayed items

When running delayed items we are holding a delayed node’s mutex and then
we will attempt to modify a subvolume btree to insert/update/delete the
delayed items. However if have an error during the insertions for example,
btrfs_insert_delayed_items() may return with a path that has locked extent
buffers (a leaf at the very least), and then we attempt to release the
delayed node at __btrfs_run_delayed_items(), which requires taking the
delayed node’s mutex, causing an ABBA type of deadlock. This was reported
by syzbot and the lockdep splat is the following:

WARNING: possible circular locking dependency detected
6.5.0-rc7-syzkaller-00024-g93f5de5f648d #0 Not tainted
——————————————————
syz-executor.2/13257 is trying to acquire lock:
ffff88801835c0c0 (&delayed_node->mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}, at: __btrfs_release_delayed_node+0x9a/0xaa0 fs/btrfs/delayed-inode.c:256

but task is already holding lock:
ffff88802a5ab8e8 (btrfs-tree-00){++++}-{3:3}, at: __btrfs_tree_lock+0x3c/0x2a0 fs/btrfs/locking.c:198

which lock already depends on the new lock.

the existing dependency chain (in reverse order) is:

-> #1 (btrfs-tree-00){++++}-{3:3}:
__lock_release kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5475 [inline]
lock_release+0x36f/0x9d0 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5781
up_write+0x79/0x580 kernel/locking/rwsem.c:1625
btrfs_tree_unlock_rw fs/btrfs/locking.h:189 [inline]
btrfs_unlock_up_safe+0x179/0x3b0 fs/btrfs/locking.c:239
search_leaf fs/btrfs/ctree.c:1986 [inline]
btrfs_search_slot+0x2511/0x2f80 fs/btrfs/ctree.c:2230
btrfs_insert_empty_items+0x9c/0x180 fs/btrfs/ctree.c:4376
btrfs_insert_delayed_item fs/btrfs/delayed-inode.c:746 [inline]
btrfs_insert_delayed_items fs/btrfs/delayed-inode.c:824 [inline]
__btrfs_commit_inode_delayed_items+0xd24/0x2410 fs/btrfs/delayed-inode.c:1111
__btrfs_run_delayed_items+0x1db/0x430 fs/btrfs/delayed-inode.c:1153
flush_space+0x269/0xe70 fs/btrfs/space-info.c:723
btrfs_async_reclaim_metadata_space+0x106/0x350 fs/btrfs/space-info.c:1078
process_one_work+0x92c/0x12c0 kernel/workqueue.c:2600
worker_thread+0xa63/0x1210 kernel/workqueue.c:2751
kthread+0x2b8/0x350 kernel/kthread.c:389
ret_from_fork+0x2e/0x60 arch/x86/kernel/process.c:145
ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 arch/x86/entry/entry_64.S:304

-> #0 (&delayed_node->mutex){+.+.}-{3:3}:
check_prev_add kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3142 [inline]
check_prevs_add kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3261 [inline]
validate_chain kernel/locking/lockdep.c:3876 [inline]
__lock_acquire+0x39ff/0x7f70 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5144
lock_acquire+0x1e3/0x520 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:5761
__mutex_lock_common+0x1d8/0x2530 kernel/locking/mutex.c:603
__mutex_lock kernel/locking/mutex.c:747 [inline]
mutex_lock_nested+0x1b/0x20 kernel/locking/mutex.c:799
__btrfs_release_delayed_node+0x9a/0xaa0 fs/btrfs/delayed-inode.c:256
btrfs_release_delayed_node fs/btrfs/delayed-inode.c:281 [inline]
__btrfs_run_delayed_items+0x2b5/0x430 fs/btrfs/delayed-inode.c:1156
btrfs_commit_transaction+0x859/0x2ff0 fs/btrfs/transaction.c:2276
btrfs_sync_file+0xf56/0x1330 fs/btrfs/file.c:1988
vfs_fsync_range fs/sync.c:188 [inline]
vfs_fsync fs/sync.c:202 [inline]
do_fsync fs/sync.c:212 [inline]
__do_sys_fsync fs/sync.c:220 [inline]
__se_sys_fsync fs/sync.c:218 [inline]
__x64_sys_fsync+0x196/0x1e0 fs/sync.c:218
do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/common.c:50 [inline]
do_syscall_64+0x41/0xc0 arch/x86/entry/common.c:80
entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x63/0xcd

other info that
—truncated—

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How to fix CVE-2023-54224

CVE-2023-54224 is a unknown severity vulnerability affecting the affected product.

Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix lockdep splat and potential deadlock after failure running delayed items When running delayed items we are holding a delayed node’s mutex and then we will attempt to modify a subvolume btree to insert/update/delete the delayed items. However if have an error during the […]

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 30, 2025
Vulnerability Published

CVE details first published to NVD database

Dec 30, 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.