CVE-2025-40209btrfs: fix memory leak of qgroup_list in btrfs_add_qgroup_relation
- —Not scoredno CVSS score yet
- 0.20%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 91% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- NonePublic exploitsnone known yet
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix memory leak of qgroup_list in btrfs_add_qgroup_relation When btrfs_add_qgroup_relation() is called with invalid qgroup levels (src >= dst), the function returns -EINVAL directly without freeing the preallocated qgroup_list structure passed by the caller. This causes a memory leak because the caller unconditionally sets the pointer to NULL after the call, preventing any cleanup. The issue occurs because the level validation check happens before the mutex is acquired and before any error handling path that would free the prealloc pointer. On this early return, the cleanup code at the 'out' label (which includes kfree(prealloc)) is never reached. In btrfs_ioctl_qgroup_assign(), the code pattern is: prealloc = kzalloc(sizeof(*prealloc), GFP_KERNEL); ret = btrfs_add_qgroup_relation(trans, sa->src, sa->dst, prealloc); prealloc = NULL; // Always set to NULL regardless of return value ... kfree(prealloc); // This becomes kfree(NULL), does nothing When the level check fails, 'prealloc' is never freed by either the callee or the caller, resulting in a 64-byte memory leak per failed operation. This can be triggered repeatedly by an unprivileged user with access to a writable btrfs mount, potentially exhausting kernel memory. Fix this by freeing prealloc before the early return, ensuring prealloc is always freed on all error paths.
Timeline
ID reserved
By Linux
- 7 months later
· 7 months later
Published
- 6 months later
· 6 months later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
No CVSS score yet: neither the CNA, CISA nor NVD has scored this CVE. NVD status: Deferred.
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 0.20% · top 91% of all CVEs (15 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Not scored.
Affected products
- affected 4addc1ffd67ad34394674dc91379dc04cfdd2537 – < 3412d0e973e8f8381747d69033eda809a57a2581
- affected 4addc1ffd67ad34394674dc91379dc04cfdd2537 – < a4d9ebe23bcb79d9d057e3c995db73b7b3aae414
- affected 4addc1ffd67ad34394674dc91379dc04cfdd2537 – < f260c6aff0b8af236084012d14f9f1bf792ea883
- affected 6.11
- unaffected < 6.11
- unaffected 6.12.58 – ≤ 6.12.*
- unaffected 6.17.8 – ≤ 6.17.*
- unaffected 6.18 – ≤ *
References
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2025-198438 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
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[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2025-40209)Record last updated .