CVE-2024-56758: linux kernel Null Dereference — Fix

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: check folio mapping after unlock in relocate_one_folio() When we call btrfs_read_folio() to bring a folio uptodate, we unlock the folio. The result of that is that a different thread can modify the mapping (like remove it with invalidate) before we call folio_lock(). This results in an invalid page and we need to try again. In particular, if we are relocating concurrently with aborting a transaction, this can result in a crash like the following: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP CPU: 76 PID: 1411631 Comm: kworker/u322:5 Workqueue: events_unbound btrfs_reclaim_bgs_work RIP: 0010:set_page_extent_mapped+0x20/0xb0 RSP: 0018:ffffc900516a7be8 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: ffffea009e851d08 RBX: ffffea009e0b1880 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: ffffc900516a7b90 RDI: ffffea009e0b1880 RBP: 0000000003573000 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: ffff88c07fd2f3f0 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000194754b575be R12: 0000000003572000 R13: 0000000003572fff R14: 0000000000100cca R15: 0000000005582fff FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88c07fd00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000000 CR3: 000000407d00f002 CR4: 00000000007706f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <TASK> ? __die+0x78/0xc0 ? page_fault_oops+0x2a8/0x3a0 ? __switch_to+0x133/0x530 ? wq_worker_running+0xa/0x40 ? exc_page_fault+0x63/0x130 ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x22/0x30 ? set_page_extent_mapped+0x20/0xb0 relocate_file_extent_cluster+0x1a7/0x940 relocate_data_extent+0xaf/0x120 relocate_block_group+0x20f/0x480 btrfs_relocate_block_group+0x152/0x320 btrfs_relocate_chunk+0x3d/0x120 btrfs_reclaim_bgs_work+0x2ae/0x4e0 process_scheduled_works+0x184/0x370 worker_thread+0xc6/0x3e0 ? blk_add_timer+0xb0/0xb0 kthread+0xae/0xe0 ? flush_tlb_kernel_range+0x90/0x90 ret_from_fork+0x2f/0x40 ? flush_tlb_kernel_range+0x90/0x90 ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 </TASK> This occurs because cleanup_one_transaction() calls destroy_delalloc_inodes() which calls invalidate_inode_pages2() which takes the folio_lock before setting mapping to NULL. We fail to check this, and subsequently call set_extent_mapping(), which assumes that mapping != NULL (in fact it asserts that in debug mode) Note that the "fixes" patch here is not the one that introduced the race (the very first iteration of this code from 2009) but a more recent change that made this particular crash happen in practice.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

5.5

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-476 CWE-476

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
linux	linux_kernel	6.1.54 — 6.2
linux	linux_kernel	6.5.4 — 6.12.8
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All
linux	linux_kernel	All

References

Advisories & Patches

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3e74859ee35edc33a022c3f3971df066ea0ca6b9 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d508e56270389b3a16f5b3cf247f4eb1bbad1578

Other References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/36679fab54fa7bcffafd469e2c474c1fc4beaee0 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c7b1bd52a031ad0144d42eef0ba8471ce75122dd https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-56758? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: check folio mapping after unlock in relocate_one_folio() When we call btrfs_read_folio() to bring a folio uptodate, we unlock the folio. The result of that is that a different thread can modify the mapping (like remove it with invalidate) before we call folio_lock(). This results in an invalid page and we need to try again. In particular, if we are relocating concurrently with aborting a transaction, this can result in a crash like the following: BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000000 PGD 0 P4D 0 Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP CPU: 76 PID: 1411631 Comm: kworker/u322:5 Workqueue: events_unbound btrfs_reclaim_bgs_work RIP: 0010:set_page_extent_mapped+0x20/0xb0 RSP: 0018:ffffc900516a7be8 EFLAGS: 00010246 RAX: ffffea009e851d08 RBX: ffffea009e0b1880 RCX: 0000000000000000 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: ffffc900516a7b90 RDI: ffffea009e0b1880 RBP: 0000000003573000 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: ffff88c07fd2f3f0 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000194754b575be R12: 0000000003572000 R13: 0000000003572fff R14: 0000000000100cca R15: 0000000005582fff FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88c07fd00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000000000000000 CR3: 000000407d00f002 CR4: 00000000007706f0 DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 PKRU: 55555554 Call Trace: <TASK> ? __die+0x78/0xc0 ? page_fault_oops+0x2a8/0x3a0 ? __switch_to+0x133/0x530 ? wq_worker_running+0xa/0x40 ? exc_page_fault+0x63/0x130 ? asm_exc_page_fault+0x22/0x30 ? set_page_extent_mapped+0x20/0xb0 relocate_file_extent_cluster+0x1a7/0x940 relocate_data_extent+0xaf/0x120 relocate_block_group+0x20f/0x480 btrfs_relocate_block_group+0x152/0x320 btrfs_relocate_chunk+0x3d/0x120 btrfs_reclaim_bgs_work+0x2ae/0x4e0 process_scheduled_works+0x184/0x370 worker_thread+0xc6/0x3e0 ? blk_add_timer+0xb0/0xb0 kthread+0xae/0xe0 ? flush_tlb_kernel_range+0x90/0x90 ret_from_fork+0x2f/0x40 ? flush_tlb_kernel_range+0x90/0x90 ret_from_fork_asm+0x11/0x20 </TASK> This occurs because cleanup_one_transaction() calls destroy_delalloc_inodes() which calls invalidate_inode_pages2() which takes the folio_lock before setting mapping to NULL. We fail to check this, and subsequently call set_extent_mapping(), which assumes that mapping != NULL (in fact it asserts that in debug mode) Note that the "fixes" patch here is not the one that introduced the race (the very first iteration of this code from 2009) but a more recent change that made this particular crash happen in practice. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2024-56758? +

CVE-2024-56758 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2024-56758? +

CVE-2024-56758 affects products from linux, specifically: linux_kernel. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2024-56758? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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